How do you check if the alternator is functioning properly.

This was me yesterday,


I had a headlight out warning, then it died. No dash at all at first but after I waited it came back but still no crank, just clicks.

I give up and am sending it to the dealer ASAP. I still have warranty till Dec which is good.

yeah, that is great! You will likely get the new ventilated flywheel at no charge!

New to the forum and appear to be the latest victim. I was riding home from work two days ago when my speedo, tach and computer all shut down. The bike was still running so I decided to go as far as I could. Made it a few more miles to about a mile from the house when I pulled the clutch for a traffic light and the bike died, pushed it the rest of the way. I am just under 25K miles.

My readings

Charged up the battery and performed the tests.

Voltage at the battery with motor off, 12.8VDC
Voltage at the battery 4000 RPM, 12.4VDC

Stator 1-2 resistance .4 ohms
Stator 1-3 resistance .4 ohms
Stator 2-3 resistance .4 ohms

Stator voltage with stator unplugged from the R/R, engine @3000RPM,
1-2, 3 VAC
1-3, 9 mVAC
2-3, 3 VAC

All stator phases are shorted to ground

It is most definitely dead

Has anyone come across a bad R/R in addition to the burned stator? I plan on testing the R/R per the diode testing procedure on the Electrosport website but was curious if R/R have been going as well.

Any stator sources other than Rick's, Electrosport or a local motor shop for a rewind?

Electrosport is still testing their F800GS/F700GS/F650GS design.
It may be another month or longer before it is available for purchase,I just swapped e-mail with my contact there earlier this week.

So at this time, the only sources I know of beyond the $900 BMW kit, or Ricks, would be a local rewind.

If you went with the local rewind you would want to ask about the temperature rating of the wire they would use.
Many shops apparently use 160C rated wire but IMHO that would be a non-starter.

Based on some testing Joel did, the stator in these bikes can approach 200C. Also, if the shop has a higher grade of wire (lower bulk resistivity) that would be a huge plus!

That would make yours one of the lower mileage failures, I think. It is a bit harder to kill the R/R, not impossible, but electronically , a bit harder. To kill the diodes, you have to either severely over volt or short it. Diodes do fail from time to time, But if you don't feel good about yours, there are a few $100 better alternatives, either shunt, or series, replacements out there, there will treat your new stator better than stock. I would recommend all 8GS R/R's to be replaced, after my trials with the replacement units. That does not mean that my stator will not go tilt at some point, but I do know that my battery is taken good care of.

A familiar story ... 42,250 miles.

Bike got a little harder to start, then finally wouldn't, thankfully while I was at home.

Prodded around with a multimeter today and this is what I found.

Across battery - 11.41
Across battery, engine running - 10.67

Voltage across three pins, with nothing disconnected.
1-2 - 7.9
2-3 - 10.0
1-3 - 8.8

Resistance across three pins.
1-2 - 0.3
2-3 - 0.3
1-3 - 0.3

I have a fried stator, right?

BTW, thanks to everyone who has contributed to this thread. Awesome resource for a crappy problem.

For the test to be valid, you have to disconnect the r/r from the stator when measuring the ac voltage, and ressistence between the 3 stator wires. Looks bad though.

Update on mine.

I got the bike back from the dealer on Wed and all is good now.
It was covered under warranty, thank doG.
Apparently the dealer had to pull a few strings to get the new updated parts
for me but don't know any info beyond that.
It seems that the bike feels a bit snappier but that could be BS, not sure.
The lightened flywheel maybe?

I'm now wondering what is going to go wrong next...

With stator disconnected also check from the 3-pins of the stator to frame-ground, reading should be "infinite" or very nearly so...
A low reading there means cooked for sure!

At 4000 rpm reading from 1-2 2-3 3-1 should be ~75 VAC

I've not checked mine, but am told normal resistance of the stator windings is ~3.5 ohms

(all this with stator unplugged)

I've not heard from Electrosport for several weeks, so just sent my contact there the "once-a-month" pester e-mail

I am close to either go with the series R/R.....or new stator/flywheel combo. Really too bad ES has not gotten there yet. Don't look good I guess...

