Bad Charging System... What do I need?

So I was told my charging system was dying and it finally gave it. I know I need a new stator and rectifier. My friend also told me to just get a new battery while I'm at it. My question is, is there anything else I need to swap?


It seems like a good idea to swap the stator coil also but is it necessary?


Please shed some light. Thanks.

what bike.....have you had the charging system ck'd? before throwing money at it have a good mechanic ck it out...it should be less than 1hr labor to test and give you a break down of all the component conditions....joe@ vcycle

It's a CB550F. I brought it to a mechanic after I purchased the bike and they told me the stator and rectifier was going bad.

It's real easy to test the charging system. All u need is a multi-meter. With the bike off check the battery voltage and make note of the reading. Start the bike and check the meter. If the number goes up or stays the same as your original reading your system is charging. If it goes down, it's not charging and the bike is running off the battery. If the voltage goes above 14.5 or so,or spikes erratically , say up to 15 or 16, it's the regulator.

I usually replace the regulator and rectifier with a combo unit first. (Rick's Electrics). With a new reg/rect in place check the charging system again, as outlined above.If you still have problems replace or have the stator rebuilt.

wtf does going bad mean? you need a better mechanic.
joe@ vcycle

joea said:

wtf does going bad mean? you need a better mechanic.
joe@ vcycle

Click to expand...

+1

Either your 'mechanic' doesn't know what he's doing , or, he doesn't know what he's doing. ;D
It's either failed or is fine, there is no such thing as 'dying' : (slightly dead, little more serious than slightly pregnant but it's one or the other)
The rectifier usually doesn't have any problems other than the red/white lead corroding off which is pretty easy to spot.
The regulator is mechanical and about as reliable as a rock
550f has a very reliable charging system, only time I broke mine was by throwing it on the floor at 80+
It doesn't put out massive amount of amps so you can't run too many accessories but the entire thing works well.

Either way I had the stator rebuilt and replaced the rectifier. It seems like most of the electrical components are 'bad' as replacing those pieces didn't do the job.

You must have a 12v switched to the field coil in center of alternator.
regulator will switch it on and off to vary voltage (around 60 times a second)
BTW, that's the simple explanation

sorry to hear you threw money at it and had no success....a good mechanic would have already had it running and cost you less...i see it often people will throw money/parts at it as they think it will cost them too much to have a good mechanic fix it...
joe@ vcycle

Got to agree with joea.
When I ran workshops we would eventually get people who had spent literally thousands having 'repairs' done every few weeks at 'backyard shops' to 'save money'
They were afraid of our labour rates.
After we fixed bike in a few hours (usually fixing all the previous repairs : ) we wouldn't see them for a few months, but, we would see a lot of people they knew (lot of people would come and hang out when they knew we were not ripping them off)
If there are a bunch of people in shop, it tends to attract more, bikers want to know what's going on ;D
You still need to be careful, there are a lot of places that will rip you off, but, you should know reputation of shops/mechanics near you
Where are you located?
I may know someone who can actually do electrical testing (I've taught several thousand students who are all over the US)

Thanks for the feedback guys. I've actually brought the bike to another shop after failing to wrench it myself. This mechanic seemed a lot more reliable. He is charging me no where as much as what the first shop quoted me. I'll be out of the country for about a month and he's going to take care of everything for me. Hopefully everything turns out well. I'll keep you guys updated!

when i bought my bike the previous owner told me i needed four things to own and enjoy a vintage bike 1. a multimeter 2. a tow/recovery vehicle 3. patience 4. a mechanic friend (or alot of money).