Fred and Ella done: Wow, haven't needed anything for a long time, very surprised, they were always there: of course yesterday alternator just quit:

Just went out yesterday, and prior to leaving checked the status of the battery, multimeter showed 12.35v. I was shocked. Took it out about 3 weeks earlier and registered 12.86v according to records. Took it out anyway and came back 2 hrs plus later after a few stops. Checked again 12.20v Brought it back up with a Ctek charger the next morning 12.96V. I assumed that the Motobatt , 1 year old battery was still good and took the charge. Stator/alt. is over 17 years old. Should have put a multimeter on it immediately and revved the engine to see if I got between 13.5 and 15v, but I didn't. Just guessing that is the issue, maybe rotor too??? My current stator is a 3 wire Sparx unit. I see many of the new units out there are 2 wire units, can I use one of those by joining 2 wires into one? Thanks Robert TN
 
Robert Shaw said:
Just went out yesterday, and prior to leaving checked the status of the battery, multimeter showed 12.35v. I was shocked. Took it out about 3 weeks earlier and registered 12.86v according to records. Took it out anyway and came back 2 hrs plus later after a few stops. Checked again 12.20v Brought it back up with a Ctek charger the next morning 12.96V. I assumed that the Motobatt , 1 year old battery was still good and took the charge. Stator/alt. is over 17 years old. Should have put a multimeter on it immediately and revved the engine to see if I got between 13.5 and 15v, but I didn't. Just guessing that is the issue, maybe rotor too??? My current stator is a 3 wire Sparx unit. I see many of the new units out there are 2 wire units, can I use one of those by joining 2 wires into one? Thanks Robert TN
Click to expand...
I have 50 year old stators and rotors that work fine. Before wasting money, check with it running at 3000 rpm. If it is not charging, disconnect the three stator and connect your meter to any two leads with your meter set on AC volts. Start the bike and see what it says at 3000 RPM. Then choose another pair and do the same, then choose the final paid and check one last time. This will be much easier with ananalog rather than digital meter. You should see around 30 volts on each pair. If you do, there's nothing wrong with your rotor or stator. The likely causes, in order:
1) bad connection(s) from the Sparx
2) bad connection(s) to the Sparx
3) bad Sparx
4) bad capacitor if installed - you can simply remove it.
5) bad battery (unlikely since your charger works)

No don't connect stator wires together. If you need a new stator, 3-wire and 2-wire cost about the same and since you have a 3-wire regulator, get 3-wire. Unless you can define a need, get a Lucas 10.5 amp three-wire, not a Lucas 14.5 amp 3-wire.
 
I have had a lot of problems with Motobatts failing. Several have appeared to charge but the voltage drops a lot when the battery is loaded. Check voltage after charging with a load such as a headlight. If the voltage drops a lot the battery is trash.
 
marshg246 said:
I have 50 year old stators and rotors that work fine. Before wasting money, check with it running at 3000 rpm. If it is not charging, disconnect the three stator and connect your meter to any two leads with your meter set on AC volts. Start the bike and see what it says at 3000 RPM. Then choose another pair and do the same, then choose the final paid and check one last time. This will be much easier with ananalog rather than digital meter. You should see around 30 volts on each pair. If you do, there's nothing wrong with your rotor or stator. The likely causes, in order:
1) bad connection(s) from the Sparx
2) bad connection(s) to the Sparx
3) bad Sparx
4) bad capacitor if installed - you can simply remove it.
5) bad battery (unlikely since your charger works)

No don't connect stator wires together. If you need a new stator, 3-wire and 2-wire cost about the same and since you have a 3-wire regulator, get 3-wire. Unless you can define a need, get a Lucas 10.5 amp three-wire, not a Lucas 14.5 amp 3-wire.
Click to expand...
why the 10.5 stator instead of the 14.5 stator?
 
Eff Motobat.
The one in my RZ350 lasted 7 months.

The H2 even less.

Junk made in China. Then Malaysia.
5F1FF9EB-409E-44F5-83B8-92BFF063D8B7.jpeg
B1ACA03B-C9E1-4E30-AFF3-39993017AF1B.jpeg

ALLEGED "AGM" ruined the brand new paint.
 

Attachments

  • Fred and Ella done: Wow, haven't needed anything for a long time, very surprised, they were always there: of course yesterday alternator just quit:
    3E907F2A-D018-463E-832C-7084F33A9E28.jpeg
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Last edited:
seattle##gs said:
why the 10.5 stator instead of the 14.5 stator?
Click to expand...
When the bikes were built, 2-wire 10amp was plenty. Unless you've added more power consumers, 10 amps is still plenty. Anything you don't use is thrown away as heat. 2-wire (single phase) is also plenty, but 3-wire (three phase) does provide more power at lower RPMs than 2-wire. So, if you have a modern regulator that can use 3-wire, then I recommend using 3-wire. If you have LEDs for some of your lighting, then 10 amps is overkill!

If you have a Tri-Spark MOSFET or similar regulator, you can use 2-wire stator with the 3-wire regulator. You simply connect the two stator wires to two of the yellow wires. So, for people who want to get rid of the bridge and Zener(s), they can stick with 2-wire stators.

BTW, the original wiring cannot handle more than 8 amps long-term so it's clear that a bike wired as original does not need 10 amps to run and charge.

I stock both 10.5 and 14.5 3-wire stators because American males always think more is better and sometimes, I fail to get them to see the light.

All stators from me to forum members are $100.00 plus shipping but I only have 3-wire in stock right now and limited numbers (more coming soon).
 
just posted a reply, maybe didn't go through. Just wondering while I perform these tests (already have primary cover off and oil drained) can I run these short tests with cover off, and no oil or do I have to re attach and fill oil level back up???? Thank you
 
Robert Shaw said:
just posted a reply, maybe didn't go through. Just wondering while I perform these tests (already have primary cover off and oil drained) can I run these short tests with cover off, and no oil or do I have to re attach and fill oil level back up???? Thank you
Click to expand...
Except that the chain might fling residual oil all over the place it's fine to run for a while with the cover off.
 
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