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Early signs of stator failure?

4K views 13 replies 6 participants last post by  anders55 
#1 ·
I’m out on a European Versys tour, a long way from home.
My bike is equipped with a LED battery charge monitor.
Some days ago it started to randomly switch from normal green (=over 13,2 volt) to amber, back and forth, in appr 5-20 sec. periods. (Amber is from 12,45 up to 13,2 volt.)
When the motor is cold the LED is steady green.
Anytime I let the RPMs below appr 1500 the LED goes back to steady green.
I’m I about to join the Fried Stator Club or could it be the R/R that’s malfunctioning?
 
#2 ·
I can add that my bike has appr 52 000 km’s on the clock.
What puzzles me most is that the LED turns steady green below 1 500 RPMs. If the stator is not putting out what it is supposed to, would not the LED show low voltage at idling as well? 🤔
 
#3 ·
I would suggest verifying the LED indication with a real volt meter at various locations on the bike. Pick up one of those el-cheapo meters if available where you are at.

I would first check at the battery connections. Also verify all connections in the charging electrical path including the chassis ground.

Where are you? Perhaps close to someone on this forum that could help? Are you a participant on ADVRiders or Horizons Unlimited?

Hopefully this is not a trip ending event.

Good luck. Hopeful thoughts going forward.
 
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#4 ·
when I first added a voltage monitor I had a green light at idle. Now I need to be over 1500 rpm to get green but it does not change until I get below 1500 again. This makes me think my stator is aging, so I agree with the above post regarding a connection issue of some kind. Hope it doesn't screw up your trip.
 
#9 · (Edited by Moderator)
When the stator is hot, the base load of the 650 Versys exceeds the output at 1350 to 1400 RPM, my idle is now 1500 RPM, when cold the stator resistance is low enough that 1350 RPM is sufficient to keep in the green, once the stator is hot, and the regulator is also hot ( solid state devices produce heat,aka voltage regulator, if shunt you are in even more trouble, heat is directly proportional to resistance increase, doesn't sound like much but 0.5 volt increase in voltage drop at say 8 amp = 4 watts per phase ) Second thing to consider is the led display is accurate and the regulator is acting up, did you ever upgrade to a series regulator? At higher RPM, say 2500-3000 the shunt regulator may kick in and stay in, dropping the voltage to below 14.5 VDC
Only fast and positive way of verifying your stator is OK is with a AC voltmeter. This could be done in under 5 minutes, using the idle set screw and raise to approx. 2000 RPM + or - 200 RPM ( plus is better. This needs to be done after warm up but below the point the fan would run. Myself I could do all readings in under a minute, with someone reading the meter and a second person with the probes , less than 30 seconds for all three readings.
 
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#5 · (Edited)
Thank you so much onewizard for a quick reply! The first time this happened we had been riding in heavy rain almost the whole day, so condensation sounds plausible :smile2:
Remove both battery connectors, sand off the oxidation on top of battery posts. Make sure the bottom of connectors are also clean, then secure back on battery posts good and tight (without breaking the bolts).
 
#6 ·
Thank you for your input!

When this issue started a couple of weeks ago I checked the current with a volt meter connected directly to the battery. I used an old analogue meter, which is not a 100 percent accurate way to do it, but I could not spot any correlation between the LED going amber and a change in voltage. Thus I suspected the LED an ordered a new one, which should be in my mailbox by the time I get back to Sweden.

The bike has obviously been charging sufficiently during the last weeks because I have had no problems firing it up in the mornings.

A hopeful but also worrying thing is that I didn’t get any amber light during riding the whole day yesterday. Of course I’m happy for that, but I would like to find out what has been the cause. Right now I kind of want the issue to come back so I can fix it but at the same I’m hoping that the LED will stay green. We have ten more days on this tour -so anything can happen... 🙂
 
#7 ·
Thank you so much onewizard for a quick reply! The first time this happened we had been riding in heavy rain almost the whole day, so condensation sounds plausible :smile2:
Remove both battery connectors, sand off the oxidation on top of battery posts. Make sure the bottom of connectors are also clean, then secure back on battery posts good and tight (without breaking the bolts).
 
#8 ·
A special thank you to you invader, you must have an extraordinary memory to remember my issue with the vehicle down sensor a year ago. 😉 I can tell you that this problem is still alive, and occurs strangely only on our several week tours, never when driving shorter city trips back home. The worst reminder that the sensor needs to be replaced was some days ago when I had to shut off the ignition thrice before the motor woke. The sensor will definitely be replaced after this trip. 😉
 
#10 · (Edited)
Quick visual check


I would suggest checking the connector nearest the stator , I looked up that you have a 2011, a common problem was a bad connection on 1 of three pins, which causes a single phase condition, and usually causes a fried stator. Since you don't need much to pull it apart , it is possible that you have a bad connection, just the pulling apart may solve that. However you mention on a increase of RPM, possibly a shunt regulator problem, I thought you looked at converting to a series regulator?

When the stator is hot, the base load of the 650 Versys exceeds the output at 1350 to 1400 RPM, my idle is now 1500 RPM, when cold the stator resistance is low enough that 1350 RPM is sufficient to keep in the green, once the stator is hot, and the regulator is also hot ( solid state devices produce heat,aka voltage regulator, if shunt you are in even more trouble, heat is directly proportional to resistance increase, doesn't sound like much but 0.5 volt increase in voltage drop at say 8 amp = 4 watts per phase ) Second thing to consider is the led display is accurate and the regulator is acting up, did you ever upgrade to a series regulator? At higher RPM, say 2500-3000 the shunt regulator may kick in and stay in, dropping the voltage to below 14.5 VDC
Only fast and positive way of verifying your stator is OK is with a AC voltmeter. This could be done in under 5 minutes, using the idle set screw and raise to approx. 2000 RPM = or - 200 RPM ( plus is better. This needs to be done after warm up but below the point the fan would run. Myself I could do all readings in under a minute, with someone reading the meter and a second person with the probes , less than 30 seconds for all three readings. Here is my link:

https://www.kawasakiversys.com/foru...testing-polaris-4016868-low-h-beams-dead.html
This is the voltages you should expect open circuit ( regulator disconnected at the 3 phase stator plug nearest the stator) from the stator at given RPM's
https://www.kawasakiversys.com/forums/1614329-post42.html
https://www.kawasakiversys.com/forums/1618009-post50.html
 
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#12 ·
Here’s a follow up. The bike was charging fine all three weeks during our trip. Some days I had an amber LED almost all day some days it was mostly green.
When I got back home I tested the system with a new LED monitor that I had ordered. I connected it directly to the battery - the old one is connected to the parking light circuit.
When the old LED turned amber the new one showed green, so probably something is wrong with the old LED monitor or with the parking light circuit. Maybe my xenon conversion equipment has gone bad. No signs of any flickering lights though.
First I’ll replace the old monitor and connect the new one to the same wires as the old. If I still get the amber color I’ll connect it to somewhere closer to the battery.
 
#13 ·
City Lights

I converted to led city lights about 10 years ago, a excellent place to check , as to getting closer to the battery, next would be the auxiliary relay wiring depending what year you have. One thing not to connect to is the headlight circuit, as this is connected with a wire gauge that lends itself to voltage drop.
 
#14 ·
Problem solved. :laugh:
Replaced LED which is hooked up to the parking light circuit. No change.
Changed the positive connection directly to the battery. Same problem.
Went furious. Didn't help.
Connected the LED ground to the battery. LED went green, Ms Amber disappeared.
Obviously I have a ground connection failure in the parking light circuit but since it doesn’t affect anything else than the LED I’m happy.
 
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