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Blown headlights

4K views 28 replies 7 participants last post by  fasteddiecopeman 
#1 ·
Issues I am having is my low and high beam burn out quickly. As in a brand new low beam lasted me less than an hour of riding. High beam lasted longer but maybe only a week of riding home ~50 miles. Total time on, maybe 8-10 hours.

Okay, so I dont know a lot about electrical systems but this is what I have tested.

I used a digital multimeter on the plugs to the R/r with ohms and they all came back with a 1.

I used the 12volt setting on the headlight low beam and it didn't return anything the first time but after turning on then off the bike it was registering 12.5.

I thought maybe it is the stator going bad and I have the compufire r/r but before I make any modifications I want to properly troubleshoot.

What else should I check?

2011 versys with 55,000 miles.
 
#7 ·
So I used the multimeter on the oem regulator and it passed according to this video. Rick's Motorsport Electrics, Inc. How to test a motorcycle rectifier regulator.

Then when I tested the stator connections the same way that Rick tests in his over video it failed. I am going to redo the tests now that it is light out just to see but is there anyway that the regulator could pass the tests but still not work?
 
#8 ·
Go to technical forum, "burnt stators" , my post 317, follow instructions for comp-u-fire. If you have a meter, which you say you have, make sure your engine ground is not corroded, ( just behind the clutch cable---foot brake side of bike, 3 inches left of starter), also check the frame ground is also sound, re-check your battery connections. Start bike with meter connected to battery or city lights, raise idle to 2000 rpm with idle screw adjustment, if at anytime you exceed 14.5 VDC, shut it down, before you have ECU failure.That is the end of the story---------I am puzzled as to why you have a superior regulator sitting around, honestly, the only thing I would check is the 3 phase voltages at 2000 RPM with the plug to the regulator by the TPS disconnected, measure A to B , B to C and C to A, at 2000 RPM with no load, it should be around 28 to 36 VAC, all readings should be within 2 VAC== next step disconnect the positive post of the battery, cut the wires off the regulator as close as possible to the plug, chuck it in the garbage where it belongs. Next , connect the positive wire to the white with blue tracer, use a good crimp or twist and solder, take the negative wire all the way up to the frame ground or get a large 3/8 ring crimp and connect to engine ground. The 3 phase wires need to be spliced to the three black wires, the brown stator wire needs to be isolated as it is not used. Follow my post in 317 about the headlight relay and discharge diode-------if you are lucky, your stator may be OK

:thumb:

I may need to re-do the instructions for compufire, as I have resolved the power drain issue, this is described somewhere in 317 or earlier.
 
#9 ·
Thank you for the instructions. I read through the stator post which is where I found the information for the compufire. I will be checking the grounding connections, I hadn't checked the engine one yet and will make sure everything is shut down before 15v pops up.

I am learning as I go on this bike and sometimes I get rather frustrated... I'm not very good with electrical.
 
#10 ·
Since I have spent several years researching my own set up, and finally resolved the 38 milliamp drain problem, I like to give back when I can, as this forum is one of the very best, and it is this because of the people that frequent it, on the top of my list is " Invader ", I have a 07 purchased in 08, if he hadn't posted about the TPS tweaking, I think I would have sold the bike, as it is, this is one of my best rides ever.

As to electrical, this is my specialty, motors, motor control, generators, alternators, DC drives, frequency drives, large synchronous motors, I specialize in the repair of large inverters, biggest one is 2.5 megawatt.

So if you have a area that isn't clear, post it under this thread and I will try to explain in a different way.
:goodluck:
 
#11 ·
An update!

I have the new regulator installed, then after having my bike on a battery tender i ride into work, go out to get on it for the trip home and.... bzzz. not enough power to start the bike.

Charged it again last night hoping i could make it home, nope. Full bike died while riding. Sounds like I will be looking at testing the battery and checking the stator physically then replacing the bad components.

Yay for progress, my headlight didn't blow!
 
