replacing the stator

So I just found out that my stator is bad and need to replace it. I am getting a brand new one for $140 from a local shop. SO what is all included. can I do this with just average tools? or do Ineed to pull the flywheel. Im new to the XJ's so I need a little help.

 

What bike do you have? (if you add your bike info to your signiture it would help those who want to hep you) Are you sure it is your stator? It may be the brushes. My 750 was not charging and took the cover to the stator off and found the brushes all but gone.

 

I would definitely check the brushes first. Might be all that is needed. I am sure there is a post on here on how to check the brushes on your machine. Also add your location to your signature as well. Might have someone close to youo that could lend a hand.

 

updated my signature, the shop that has it told me the stator was bad I will go and check the brushes to be sure.

 

Well, FWIW.......there are shops out there that will tell you the truth, and there are shops out there that will tell you all kinds of stuff.

Example:

I picked up an 81 xj650 maxim a couple years ago from a motorcycle shop (NOT near me). A customer brought it in to get it running for the summer, got it to start once....it stalled and he couldn't get it going anymore. They finally got it running and found out what was wrong. They charged him $200.00 to DIAGNOSE the problem. He said he wouldn't pay it, they then added a couple hundred more bucks over time for storage. He ended up taking the title to them and signing it over and walked away.

They, knowing I am into XJ's, wanted to buy a wiring harness from me. I told them I'd buy the bike from them cheap to take it off their hands and out of the way. When I got it, they gave me the copy of the bill so I "would know where to start".

The bill description:

diagnosis -

Battery installed backwards and harness is fried.

Got bike running briefly but within a minute, smoke poured out from under the tank and all fuses blew. Less than a minute later the bike quit running.


Needs: new wiring harness, tci, and battery.

Labor to diagnose problem - $200.00, plus replacement tci (editorial note--the tci was in a bag, and that tci was bought on ebay, used, for $40.00)
----------------------------
Now fast forward to my fixing the bike....

Real problem..... carbs stuck, crank case full of gas, right up to the airbox which was full, too.
Real solution - drained and refilled crankcase, totally disassembled and cleaned carbs. While doing that, did a valve check and swap as needed.

Real problem - rectifier was bad, causing fuses to blow. Replaced rectifer and tci and fuses.

Nothing wrong with the wiring harness, either. Bike has since been sold, the new owner is riding it all over and loving every minute of it.

---------------------------

Finale---- lots of shops don't want to work on the older bikes so they tell a big tale of woe and give a huge estimate. That way one of two things will happen:
1. if repairs are ok-ed, then the shop gets a nice big payment
2. if repairs are not ok-ed then the shop doesn't have to bother

That's where WE come in. WE want to KEEP these bikes running. WE do KNOW how to fix these. WE will do everything possible to keep the cost DOWN.

All that to say....maybe your shop is right. Just quietly double-check anything a shop tells you until you KNOW you can trust them.

Welcome aboard! I am sure you'll be around awhile, now

Dave Fox

 

Thanks for the story hog that sounds pretty screwed up... this guy seems pretty straight forward and has been trying to help me out. I told him today when I picked my bike up that I would find a stator somewhere if needed. I rode it about a mile toward home and it died. I got it into a parking lot and tried to start it up. It ran in neutral like a dream but as soon as I try to put it in gear ( first or second) it dies. It sounds like a side stand switch but it has been pulled off. its a bare ones harness. coils, stator, ignition, and lights. Thats all thats wired the slot for the side stand switch is not plugged into anything. The weird part is that the bike ran fine through all gears for a mile then just died. The guy is going to pick the bike up with his personal trailer and bringing it back to the shop to check it out. I am baffled and had no idea that this thing was going to cause me so much heart/ head ache.

 

Sorry I am not closer to you. Could help you. These bikes are pretty straight forward with a little time. I actually live in the high desert about 70 miles away. I put 84 miles a day on my XJ. I have just short of 70K on bike but only about 35K on the 900 motor. Just repaired my light switch relay with just a automotive relay and a couple of cheap diodes. Been thru this bike top to bottom.

 

I wish we were closer, I found out that the problem is that the side stand switch on the ign. was grounding with the little jump of putting the bike in gear and causing it to die. Weird....

 

either way the worst case scenario is tht I will need to replace my stator... which leads me to my original question, How hard is it? can you do it with normal tools? or am I gonna need impact tools and pullers?

 

The stator just sits in the cases around the rotor; and plugs in. No special tools, you just have to get it correctly aligned.

But I have to agree; that's likely NOT the problem. More likely brushes, or even the rotor first. There's nothing in/on the stator to wear out; it just sits there, hence its name. Which is not to say they can't fail; just that it's quite rare and usually not the cause.

