160 watt stator rewind.....

Different discipline.... same Hoon behavior
Post Reply
User avatar
AlisoBob
"Hoon-father"
Posts: 15404
Joined: May 31st, 2007, 6:39 pm
Location: Aliso Viejo Ca

160 watt stator rewind.....

Post by AlisoBob »

I really dont like how the headlights dim on my XR650 at idle. WTF was Honda thinking anywys.... :roll:

So I started looking into stators and all the aftermarket ones are 250 watt... but their really 125 watt x 2 outputs. Most guys wire them 125 watt AC directly to the headlight, and 125watt DC for everything else. I dont want to rewire the whole bike, I just wanted a brighter headlight at idle.

So I look into it some more, and find the XR650 communitity is very Hoon-ish as they do all kinds of homemade shit like we do, including rewinding stators. I find exactly what I want after doing a little reserch... "How to rewind your stator for 160 watts in a single output" ( not split )... perfect!

Rather than type is all out, heres the instructions from Snaggle XR650R at the Yahoo XR650 board:

Congrats on the decision to wind it yourself.

To start off, take pictures, or make drawings of how the wires route on the stator itself. This is important, as you will have to emulate this. THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT!!

Strip the stock winding (4 poles), be careful not to mess with the other 2 poles and assoctiated wiring, this is your ignition coil. Look for and clean off any excess epoxy on the 10 poles, so that you will have plenty of room for your new winding. When you unwind the last pole, note the direction that it was wound. This is very important too. Mark the direction on the pole ( Clockwise) and then mark all the poles out to the 8th one in alternating fashion... Clockwise, counter clockwise, clockwise, etc..etc..

You will need to purchase a 1 lb spool of 18 ga. coated magnet wire.

Start your rewind by leaving about 6-8" of extra hanging out of the stator core so you have something to work with when you are done and go to reattach. Start out by zigzagging your first run all the way out to the 8th pole, keep the wire routing tight. Start winding, aim for 40 turns per pole, 4 wraps of 10 winds each. This will give you the desired 320 total turns when your done Keep your winds tight and laying neatly next to eachother, strong hands or a vice will help. When you get to 30 turns, you will start winding back down to the base of each pole so that you can cross over to the next pole. Remindyourself that EACH POLE NEEDS TO BE WOUND IN AN ALTERNATING DIRECTION!!!! KEEP THE WINDS NEAT AND TIGHT!!!

When you are done, you need to solder your two ends of your new coil to the wires that go up to the seat. There is a clear plastic insulation covering on the magnet wire. This will have to carefully scraped off with a knife or sandpaper before you solder. After you scrape it off, check the resistance of your new windings. It should measure .6 ohms with no continunity to the stator core itself.

After everything checks out, go get some "5min epoxy" It usually comes in dual syringes, is water proof and rated for high temp. ~200 deg. This stuff can be found at Lowe's/Home Depot. I bought some tiny paint brushes to apply it. Coat all the exposed areas of the coil neatly. Don't glob it on, just make sure there is a protective "shell" around all the winds. The 650R doesn't have an oil bath in the left side case like other bikes have, so the epoxy really just keeps the coil from coming undone and unwinding and from getting moisture on it.


At this point, if you have your winding wound securely, you can pop it back in your bike and try it briefly to make sure it works. You should be able to notice that your headlight is bright even at idle, this means you did a good job. Further checking would include reading the voltage right before the battery while your headlight, grip heaters etc. are on. You HAVE to have ~13-14VDC to keep the battery charged, if you have >12VDC at idle with all your loads running (not necesarily turnsignals) then you are perfect and will NEVER have a dead battery.

Let us know how it comes out. Also beware, without knowing what wattage your grip heaters are, you may still run your battery down if you keep them on along with your headlight at idle for a period of time.

If your old battery doesn't seem to take a charge with the new coil, don't strip the coil, try a new battery pack. Your old battery pack sounds like it may be on it's last leg...

Good luck.


The hardest part by far is soldering the single 18 ga. wire onto the stranded leads coming from the wiring harness. I consider my soldering skills to be above average, and this was still a bitch. Not mentioned in the write up is all the little insulation sleeves that you will be reusing. Dont loose them while your taking everything apart. Everything else is pretty straightforword....

Heres some photos from my experience.

Image
Heres the stator unbolted from the cover, but still attached to the bike. Pretty sloppy for being a Honda part I thought. Also notice that the base has less windings that the top. I would follow this if I were to rewind another one. Full wraps at the base gets things a little crowded.

Image
Here it is partially stripped. Dont unwrap or disturb the ignition coils!!!

Image
Here I am nearly bleeding to death. When you unwind the outer wraps, little fragments of epoxy are fused with the wire like little thorns. BE CARFULL!!!

Image
Here I am about half way through. You can see my markings "A" for Anti-Clockwise and "C" for Clockwise. You can also see the first run zig-zagging out to the 8th pole, and then how the coils are working their way back to the first pole.

Image
This is what 4 layers of 10 turns each looks like when done correctly. They all dont look like this.... Take your time!! If you really get things all fudged up on your 8th pole, thats alot of work down the drain. If your hands get tired, take a break.

Image
Heres the finished piece ( before epoxy) . Pretty good, but not perfect. Good thing electrons cant see.

I bolted it all back together and kicked her over. No smoke or burning wires to I hit the switch... and was greated with a nice, super bright headlight.

The blinkers flash really well at idle too, with the headlight and brake light both going.

The Baja Designs rectifier / regulator is rated at 160watt, which is what a 8 pole / 40 turn / 320 total turn stator is supposedly put out.

For a $9 / 4 hour labor investment, the results are fantastic.

For you guys with CR250 stators in your 500, you could rewind your in a similar fashion if more juice is needed I suppose.

Its super easy.
User avatar
Roostius_Maximus
Site Admin
Posts: 4641
Joined: November 16th, 2007, 3:24 pm
Location: Mt Nebo, Manitoba, Canada
Contact:

Post by Roostius_Maximus »

nice job :wink:
User avatar
AlisoBob
"Hoon-father"
Posts: 15404
Joined: May 31st, 2007, 6:39 pm
Location: Aliso Viejo Ca

Post by AlisoBob »

I got so much juice now, I'm thinking I have enough to run a HID set-up...



Image

Image


Yup, sure do.

14 volts, at idle, even with the lights on. No flickering or shutdown.

Puuuuurfect.

Cant wait to go for a ride tonight and see how bright everything looks.

:twisted: :twisted: :twisted:
User avatar
sabreguy
Posts: 2915
Joined: June 1st, 2007, 5:07 pm
Location: Middle of the Freakin Mojave Desert!

Post by sabreguy »

Impressive!! :cool:
88CR500
ROOST ON PEOPLE!!!
User avatar
lewisclan
PVT. 1st Class
Posts: 4804
Joined: June 1st, 2007, 3:34 pm
Location: Yucca Valley CA

Post by lewisclan »

Nice Job
Image"the game of life of is not so much in holding a good hand as playing a poor hand well"
User avatar
kball1313
Posts: 285
Joined: February 7th, 2008, 1:02 am
Location: van city

winding

Post by kball1313 »

Yeah nice work. I used the same thread to do mine before. Seems scary, but once you're into it, it's not bad at all, just take the time to wind it in rows as nicely as you can.

The HID stuff mainly needs a decent battery for the initial ignition of the bulb. After that, they'll use less than a normal bulb. Most are in the 35w range, so the current demand is less once it's on.
If if doesn't kill you, it hurts like hell.
Quads are dirtbikes for fat kids.
"SOLID Bro!!"

Post by "SOLID Bro!!" »

90cr500guy
Posts: 494
Joined: July 3rd, 2007, 6:58 pm

Post by 90cr500guy »

Very cool Bob.

I would like to mention one thing for consideration.
I have been researching on how to fix old outboard ignition coils and before doing the epoxy, it is recommended to heat in an oven to remove any moisture first.
My be something to consider if you are doing this mod in a damp climate.

Excellent write up.
Brit's queer
User avatar
AlisoBob
"Hoon-father"
Posts: 15404
Joined: May 31st, 2007, 6:39 pm
Location: Aliso Viejo Ca

Post by AlisoBob »

My garage floor looked like OJ stopped by to say "hi" to Nicole...

Finally had to break out the crazy glue.
nmdesertrider
Posts: 678
Joined: February 22nd, 2008, 8:18 pm

Post by nmdesertrider »

I got a Ricky Stator unit and something is screwed up- whenever I rev the motor the ignition cuts out. I am thinking the lighting coil is grounded somewhere it isn't supposed to be... when I detach from the regulator it works fine.
03 CRF450/85 500
User avatar
AlisoBob
"Hoon-father"
Posts: 15404
Joined: May 31st, 2007, 6:39 pm
Location: Aliso Viejo Ca

Post by AlisoBob »

The lighting coils and ignition coils are independant from one another.

:?: :?: :?:
User avatar
lewisclan
PVT. 1st Class
Posts: 4804
Joined: June 1st, 2007, 3:34 pm
Location: Yucca Valley CA

Post by lewisclan »

You may have put it in backwards
don't ask how I would know that
Image"the game of life of is not so much in holding a good hand as playing a poor hand well"
nmdesertrider
Posts: 678
Joined: February 22nd, 2008, 8:18 pm

Post by nmdesertrider »

You mean the entire assembly? I don't know why that would make a difference- I will give it a try though.
03 CRF450/85 500
User avatar
lewisclan
PVT. 1st Class
Posts: 4804
Joined: June 1st, 2007, 3:34 pm
Location: Yucca Valley CA

Post by lewisclan »

yep
Image"the game of life of is not so much in holding a good hand as playing a poor hand well"
User avatar
2strokeforever
Posts: 1524
Joined: November 13th, 2009, 1:04 pm
Location: Vernon B.C Canada

Post by 2strokeforever »

For you guys with CR250 stators in your 500, you could rewind your in a similar fashion if more juice is needed I suppose.
it dosnt look like there was much free space on mine, youd be lucky to fit 5 extra wraps round each of the 5 lighting poles, but i guess every bit helps
the 450 will have less power and will be harder to start, and will be heavier, but to make up for it it will require more maintenance.
4stroke=dead fish
User avatar
durkn
Posts: 50
Joined: April 8th, 2010, 2:41 am
Location: HI

Post by durkn »

I had Baja Designs rewind mine to 200W in 03, when they were still doing service.

I don't think they are doing service anymore.

Night rides are nice.
Post Reply