#14 ·
What is your idle at and check your voltage at battery with key off . key in with motor off. Key on motor on at idle 1250-1350rpm. And key on motor on and crank your idle up to 2500-3000rpm and report back with what they are. If it goes over 15 volts abort
 
#17 ·
If that's without headlight then your voltage is quite low. Mine is 12V key off 13.5-14.2 at idle and same at higher rpm unless the fan is on then 12.5ish at idle and 13 something at higher rpm
 
#21 ·
I guess you never read my 387 or 383 post under burnt stators.

This is real SIMPLE, unplug the 3 phase stator plug over by your throttle position sensor--can't find it? follow the wire up from the stator, plug has two captive latches to prevent it falling apart, this plug requires a fair amount of force to pull apart, make sure you have the latches released .

You have a meter and a charger------SO charge your battery, once charged, start the bike, manually adjust idle with idle screw for 2000 RPM -----the RPM NEEDS to be fixed====so all readings match. Set your meter on volts AC for a range of 50 volts. As I asked before, measure going clockwise, vertical pin to first horizontal mark down value, next measure vertical pin to next horizontal pin --ya mark it down, last measure the two horizontal pins. All readings should be between 21 and 32 VAC, all readings should be within 1 VAC---------just to be clear you are running off your charged battery and charger during this test, also don't be surprised to see your headlight come on, ----------read post 387 "diode"

Last thing, compu fire and Polaris both require 8 to 9 volts to output to your battery, this works as a backup to reducing damage to your battery. The readings you have given would indicate you have problems.

:feedback:
 
#22 ·
I read it but I didn't fully understand it.

I pulled the stator and it is for sure burnt out.

One thing I was told that even though I just replaced the regulator that I may have to replace it again due to riding the bike without a good stator. Is this true?
 
#23 ·
When you pulled the stator, did you notice a plug connected to the three wires? The connection is delta, looks similar to a pyramid, a shorted turn or two will cause the remaining winding to cook the stator. To make it simple, there are three windings, best way to test is with it running, at a fixed rpm, get three winding readings----I mentioned blades, or pins, the electrical part in the plug I just mentioned.
If you can post a close up of the damaged area, many fail at the connection for the leads.
If you properly installed the compu-fire, the Versys stator isn't capable of damaging it even when new. It is rated for 44 amp, Versys can put out 27 amp tops.
 
#24 ·
Yeah, just looking at the stator it is burnt out at a few of the coils. So i did prep work on replacing it such as scraping the old sealant and gasket off and so now i am looking a places to order and deciding who i want to go through.

As for connecting the regulator i have a friend that is good with electrical that has been helping me and following the connection information here we got it together. Now to get the new stator and call it good.
 
#25 ·
All right! Got my stator installed but... The gear that is directly behind where the stator goes... Is it okay if it moved? As I stepped away from my bike with the side off to grab a tool my nephew spun it. I don't know how much but he was touching it ��.

Is that okay or do I have some more work ahead of me?
 
#26 ·
All right! Got my stator installed but... The gear that is directly behind where the stator goes... Is it okay if it moved? As I stepped away from my bike with the side off to grab a tool my nephew spun it. I don't know how much but he was touching it ��.

Is that okay or do I have some more work ahead of me?
As I recall, if it never fell off, no worries, when I was helping Smiley, that gear came off, only one right way to mount but two possibilities, looked in the manual and also noticed one way would hit. One thing, make absolutely sure your 3 wires are routed properly and held in place by the metal strap, and the stator is tight in the housing, the aftermarket stator we installed was thinner, and several mounting screws were bottoming out in the housing, we took 3 4mm nuts and drilled them out, using them as washers.
 
#27 ·
Success!!!

Voltage never goes past 14.5, and so far no blown light ir anything.

Ahh I am so excited and I missed riding it so much!!

What's crazy is I was borrowing my neighbors bike which is a nice bike but it was so much more uncomfortable to commute on.
 
#28 ·
Glad to hear you have success, I posted on the UK site, seems stator failure is rare, and a engineer doesn't see anything wrong with the shunt regulator.
 
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