 

So how would I check if its the rotor or the brushes? Also the voltage reg was bad and the guy said that could cause the stator to go out

 

but if it's running fine in neutral and dies when you put it in gear, it looks to point right at the kickstand switch.

If it runs in neutral......put a volt meter on the terminals at the battery and see what the volts are at idle or a hair above. What do the volts go up to when you start giving throttle to increase rpms? Do the volts go up to a certain point and then level out or do they keep climbing and climbing and climbing..........

Planes out around 15 or so, stator and regulator are good.
Keeps climbing and fuses start to blow.....regulator is no good
meter stays at battery charge no matter what....stator is bad.

Dave Fox

 

It doesn't get much simpler than that.

The brushes are located in the generator cover. CAREFULLY remove the cover (the grommet in the cover that the wires go thru is unobtanium) and have a look. They're in the cover; they have little "wear limit" marks cast into them. If you can't SEE the wear limit marks, it's because they're worn beyond.

Since you have to remove that cover to change the stator, might want to look at the brushes first. Then think about cleaning up the rotor they ride against.

Unless you've had some terrible electrical calamity or serious corrosion, I honestly doubt that your stator is bad. If not simply brushes, it's probably more likely a WIRING issue; check the big white plug/connector between the regulator/rectifier and the rest of the harness for burnt pins or signs of overheating (like being melted.)

I think somebody's either guessing or yanking your chain and you're about to spend way too much money unnecessarily.

Get a MANUAL and DIAGNOSE it; otherwise you're just "yachting." (Standing in a stiff breeze tearing up $100 bills.)

 

Yup, that's what I think, too.

Dave

 

well I will check the brushes to make sure I would much rather replace those than pay $140 for a new stator.

 

Brushes are just the first thing to check.

 

Well it happened again... I picked it up from the shop AGAIN this morning and put it in gear (just fine) and went on my way. I got about 2 miles and pulled up to a light the bike died immediately and wouldn't start in gear. It will start and run in neutral but as soon as I kick it in gear it dies immediately. I don't understand what the problem is but I am really really losing my patience with this bike.

 

It sounds like a problem with the sidestand switch "thinking" the stand is down when it's not. If it's been bypassed, maybe it's a problem with the "bypass" wiring. (It can't just be simply disconnected if the safety circuit is still in use.)

Don't get frustrated with the bike; get frustrated with the guys who keep taking your money and telling you they "fixed" it.

 

nothing like that is wired in and even then what would cause it to start interfering with that after riding 2 miles just fine? Yes your right I am not irritated with the bike I am furious with the PO who said the bike is great and he rides it daily and myself who belived him...!

 

A bad coil will do just what you describe.

 

Wouldnt it not run at all with a bad coil? the bike will run all day in neutral... just wont run in gear.

 

A bad coil can be very unpredictable.

 

How could I troubleshoot that?

 

Swap them out with others and see if it still happens. Still sounds like a bad side stand switch. I'd just bypass it for a bit......make a small loop ( a " U " ) of wire with a connector on each end. Disconnect the kickstand at the plugs (under the seat, on the left side, near the inside surface of the inner fender) and plug the " U " in in place of the wires to the kickstand. See what happens. If the bike continues to do the same thing, then you have at least learned that the stand is now eliminated from suspicion and it didn't cost anything to do. If the problem goes away, then it's obviously time for a new switch.

Dave Fox

 

The wiring has been completely redone... nothing but essentials and the side stand switch is not hooked up at all the wires are cut at the side stand. ALso the plug in the ignitor has been soldered by the shop thats working onit as we speak.

 

Reading back through the thread, the bike is supposedly "minimally wired."

If the safety circuits have TRULY been removed, then it could be a problem with the coils as Wiz suggested, or with wiring about anywhere on the bike.

If the bike is only slightly "hacked" but still has the safety relay in the ignition circuit, then there's a problem with one of the "bypasses." Symptoms point to it being the sidestand switch/relay.

Question: Does the "neutral" light still come on, and then go out when the bike's in gear?

I still think there's more left of the original wiring and safety system than what was shared by the PO, and whatever was done to it is what the problem is.

 

Dude.

THIS is the problem. I know you don't want to believe it, but it is.

Here's the hard truth: there are very few shops that have people who know and understand bikes of this era. Most of the guys with the proper skillset are long retired. This is not an '82 Chevy. It's an old example of what was at the time, state of the art engineering. They're NOT "user friendly" in fact they're rather "counter-intuitive" even when it comes to basic maintenance, like valve clearances.

If you plan to actually own, ride, use and maintain one of these bikes, you're going to have to learn to do a lot of this stuff yourself. We've had case after case of guys who took their bike to a supposedly capable shop only to never get it right, or make it worse. You already know these guys are looking for blood, they wanted to charge you for a stator you probably don't need and they probably wouldn't have actually replaced anyway (just charged you for it.)

