2013 XC300, Help Turning The Lights Back On

[BLD]

Help!

I started undoing electrical tape on my XC to fix a broken wire on my e-start, and have opened Pandora?s Box! FYI, E-start is all good... now to fix the lights!

What voltage should be coming into the light switch on the yellow wire? Is it DC or AC? I see one leg of the yellow comes from inside the stator / gen cover. The other yellow conductor that feeds the yellow leg of the light switch (3-way splice) comes from the regulator. I?m reading .1VDC or 1VAC while checking the yellow with the bike running and revving.

I get 12VDC at the brake light. The starter relay seems good, the two fuses are good and the bike will kick start without a battery (key on tho). It also sends charge voltage to the battery leads too (no batt connected for that test).

Help! What voltage should I see on yellow, and where to look next?!?

Thanks!

[Neil E.]

Things to keep in mind: The stator puts out only AC voltage, you can't measure DC there. White to ground is full output, yellow to ground is slightly less output.

Your lighting operates on AC voltage (yellow wire). The rectifier/regulator clips the AC voltage to keep your bulbs from burning out. It also provides some DC power for battery charging (sourced from the white wire). You need the engine running to create AC voltage, it should measure about 15VAC.

You can check resistance values for the stator (wires disconnected) to see if it is funtional.

My notes are based on the 2011 wiring, yours might be slightly different. Follow the colors in your specific wiring diagram. You need the exact diagram for your bike. Estart bikes are wired differently than non-estart bikes.

[BLD]

Thanks Neil! I figured it would be AC, but why do my brakes give me 12vdc???That chart is exactly what I needed, and my conductors are the same color as yours. It looks like the charge coil is the main issue. I read:

105.6 between red and green
15.5 between red/white and black/white (close to tolerance)
Open between yellow and ground, and
.5 between yellow and white (starts around 1 and drops to .5)

This combined with the lack of AC at my light switch leads me to believe I get to replace some goodies inside the left case. Any idea what needs to be ordered? Looking at GasGaspartsguy it looks like the ?ignition comp.? is one unit and over $300! I?ve never replaced a stator but am handy with a meter and a wrench.

[BLD]

Thinking about this overnight I have to ask... Do i want to replace the stator with another GasGas unit? Does anyone know if this is a common failure for these? At only 5 years old, having a stator issue reminds me of early 90s sportbikes...

The only saving grace is it looks like the previous owner pounded the snot out of this bike doing Hard Enduro. What do you all think? Worth replacing or will it just fail again soon? I haven?t ridden at night yet but I like the idea of keeping the bike in original shape with all features working.

[Neil E.]

Open between yellow and ground is a problem. It could be a broken wire/bad connection. What do you get from white to ground? If that is OK and you get battery charging, then you should pull the flywheel and check all the connections.

The lighting windings are grounded. Yellow is at a point at about 85-90% of the total windings, white is 100% of the windings. The reduced output (yellow wire) just makes it easier for a voltage regulator to clip at say 13VAC.

The white wire gives full output so the rectified DC has enough energy to actually charge the battery, say 15VDC. As a test you could connect the white wire to where the yellow wire goes to your lighting and then get some headlight function with the engine idling.

This would indicate that you have a connection problem somewhere regarding the yellow wire. It could be corrosion on the stator connections. If the bike has been hammered hard, the chances are good that water has entered the ignition side of the motor.

I see very few complaints about GG stators. They seem to be very reliable. The AC voltage regulators on the other hand are not so good. Many people with non-estart (AC only) bikes have burned out bulbs. The estart bikes seem to be fine since they use a combined regulator/rectifier unit.

As to your tail light, it could be operating on DC voltage. I don't have a 2013 wiring diagram to check.

[BLD]

Thank you again Neil. You have been a huge help!

Between white and ground I also read open. I tried swapping yellow for white and no lights, no voltage... If it matters, I read a short between white and yellow. I assume that?s ok since they are connected to the same coil on the diagram.

I also double checked the battery charge voltage and read 6VDC or 10VAC. At this point I can?t tell you what is DC or AC in here because I am working with a meter that reads both (lost my good one). Whatever the brakes are, they are fed by the red conductor on the keyswitch, and appear to draw power from the red/black on the starter relay.

I opened the ignition cover but I don?t have a flywheel puller. I think you are correct because I removed the little module attaching to red and green and the screws had rust on them. Months ago when i replaced my starter bendix and ignition sproket the gasket was hosed, I?m sure plenty of water got in before I bought it.

Thanks again, I wish the electrical diagram in the manual included all the little bits of info you?ve provided! Either way I will search for a new stator. If it got wet I?m betting it?s only a matter of time before I lose the real important coil and get to enjoy a long walk theough the woods back to my truck!