motoman1979
XS400 Member
You can be sure that I was quite excited when that process was complete. Once it was all re-assembled I cranked her over and she started!!! But...she ran like crap. And...was not charging at all!! That was a bit devastating cause now I had to track down the culprit. I assumed that my new Voltage R/R from Ricks was good and that really confused me in this whole process. I ended up walking away from the bike for the better part of the summer rather than hang out in my underground parking dungeon while the sun was shining.
But, eventually I found the energy to revisit my wounded machine. Since the bike wasn't charging I thought that maybe the stator was pooched. I ended going through and checking all of the components of the bike's charging system again and found that on their own, according to my multimeter everything tested out good. I then figured out how the field coil actually worked and decided to test it's function. When the bike was turned on, their was no magnetization happening. I ended up hardwiring the field coil to the battery, bypassing the voltage regulator, turned on the bike and voila...it was charging!! I had a spare old stock voltage regulator which I then plugged into my wiring harness and left that portion of the new R/R unplugged and the bike continued to work well. My stator is still a little in question as the voltage output numbers are not as high as they should be. Currently at 2000rpm the bike is charging up to 13.2 volts, should be around 14.5V. But at least it is charging now. The bike needs to go for a ride to really see how it is charging. Which I will do with a voltage reader attached to the battery as I ride.
All that to say that my voltage R/R from Rick's was not working as it should. I contacted Rick's with my findings and they promptly started to communicate with me regarding this issue. Within 2 days they have now figured out what they think the issue is and are sending me 2 new R/R units first class in the mail in order to fix the problem and ultimately solve the incompatibility issue so that this problem does not arise with future units they sell for the XS400. Amazing customer support! I can't say enough about how impressed I am with their promptness and their eagerness to get this problem solved. This is a company which ultimately stands behind their work and their products. Once the parts arrive, I will message again with the final results!!
But, eventually I found the energy to revisit my wounded machine. Since the bike wasn't charging I thought that maybe the stator was pooched. I ended going through and checking all of the components of the bike's charging system again and found that on their own, according to my multimeter everything tested out good. I then figured out how the field coil actually worked and decided to test it's function. When the bike was turned on, their was no magnetization happening. I ended up hardwiring the field coil to the battery, bypassing the voltage regulator, turned on the bike and voila...it was charging!! I had a spare old stock voltage regulator which I then plugged into my wiring harness and left that portion of the new R/R unplugged and the bike continued to work well. My stator is still a little in question as the voltage output numbers are not as high as they should be. Currently at 2000rpm the bike is charging up to 13.2 volts, should be around 14.5V. But at least it is charging now. The bike needs to go for a ride to really see how it is charging. Which I will do with a voltage reader attached to the battery as I ride.
All that to say that my voltage R/R from Rick's was not working as it should. I contacted Rick's with my findings and they promptly started to communicate with me regarding this issue. Within 2 days they have now figured out what they think the issue is and are sending me 2 new R/R units first class in the mail in order to fix the problem and ultimately solve the incompatibility issue so that this problem does not arise with future units they sell for the XS400. Amazing customer support! I can't say enough about how impressed I am with their promptness and their eagerness to get this problem solved. This is a company which ultimately stands behind their work and their products. Once the parts arrive, I will message again with the final results!!
