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Can a blown fuse be the symptom of a bad stator?

sarcastik

sarcastik

New member
Joined
Feb 21, 2007
Location
Oakland, Ca
Moto(s)
'06 GS500F
My buddy really knows bikes so normally don't cross check his work, but when it comes to dropping hundreds on a new part I figured I would post here first. We spent a good portion of sunday afternoon looking over my 636 to figure out why the main fuse blew...twice. After looking through the manual and running tests on everything, we (well he) eventually came to the determination that the stator was causing power surges and blowing the fuse. Throwing in a new stator would obviously fix this. So I just want to verify that this sounds reasonable with anyone else familiar with bikes and also if people could recommend a place to buy the stator because he recommended not purchasesing electrical parts used because if they go bad again your screwed. THANKS!
 
Highly doubtful a bad stator would cause that.
 
sarcastik said:
My buddy really knows bikes so normally don't cross check his work, but when it comes to dropping hundreds on a new part I figured I would post here first. We spent a good portion of sunday afternoon looking over my 636 to figure out why the main fuse blew...twice. After looking through the manual and running tests on everything, we (well he) eventually came to the determination that the stator was causing power surges and blowing the fuse. Throwing in a new stator would obviously fix this. So I just want to verify that this sounds reasonable with anyone else familiar with bikes and also if people could recommend a place to buy the stator because he recommended not purchasesing electrical parts used because if they go bad again your screwed. THANKS!
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Your buddy does not know bikes, sorry. Stators don't power surge, they just lose voltage. Did you buddy actually take a reading on the stator output? Or did he read the stator output using a DC setting on his meter? That would show HUGE surges of power, until you changed the meter to AC, then it would stop.
 
he tested the output at different points along the electrical path. As is outlined in the handbook. Does anyone have an idea of what it could be because we initially tested for a ground on the frame and found nothing. Open to ideas...
 
You have a short to ground somewhere. Most likely a wire getting pinched somewhere, or chaffing against metal. Could also be an electrical component but that is less common.
 
If you started blowing fuses with a new stator, it's because you have a short somewhere, and the new stator enables the reg/rec to deliver enough current to the system to blow the fuse.

Fix your underlying problem.
 
sarcastik said:
he tested the output at different points along the electrical path. As is outlined in the handbook. Does anyone have an idea of what it could be because we initially tested for a ground on the frame and found nothing. Open to ideas...
Click to expand...

That means diddly. Did he TEST Alternator output? At the connection? That is how you eliminate the alternator/stator as a problem. And if he had the wrong setting on the meter, it looks like a surge. It could be a bad starter, or a short.
 
teg916 said:
You have a short to ground somewhere. Most likely a wire getting pinched somewhere, or chaffing against metal. Could also be an electrical component but that is less common.
Click to expand...
this.
 
Not possible for a stator to create a power surge.

Stators generate AC current. Always set the meter to AC voltage. Label the three wires from the stator A, B, and C. Then check the voltage between A and B, B and C, C and A, all with the engine running at about 4000 rpm. Then, set the meter to ohms, shut the engine and ignition off, and measure the resistance betwee A and the engine case, B and the engine case, and C and the engine case. Note all readings and report back.
 
Electrical problems can be frustrating. If you really have power surges it might be the regulator. I had a bad regulator in an older bike and it kept blowing the tail light. However if your blowing the main fuse which is 30 amp, then you most likely have a short.
 
ST Guy said:
Not possible for a stator to create a power surge.

Stators generate AC current. Always set the meter to AC voltage. Label the three wires from the stator A, B, and C. Then check the voltage between A and B, B and C, C and A, all with the engine running at about 4000 rpm. Then, set the meter to ohms, shut the engine and ignition off, and measure the resistance betwee A and the engine case, B and the engine case, and C and the engine case. Note all readings and report back.
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^ :thumbup
 
ST Guy said:
Not possible for a stator to create a power surge.

Stators generate AC current. Always set the meter to AC voltage. Label the three wires from the stator A, B, and C. Then check the voltage between A and B, B and C, C and A, all with the engine running at about 4000 rpm. Then, set the meter to ohms, shut the engine and ignition off, and measure the resistance betwee A and the engine case, B and the engine case, and C and the engine case. Note all readings and report back.
Click to expand...

Also worth adding to this...I had a problem with a stator on a ZX6R recently where the stator was grounding out. Another way to check this is to flip on the bike, rev it to 4k, and check AC volts against the engine ground. If you're getting more than a couple volts of bleed over, your stator is grounding out. It was confusing because it gave good readings when I checked the A->C wires, and passed the resistance test according to the values in the manual, but when you checked it while actually running, it was shunting 42v of AC to the engine ground.

Either way, your main fuse isn't blowing because of the stator. It's blowing because you've got a wire grounding out somewhere in your wiring harness. Visually check the harness for fraying or wearing as a starting point, and there's other options if you can't find any obvious damage to the harness or the connectors.
 
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Z3n said:
Also worth adding to this...I had a problem with a stator on a ZX6R recently where the stator was grounding out. Another way to check this is to flip on the bike, rev it to 4k, and check AC volts against the engine ground. If you're getting more than a couple volts of bleed over, your stator is grounding out. It was confusing because it gave good readings when I checked the A->C wires, and passed the resistance test according to the values in the manual, but when you checked it while actually running, it was shunting 42v of AC to the engine ground.
Click to expand...


Good idea. :thumbup

OP, add this test:

Set the meter to AC volts. Run the engine at 4000 rpm when taking the voltage readings. Read between wire A and the engine case. Read between wire B and the engine case. Read between wire C and the engine case. Note readings and report back.
 
Clean, concise instructions...wanna ghost write my posts? :laughing
 
If you want to burn down the barn to get rid of the rats, you might as well buy a new wiring harness and replace the whole thing. Might not be the most economical approach, but it'll most likely fix the problem.
 
sixtytwo said:
If you want to burn down the barn to get rid of the rats, you might as well buy a new wiring harness and replace the whole thing. Might not be the most economical approach, but it'll most likely fix the problem.
Click to expand...

What? No way.. Put it on the dyno.. that'll fix it.. :laughing
 
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