Bad Stator, Part 1

I had begun to notice that the “V” light was taking much longer to turn off than the “FI” light when starting my 2003 SW (88000 miles). Noticeably longer. I initially attributed the “V” light delay issue to a pending need for a belt change. But when I also started having a slow starting issue and then the clock and trip odo reset themselves I decided to check the battery voltage and found that it to be 11+ volts.

I put the battery on trickle charge for a day or so. When I restarted the scoot all seemed well but the “V” light still had that long delay. While the scoot was idling I checked that battery voltage and found that it was just a bit over 12 volts and when I cranked it up to 3000rpms there was no increase in voltage. That indicated that the alternator system wasn’t putting out any volts.

I checked the FSM (Chapter 18) for alternator/stator test info. The coils-to-coils test was within spec at 0.1-0.5 ohms indicating that there was no internal short, while the coils-to-ground meter check showed 0.1 ohms. Now to me zero point anything indicated that there was no connection and therefore no short to ground either –but, hey, maybe I could be wrong in that assumption.

A You Tube search turned up test, not shown in the FSM, for voltage output of the individual stator coils while the engine was running. At idle two of the three coils (coil-to-ground) were putting out over12 VAC but one coil was putting out 11 VAC. At 2800 rpm the one coil remained 11 volts while the other two increased to 19+ volts AC. So even though the FSM tests seemed to indicate that the stator was okay, in fact, there was a problem.

After checking various sources I ordered a new stator from Partzilla for $167, a considerable savings over the list price of ~$225.