Stator/Generator/Magneto kinda bad, R/R seems good... : Suzuki GSX-R Motorcycle Forums: Gixxer.com

**Bohn101** · 11-04-2012, 03:26 AM

So K3 has ~31,000 miles. It's done some weird things, such as feeling like it's turned off while riding, then I twist the throttle and power is back on. Still wondering if its in my head. It's also just died for no apparent reason. I pull over, thinking WTF, then it starts back up.

I recently came back from a trip and when I went to ride, the battery was dead. I jump started it and figured it would just charge up on the ride. Well, after a 30 minute ride, I got gas and it wouldn't start. There was a nice hill, so I just roll started it.

This was also super weird, I was racing a friend, kinda forgot to shift... Went to redline, bike didn't like that. Lost power, saw F1 flash on the dash, and rolled to a dead stop. While I was slowing I was trying to fire it back up but it wouldn't start. Sat a few minutes, turned it around, and got roll started (thank fully, cause that would suck to tow).

Rode around some more, then had an opportunity to charge the battery on the charger. I believe the battery is good. It was at 12.65 volts after 2 weeks of sitting and I hadn't put it on a charge since the last time I limped it home.

Okay, so I went through the service manual...

Step 2.
The battery current leak was about .3 mA (with in spec of under 3 mA).

Step 3.
The regulated voltage was low, appeared to be battery voltage @ ~12 V (suppose to be 14.0-15.5 V @ 5,000 RPM).

Step 4.
Measured the resistance of the generator coils, they were 0.2-0.9 OHM for 2 legs and OPEN to one of the legs (all suppose to be 0.2-0.9 OHM).

Step 5.
Measured generator no-load voltage of ~65-70 V and 2 legs ~40 V @ 5,000 RPM (suppose to be more than 65 V @ 5,000 RPM)

Step 6.
All the measured values for the regulator/rectifier were with-in spec.

Another couple things I noticed... When I bought the bike, it was leaking a little oil from the stator cover. I removed the cover, cleaned the surfaces, then applied high temp silicone gasket maker, fixed the leak (but am thinking that someone was in there at one point). The R/R is aftermarket and looks cheap, cause when I went to test it, there was no coupler, instead it had all 5 wires were individually soldered together.

So, I'm assuming that the stator is bad. The R/R appears fine even though it's jimmy rigged and electrical taped together. Should I just replace the stator/generator only or also replace the R/R?

Has anyone had these weird problems? As always, any input would be appreciated!

This is a pic of the R/R, everybody like pics.

**BillV** · 11-04-2012, 11:35 AM

It does sound like your stator is toast. Did you check the resistance to ground? With soldered connections I assume that you unsoldered to do the resistance checks.

Someone has previously replaced the R/R. The stator connector is well known to fail due to overheating. Rather than replace it they just soldered the leads. The missing protective wrap around the harness suggests that they weren't very skilfull. Your R/R might be one of the Shindengen MOSFET types. See here. They're supposedly better but I don't have any direct experience.

I don't see any compelling reason to replace the R/R but there's always a risk in only replacing the stator. You might also consider reinstalling the connector but good electrical connections on each of the three legs is critical. I'd also be inclined to solder each wire to the contact (six places) rather than relying on the crimp. Some black vinyl wrap to clean up the harness would also be advisable.

It would be nice to put some non-reversible temperature indicating stickers on the connector and R/R to see how hot they get. But I can't find any small quantities at a reasonable price. There are some reversible types on ebay. Niftech sells some though I'd prefer a higher range, like to 250 ºF.

P.S. After some more hunting it looks like your R/R might be this, which is a non-MOSFET type.

**Bohn101** · 11-09-2012, 03:26 AM

Thanks for the reply Billy. I ended up ordering a new aftermarket Accel stator.

You'll love what I found when I took off the stator cover! I took some pics and I know somebodies gonna cringe!

So apparently who ever had this bike before was a serious hack. They soldered in the R/R. Then it turned out that they didn't use any loctite when they installed a new stator. Well here's what happen when you don't do that.

So it was interesting a few months ago, I heard some terrible noises coming from my bike. I described it as an alien squealing as it was getting ground up in the motor. I had no idea what it was, or where it was coming from. When I heard it the first time I just twisted the throttle and the sound went away. It never really came back. Then I started just having weird issues with the bike dying and various electrical issures. Well, I'm excited to say I know what it was from now.

Were do I get some of those stator bolts on short notice, Home Depot? I was thinking about just cleaning up the threads, throwing on some loctite and vice gripping them back in. See if my hack skills are superior to the previous owners. I've cooled off a little bit since then :-)

Anyways here's the new stator, I can't wait to ride again!

**Enzio** · 11-09-2012, 04:13 AM

Wow....just wow.

I think you are very lucky to have caught those loosening bolts before they caused some serious damage!

**BillV** · 11-11-2012, 11:31 AM

I gather that Accel has discontinued the GSXR stator and that you found a NOS one. All I can find on their web site are Harley parts. Too bad as it looks like a quality part. Did it come with both halves of the electrical connector?

It's hard to tell from your pictures where the screws were rubbing on the rotor. Was it where the hub meets the side? I'd make damm sure that there isn't any metal missing there as that's likely to be a high stress area and you sure don't want it breaking there. Hooray for hacks.