Guys just look into the reliability of Electrosport with existing products before putting your hopes on them. A more than spotty record.... :huh


I personally don't think the new flywheel will make any significant difference, what are those little holes on a spinning wheel really going to do in terms of cooling?

At least the series R/R is "cheap" and has been successfully used by the owners of many other bikes with problematic stators.

Mine seems to be working fine at this point. (see my post in the other thread)
One side effect I have noticed is that voltage has gone from 13.9 to 14.1 - 14.2

Lukas:
I can't seem to find much reliability data on other Electrosport units do you have a source?
Here they get 4-stars with 25 reviews but that's about all I can come up with..........
http://www.bikebandit.com/electrosport-industries-stator

I did stumble on these guys: http://www.customrewind.com/
The website is lame, but they are purported to do good work........ Since I have a burned up stator from a friend's bike I'm going to call them this week and talk about our 200C stator conditions and see if they run away screaming........... or nod their head knowingly and whisper sweet nothings in my ear...

On the flywheel holes.... unless we can get someone with the new design to lay in some thermocouples I guess we won't know for sure ....

it would seem that it would allow for at least some "flow-thru" of air and perhaps oil?
I don't know what the oil level is in the crankcase but it does seem like it might be high enough be able to run thru the (new) holes in the flywheel for some beneficial effect but ... I'm just guessing

Just search on ADV and you will get plenty of hits. They are right up there with Sidewinder Sprockets... :huh

Wow ... THAT GOOD huh?

Arse! Came back here to report that I was up and running again with a replacement Electrosport stator, only to read the last few comments ...!

Oh well, we'll see how this one lasts. One thing is for sure, it is better than the burned out BMW one that now resides in the trash.

Hey,
For a week now I go to work with a damn 100cc Chinese moped bike... (at least I still have a job in Greece... )

Long story short: Bike 37.000 km, a couple of weeks ago it starts turning on with the 2nd or 3rd effort. Clock turns off and then on again and resets doing the check from the start. I buy a new battery. It lasted ~ 200km. After some beers last Friday I had to walk home. Day after I started the bike with the old battery (that still had some life) and brought it home. With motor running I measured a pathetic 10,4V at the terminals.

Today I opened the stator case. This is what I found:

​

Does it look fried to you? For sure I have seen worse...


Here's what I measured with stator plug disconnected from the R/R:

Continuity between the yellow stator wires (1-2, 1-3, 2-3)

- Engine off (battery connected)
All tree between 0.6 and 0.9 Ω

Continuity between the yellow stator wires and earth (engine casing)

- With battery disconnected:
Wire 1 - ground: 1.2 Ω
Wire 2 - ground: 1.3 Ω
Wire 3 - ground: 1.1 Ω

- With motor running (4.000 rpm):
Readings went crazy but sometimes they showed numbers from 2 to 3 (Ω or megaΩ? - it's a professional instrument but I guess I don't know how to use it and if I'm supposed to check for continuity with motor running)


Voltage

- Motor running idle:
Wire 1 - 2: 27V~
Wire 1 - 3: 26V~
Wire 2 - 3: 25V~

- Motor running @ 4.000 rpm:
Wire 1 - 2: > 75 V~
Wire 1 - 3: > 80 V~
Wire 2 - 3: > 75 V~

Your opinion? Is it the stator or should I search for a rectifier?

Stator..... alternator... is the same thing. Looks like yours is shorted out. You can see the whole measuring method here...

http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=809879

Make sure you test for earth with the r/r disconnected.

Thanks Erling, I meant R/R when I wrote "alternator in the last phrase. I'll correct it in my post and I'll check your guide. I've read all the posts of the 2 main threads about stator failures but I had missed your guide. Will update with my results.

No worries..... That's what I thought you meant.... It looks like your are shorted , and it is possible, that the few "good windings" are producing the 50-70 vac you see, but as soon as connected to the r/r ( those reading should be done disconnected) the voltage drops.