Battery draining while riding... What's going on?

There should be no connectivity at all between the stator wires and ground (assuming those tests were done with the stator - RR connector disconnected!) that alone says the stator is defective. Some stator defects can also rapidly damage an RR, so in your shoes, I would do as Mello Dude says - park the bike and at the very least order a stator housing gasket so you go ahead and pull the cover and check to see if the inside looks like the windings are a burnt mess.. If the stator is dead it will usually have a distinct smell of burning.

If all looks fine, just fit the new gasket and button it all up - after all the gaskets are not expensive and turn your attention to the RR.

If however it confirms the stator is dead, then obtain and fit a replacement stator (OEM is probably a fine choice). The stator wire routing is problematic so take your time and examine/take careful notes before you pull the old stator wires out so the new one goes back in exactly the same place. Getting the wires through with the connector attached is almost impossible. Use a jewellers screwdriver to release the 3 yellow wires from the connector and attach with duck tape to the old stator wires to draw the new ones through before reinstating the connector (or soldering it).

But do not assume that replacing the stator means an end to your electrical gremlins. Do the drill tests - again twice cold & hot. If the volts at the battery are still not a nice and stable 14+v then you may need to invest in a new RR too.

Finally consider:

(1) inspecting all the charging system wiring and connectors for signs of charring. On early 6th Gens the three pin connector between the stator and RR has been known to melt allowing the wires to short out and kill the stator and RR. If the connector is damaged - you are probably better off soldering and heat shrinking the joint (this is illustrated somewhere in "the Drill" thread).


(2) fitting an LED digital voltmeter - so you can at least monitor the volts from time to time and if things go wrong it will hopefully give you a bit of warning to head for some place safe before the battery is drained of power and you are left stranded.


SkiMad


As for that "flow chart" and indeed the entire "the Drill" thread I think it is now getting very cluttered with important stuff lost amongst loads of individual questions/replies. I wonder if Rubo/Mello Dude are up for trying to distill all the core stuff into a series or locked threads - so one to clearly cover the basic drill tests, and a second with a series of illustrated "how to's" either pictures or videos showing exactly how to do the tests and possibly a third to cover how to interpret the results and flag up know problem areas worth checking. I am struggling to keep on top of this monster and I bet for many newbies it is now a very daunting thread to be referred to!

 

Pretty much had the same problem with my bike, the R/Rs are known to burn out, I honestly didnt read through every post in this thread but get an aftermarket R/R for about $60 off amazon/ebay and get yourself a new battery (considering the RR burning out probably ruined the battery)

- hope this helps!!!

Duncan

 

Hello, everyone! I have an update on the bike.
First off, thank you all so much for your input! It was super helpful
Secondly, I finally got that stator replaced, but not without some roadblocks. It took me a good while to figure out to just use pliers in the screw holes to get the alternator cover off. Then when I finally did, I had to scrape the old gasket off with some hot water and a screw driver. Also, the one screw near the top of the alternator cover that holds the wires back refused to come out no matter what we tried. Ended up ordering a replacement alternator cover from ebay and taking a hammer to the old one, because the fool who sent the replacement cover didn't include the right screws... Anyway, finally got all the stuff and ready to replace the stator after over a week of waiting, hooray! Now for the fun part: routing the new stator wires through the bike to the connector on the other side... This part did not go well. At all. I saw people saying different ways to just push it through but none of these seemed to work for me. I also saw someone suggest just cutting the wires to the new head and soldering it back on the other side. I was really apprehensive of this idea, but went for it anyway. Problem: I cut the wires too far from the connector head and could not get to the wires to solder them... Thankfully, I had not yet thrown out my old stator wires (they were in good condition, just the old stator was fried to a crisp). I pulled the new wires back through and soldered on the 6-inch extension, and pushed the wires through the bike. I did this by running a really long screwdriver through the right side, carefully through a line of sight to the other side. I taped the wires to the screwdriver and pulled it back through with ease. Then I soldered the wires to the connector head and all was merry.
Thirdly, and the part we may never find out: Did the solder job really work, and is the R/R an issue? I actually had to sell the bike this morning, and I did the fix late last night, and did not have time to ride or test it. However, the buyer took it for a test ride and knew of the stator issue, and it seemed to do just fine. I was sad to see her go, but I had to sell it because I'm off to college on the other side of the state and she can't come with me Also needed the money to cover moving costs.
I'll be in school the next 4 years while I'm getting my master's in psychology, but you better believe I'll be on another silver VFR at the earliest opportunity!

 

Maybe the new owner will shed some light??? If. Wow, what an adventure this was.

 

We might find out in about a week or so:biggrin-new: