[thombaugh]

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Hi All,

I've recently got a 81 GL1100 standard that runs well and looks great for the age but it's not charging. I'm getting 12.5-13 voltage at 2000rpm and I can't figure out from the manuals if this is correct or not, I think that for this model year it's okay but for 82+ it must be 14V? Anyway I also get continuity from all three stator leads to chassis ground, is this enough to assume that the stator is bad? I haven't been able to measure the amps while it's running because my multimeter I guess won't let enough amps through to get it started, suppose I need a dedicated ammeter. The R/R seems to be functioning ok from what I can tell, and the guy I bought it off of said he replaced it. So is it time to drop the engine? As you probably guessed I'm a hack mechanic and not very good at diagnosing so any help pointing me in the right direction would be much appreciated. I wanna get this puppy on a nice long ride!

Cheers,

CT

 

[brianinmaine]

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please read this post to determine the status of your stator:
http://www.goldwingfacts.com/forums/view_topic.php?id=5498
The continuity to ground is a BAD thing. You will have to remove the engine to do that and remove the rear cover.

Welcome to the forum from Maine, USA! You are quite a ways from me!

 

[thombaugh]

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I'll give those instructions a try and go from there. I figured it's going to be a new stator . Thanks for the info!

Me and the bike are currently in California so still far away but not as far for the moment...

Cheers,

CT

 

[Nightrider1]

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Have you cut the 3 yellow wires at the connector in front of the battery and soldered them? PLUS, I have found a cheap batery that is NOT a 20 amp hour will not show a lower charge.. Are you running a lot of running lights? Put switches in it to tutn them off in the daytime. If you are going city mostly, 13 is about all you may get and loose its battery power. I run in 4th gear in the city. Make sure your terminals and ground are kept clean. 13 Amps should charge a battery unless its lit up. Stator may be dying, or Voltage regulator.
Try checking your battery, and make sute it's filled with distilled wayer. If it's nearly dry, you might be able to shock it. (Ask Mike Kramer about this). It saved one of my batteries. I thought I had a bad stator, but I went to Autozone, and got me a 2 piece Voltmeter. It can plug directly onto your battery, or in your cig. lighter. Careful though. It will show a 1 volt drop a lot of times on the cig. lighter because of rust. They cost about $12.00. A good investment though. As the bike is running, hook it directly onto the battery, Negative side 1st, then Hot. See what you output is at 1800rpms,, 2000, 2500. By 2500, it should be around 14.4 or climbing with the correct battery. If you have to replace the stator, put on a Poor Boy alternator. You will never have any charging problems again. Ask wadawing what kind of alternator he has on his. Its a good set up. (I believe that us what he has on his) Mike Kramer put one on his. You can light your Wing up like a christmas tree in the daylight.
Good Luck,
Nightrider1
P.S.
On my 83 1100 Aspencade, I must have a good charge to do city driving, or I will run my battery down with just listening to my Clarion Radio. On the interstate, I do not have this problem. I have to run in 3rd gear on the Aspencade in city driving.

 

[redbaron]

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It is one half a dozen or another answers to this problem.....I have to do mine the hard way because of a screw up by someone else....Due to the fact that my stator bolt stripped out of the stator and causing loads of damage to rear case.....I can't just go putting a "poor boy" conversation on mine without pulling my engine, replace the rear case, stator gears etc....Mine was putting out good voltage, ( 14.8 at 2000 rpm) so I know my stator is good....But if my stator ever goes out and I still have this Wing....... I won't pull the engine again !!!!! I will opt for a poor boy conversion....Yeah it does call for pulling the timing belt covers, installing a new pulley, cutting a hole in timing cover and fitting the new brackets to your frame...But hey...That beats pulling and engine any day......

Claude.....

 

[Dadoo]

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A poor boy conversion is good, but would look silly on a Standard, which is what we are talking about. If you don't have too much extra load, the stator will do fine. My Interstate, with the full Clarion II radio system, charges just fine around town with the original stator AND plug. My only mod is LED tail lights. If the stator is bad, a new one will charge more than enough on a Standard. Let us know what you find.

John

 

[thombaugh]

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Hi All,

So went back and measured the voltage across all legs of the stator and I get ~45V but on last one around 5V. So this combined with my nice connection to ground on all of them pretty much confirms the bad stator I guess? I'm not afraid to pull the engine but I'd hate to put it all back together to find out it's something else! If I had time, the poorboy conversion looks attractive because I would like to dress it up a bit but for now I'd like to get in a nice long ride before Summer is over.

So any advice on dropping the engine and finding a good stator? I saw I guy on ebay that rebuilds them and he looks good, any experience with that?

Cheers,

CT

 

[AZgl1800]

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Are saying that you measured ~45 volts on two of the windings, but on a 3rd winding you only measure ~5 volts?


If that is what you meant, the stator is bad, and will have to be rebuilt or replaced.

 

[thombaugh]

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Well, got the stator out and it was nice and charred. Got it rebuilt from Tim Parrott off Ebay and looks like a real nice job with good wiring. Engine removal wasn't that bad trickest thing for me was getting to the tach cable but I just left that in, and I don't know why you are supposed to remove the clutch cover, didn't and was fine. Taking the shaft off was a bit tricky until figure out that there is enough play to just push it off when the engine is still in the mounts Been running good and ready to head on a nice trip now!

Thanks all for the advice!

Cheers,

CT

 

[Keno]

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Thanks for the post back on the fix. Now go ride...:waving:Keno