I purchased my '02 Superglide in October of 2010 with 13,000 miles on the bike. Unknown to me at the time is that the stator was already bad on it. The owner had purchased a new battery for it so for the first couple hundred miles the bike was running off the battery. Once the battery went dead I found myself dead on the road thinking I had just bought a lemon! I have no idea what kind of fluid or services had been done to the bike. However, I got the stator replaced and haven't had any further problems for the past 5,000 miles. I currently run formula+ in the primary.
Stator Gone Bad
- Thread starter glider.
- Start date
Noticed that my BT Jr. LED was RED all night. Checked the voltage last night and it was 12.96Vdc and this morning was 13.26. I had switched to my new AC converter to make sure the old one was not shot, but it never went GREEN either.
When I fired up to head to the Office, the dash VM was low (in the battery voltage range). So something is wrong. Did not have time to pull the seat and check stuff, so I abandoned the bike in the garage and took the car.
The battery is a fairly new (less than a year) HD battery for this bike. The AC converter is another BT Jr. converter that I had bought but never used. It is new.
Will check the voltage on the battery as soon as I get home. It is just sitting now. If it is way low, then something is pulling off the battery (like bleed-back through the VR), or the battery is bad. Will yank the battery and put it on my charger (not the BT Jr.) until the voltage is over 13 Vdc. Will then take it to AutoZone or OReillys to load test it. 1/2 CCA should be about 125 amps for 15 sec with the Vdc not dropping below 9.8 Vdc on those HD batteries. Got this from Hoople, cause it is not listed anywhere I can find.
If the battery is good, then I need to start debugging the VR and stator (will do sniff test first!).
So got home and checked the Vdc. Almost 13 Vdc. Pulled the battery out of the bike and put it on the charger. Then openned up the Primary chain inspection plate - STINKY!! Smells burnt! I am betting it is the Stator now. Need to check to see if it is putting out the required Vac at rpm, but the last time it failed in '08, it was putting out adequate Vac, but still had burnt coils. But I will check it, since if it is NOT putting out Vac, that is a clear failure!
Pulled the charger off the battery and it read over 13.3 Vdc. Plugged in the Battery Tender Jr. We'll see if it goes green after a bit. It did.
Tomorrow I will check for Vac out of the stator, and then decide if I need to open up the primary to replace it or not.
TQ
When I fired up to head to the Office, the dash VM was low (in the battery voltage range). So something is wrong. Did not have time to pull the seat and check stuff, so I abandoned the bike in the garage and took the car.
The battery is a fairly new (less than a year) HD battery for this bike. The AC converter is another BT Jr. converter that I had bought but never used. It is new.
Will check the voltage on the battery as soon as I get home. It is just sitting now. If it is way low, then something is pulling off the battery (like bleed-back through the VR), or the battery is bad. Will yank the battery and put it on my charger (not the BT Jr.) until the voltage is over 13 Vdc. Will then take it to AutoZone or OReillys to load test it. 1/2 CCA should be about 125 amps for 15 sec with the Vdc not dropping below 9.8 Vdc on those HD batteries. Got this from Hoople, cause it is not listed anywhere I can find.
If the battery is good, then I need to start debugging the VR and stator (will do sniff test first!).
So got home and checked the Vdc. Almost 13 Vdc. Pulled the battery out of the bike and put it on the charger. Then openned up the Primary chain inspection plate - STINKY!! Smells burnt! I am betting it is the Stator now. Need to check to see if it is putting out the required Vac at rpm, but the last time it failed in '08, it was putting out adequate Vac, but still had burnt coils. But I will check it, since if it is NOT putting out Vac, that is a clear failure!
Pulled the charger off the battery and it read over 13.3 Vdc. Plugged in the Battery Tender Jr. We'll see if it goes green after a bit. It did.
Tomorrow I will check for Vac out of the stator, and then decide if I need to open up the primary to replace it or not.
TQ
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Replaced bad stator in 1997 Fatboy last month. Bike had been in storage for some time (several other posts on HDT regarding storage-related issues). Bike bought with 6700 original miles, type of lubes unknown, but once I got the bike home changed to Catrol Synthetic in all 3 holes, which I have also been running in 05 Road King for 20K+ .
Stator death obvious when stranded in Ocoee River Gorge with approximately 7800 miles on the bike, 1100 miles of road after purchase.
Not sure if the 4 stator windings that went bad were in the oil or not during storage, or even if this had anything to do with them going bad, but they were in order/sequential. Of note, the VR was bad, too. Diagnosis of both these problems very easy with HDT Self Help information and a new digital meter.
Stator, regulator, quart of primary fluid, new torque wrench and new digital meter $160.
Labor took about 4.5 hours, my first time into the primary.
Difficulty: Moderate
If you try this yourself, note that you do not have to remove the primary chains from the rear sprocket and clutch pack, just the front.
Stator death obvious when stranded in Ocoee River Gorge with approximately 7800 miles on the bike, 1100 miles of road after purchase.
Not sure if the 4 stator windings that went bad were in the oil or not during storage, or even if this had anything to do with them going bad, but they were in order/sequential. Of note, the VR was bad, too. Diagnosis of both these problems very easy with HDT Self Help information and a new digital meter.
Stator, regulator, quart of primary fluid, new torque wrench and new digital meter $160.
Labor took about 4.5 hours, my first time into the primary.
Difficulty: Moderate
If you try this yourself, note that you do not have to remove the primary chains from the rear sprocket and clutch pack, just the front.
wobelsocket
Member
2006 Street Bob, ran harley oils, a whoppping 10,000 miles.
The HD service manual for your year and model bike would be tool number one. 1-3/16", and 1-1/4" sockets. Large breaker bar (the smaller you are the bigger you need), torque wrenches to 145 ft.lbs. Misc hand tools. At a minimum, you'll need these.
