Topic: Really dont want to blow another field/stator coil

[campbmic]

I returned from my 2,500 mile trip to Mexico and back a couple of weeks ago. About 50 miles outside of Dallas the bike bogged down and died. The battery was dead. I hauled it home and found the stator coil was no bueno.

This is the 3rd stator coil I've gone through and really don't want to buy another. I did mess with the regulator a bit but I think that if it was overcharging it would have died on one of the previous 600+ mile days.

Any help with whats going on?

[TwoTired]

It's pretty rare for a stator to go bad without some sort of physical trauma.  You are going to have to look for signs of damage on the ones that failed and take steps to prevent that in the future.

Are you using the same alternator cover each time?  Has it been in a crash?

Are there rotation scrape marks on the rotor or the stator?

It's pretty certain that your issue is not actually an electrical one, but rather a physical one.

Cheers,

[campbmic]

I was using the same alternator cover, this time I got a stator/field/alternator cover all for $20.

I haven't wrecked it (knock on wood) but when I bought the bike it wasn't charging.

I just checked and there seems to be some strange wear in one spot on all the field coils. Not for sure if its me being paranoid though.

Also, I do remember a whirring type noise coming from the stator cover throughout a lot of the bike's life. Hopefully with this new cover things will work out. Would it be more probably that the cover was bent in a wreck or could the crankshaft be whats tweeked?

[Duke McDukiedook]

+1, Sounds like a physical problem, not electrical.

[TwoTired]

Let's see...
None of the moving parts should touch the stationary parts.
The field coil won't make the stator go bad.  Stator is the outer coils.  Field coil is in an inner position.
There is some positioning alignment available with the mounting screws.
Hearing noises from the alternator while riding is kind of a signal to stop riding it.

As to what is bent.   Kinda depends on how bad the crash and how it was hit. Ramming the alternator cover into a lamp post at 50 is quite different than tipping it over in the parking lot.  Take out the spark plugs and watch the rotor spin.  Make a pointing device out of coat hanger or other stiff wire and place it close to the rotor while spinning it. 
Watch out for the oil plug popping out if you get enough oil pressure during spinning.
Or, you could spin it with the rear wheel while on the center stand.  Take out the spark plugs, and put it in top gear.

[bryanj]

Way back when saw several bent cranks after accidents---even had success at straigthening a couple with a made up tool, nowadays probably easier to get a used bottom end