2nd gen not charging right, stator?

So my 700 keeps dying while stopped, after I get it started the instrument lights get steadily dimmer and eventually the blinkers won't even turn on, then the bike dies. If I jump start it it runs fine for about 20 minutes, I'm gonna throw the battery on the charger again but i'm thinking it must be the alternator. Is the stator generally the only part that goes bad?

 

HAHA, you too. It's nearly inevitable. Join the club. On some sites, riders are known for their distance ridden or countries they've visited on their bikes, or customs they've attempted to build, but here our members are recognized according to how many voltage regulators they've replaced. That's how you earn stripes here, Bunky.

Let's look at the statistics:

A very large percentage of issues like yours requires replacement of the voltage regulator, but other items could be the problem too.

The plug between the stator (yellow wires) and reg can burn or melt and the wiring harness connection on top of the starter relay is another common problem area.

Usually the stator only goes bad if the output wires touch each other in the melted plug, and testing a stator is easy, something you'd want to do before replacing it. So i'd guess--based upon lots of time on this site-- that no-charging situations usually turn out to be a bad stator in only about 15 % of cases.

 

not only the regulator, but how old is the battery, and to what voltage will it reach after being on a 1 Amp charger for 10 hours? Maybe your battery is toast and not even a good regulator or stator can help you there...

 

I'm gonna have the battery tested tomorrow, all the shops were closed today. I'll go through the bike with a multimeter tomorrow as well. It did just occur to me that the R/R might be bad. There's a mark on it with a paint pen, I wonder when this one was put in... Haha.

And I don't have a motorcycle battery charger, but I have a nice car battery charger with a 2 amp trickle charge mode, I assume that's pretty safe...

 

As Squirrel said, the three wire connector from the stator to the r/r is the first thing to go and the the r/r.

 

No, it is not, 2 amps on a motorcycle battery is the best way to kill an otherwise good battery. Get a motorcycle specific charger like the battery tender or the Yuasa charger, they will not put out above 1.5 amps which is about the max you want to see on a moto battery.

Make the investment. If your battery is over 5 years or close to that you need a new battery, plain and simple.

 

Good to know, thanks!

 

Well the battery tested fine, I left it at the dealer overnight to charge it fully and load test it. Voltage at the battery posts with the bike running is ~17 volts, and the wiring all looks ok except for the red four pin plug/main fuse cover on the starter solenoid, but all the contacts are connecting alright. So I guess i'm replacing my R/R then... The one on the bike is from a CBR

 

17 volts is definitely a problem, and points to the R/R. Probably killed the battery too. When you replace the R/R, just go through ALL of the connections in the charging circuit, clean 'em up, make sure things are good and tight (including the ground side of the battery).

 

Yep, you should see 15V max at the battery when running at higher RPM's. Running that high probably fried your battery already.
New R/R time.

 

Well here's for hoping the battery is still ok... I think i'll just buy a good used regulator until I get paid, then I'll grab a new one and keep the used for a spare...

 

17volts will cook a battery while you watch.

 

Or even if you aren't watching

 

Sure enough, the battery holds a charge, but doesn't do so well in the load test. Is there anything else i'm going to have to replace? And if these things go bad so often, Is there any way to keep them from cooking the battery?

 

Gen 2 is really not that bad and certainly not as bad as the rest so I would toss a battery and r/r at it after cleaning up the electrical connections and ride till the wheels fall off.

 

Found what seems to be a decent quality AGM battery for $31 shipped.

Anyone have a good R/R for sale?

Nothing like trying to support hobbies on the starving college student budget.

 

Get the new battery and the new RR. Charge the battery on the proper charger. Check all the connectors. Now install battery and RR and run the voltage tests again. You may be able to dodge the bullit.

Yuasa Battery Stats when using a digital volt meter.
State of Charge / Sealed VRLA / CX & Yumicron / Conventional
100% / 13.0V / 12.7v / 12.6v
75% / 12.8v / 12.5v / 12.4v
50% / 12.5v / 12.2V / 12.1v
25% / 12.2v / 12.0v / 11.9v
0% / 12.0 or less / 11.9 or less / 11.8 or less

My 2007 puts our 14.05v When running at Idle.
Also 14.05v at 5000 rpm indicating the RR is fully functional
Idle dim lights 14.05v
Idle Bright lights 13.42v (extra load)
Battery when fully charged (with Bat. Tender) with ignition off after sitting for an hour, 13.12v
Battery tender when charging with red charging light on, 14.68v
Battery tender when light goes green and fully charged, 13.55v in maint mode.

These stats are just what is happening on my 2007, does not mean yours should be exactly the same but I think my charging system, battery and battery charger are working in perfect order.

Check out Yuasa Batteries, Inc. for a bunch of great information.

 

I forgot to mention click on the literature button and look at or download their technical manual!

Yuasa Batteries, Inc.

 

I cant say enough aboot buying a quality battery, it is one of those things that you get what you pay for.

 

I totally agree, but I just kind of need the battery to last till I'm out of school for summer and I can work more. I can't afford to do the R/R and a nice battery, but being able to ride till then will save me enough money in gas to justify it.

I figure better to skimp on the battery for now and get a new R/R instead of a used regulator and an expensive battery. Are yuasa's pretty good then? Thats what I have now