If you plan to PAY somebody to do everything that will need to be done to make the bike safe and reliable, you're looking at some serious dollars, enough to buy a brand new bike, honest. And that assumes an honest shop, which we know these guys ain't.

Your absolute best bet would be to get a service manual and get your bike back from these yahoos and fix it. Yourself. That's why we're here.

 

I appreciate your honesty and I do believe your opinion to be true. I am good with engines but electrical is my weak side. I took time off work to get this thing fixed wiring wise but I ran into brick wall after brick wall. Eventually I broke down and took it to a shop. The guy seems knowledgable but like you said of bikes of today NOT YESTERDAY. SO at this point I am trying to have him make it run like it did before I brought it to him wityh the problem " battery isnt charging" like you said he took it and ran. He "rewired" the whole bike to "his standards" and when he gives it back the thing wont even go 2 miles without dying. well I got farther than that to begin with on just the battery. So all in all I have learned a valuable lesson... I just need it to run right now so I can get to and from work. I am deploying to Afghanistan in the next few months and plan on having my dad rebuild my engine and carbs while im there (gives him a project). But as for now im just cleaning up the mess the PO made for me.

 

No neutral light on the bike... It has no gauges

 

If you want to use a motorcycle as reliable transportation, it pays to start with a whole bike. Things like speedometers and tachometers were put there for a reason, as were all the various "idiot" lights and safety interlocks. Sorry to hear you're starting with a mess; there are a lot of other safety-related things you should fix first before you can trust this thing as transportation. Like I said, it's not like an old used car. A bike this old takes proper "recommissioning" or you'll spend more time broke down than riding; let alone it's damn dangerous. Your CO would be really pissed if you wound up in the hospital. Have you checked the rear brake for delamination? http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=15874.html

Not to pee in your cornflakes, but that's just the simple truth. Most of the problems you'll encounter don't have quick fixes; you'll need to reverse a quarter century's worth of neglect. And these toads don't have the know how. Get the bike back, and park it until you get it fixed and safe. Please.

 

I plan on putting all that stuff back in once its running but I need to get it back on the road before I spend the money on all that. Ihave not checked for delamination but I did read your thread a while back and went ahead and bought new shoes anyway. just for the peace of mind, and because I have a real spongy pedal so as soon as I get her back I will be doing my rear brakes as well.

 

Uh... no gauges? I don't know about out there, but here that's illegal. Now that we find that out, I wish slightly amend my recommendations to a little bit more than just bypassing the kickstand switch. This is based on the new info that I now see. I don't recall (didn't look back for it either) reading that the wiring was minimized. My bad.

Ok, in light of:

minimized wiring ( what else could be compromised)
no gauges (how can you tell Anything)
re-wiring to "his standards" (whatever they may be)

I recommend that you get a good gauge cluster, get a replacement wiring harness, and get all the relays connected back the way they should be.

Once that's done then I'll have an idea of where to go again.

Dave F

 

the wiring is similar to dwcopples basic wiring diagram that I found on this site. I am going to throw some gauges in but It has to run to know what speed im doing.

 

If it starts after it stalls chances are it's not the charging system, it takes less battery to run than start .
Try moving some wires while It's running in the driveway,
The ignition pickup wires are right by the shifter

 

http://www.fixya.com/motorcycles/t23302 ... t_when_hot

 

Ill give that a shot...

 

The thing is that it wont run in gear... It will run fine for about 2 miles. As soon as I stop (at a light) it dies. so I put it in neutral and it starts and runs fine but as soon as I put it in gear (while running) it dies. also if I try to start it in any gear the starter will just turn... like Im getting no spark...?

 

Some bikes have a cut off so you can't start in gear.
It's not the clutch dragging, is it ?

 

Was wondering that myself. You should be able to tell because the starter will turn a little slower and be under more load. I wouldn't bother trying to start it in gear. The process of getting these bikes to start is a VERY low tolerance game of voltages to begin with. If your battery is just a little low it will turn over, but not enough juice left over to fire your coils. So if your clutch is dragging at all it could be causing your starter to draw more current and your coils are below threshold voltage. When you go into 1st does it do more than clunk-like does the bike lurch any?

 

Hey, here's a question..........how hard to you stop at the traffic lights? I'm now suggesting the possibility that you may have a float issue. It is possible for the bike to stall at a stop when the "fuel surge" factor is great enough to temporarily swamp the plugs. If all the electrical stuff checks out, follow this thought for a bit...............

Dave F

 

Its no at ay light I can stopat lights within 2 miles of my start point but as soon as I get passed my 2 mile point I stop (lightly) and it dies and wont go back in gear while running.

 

ok. I'm thinking......I'm thinking......I'm thinking.......(said in my best "Night at the Smithsonian" impression)

Dave f

 

Thanks Hog, let me know what you come up with because im completely stumped at this point.