Charging issues 1980 xs650 special

[nomad007]

I have 1980 XS 650 special. I really like it. I am used to working on honda cb 350s and 750s and when I got this I was like this is awesome just ride it, initially not too much maintenance . Well anyway eventually my swingarm bolt broke at the nut threads while riding. That was a little scary. I fixed that and now after a 120 mile ride, the battery did not charge. I keep it on a battery tender when not riding. I had ridden it about 1000 miles at that point bit most of these rides were about 80 miles or less. I have been researching Curly's Guide. I will admit I am not the best with electronics. I have already replaced the rotor and regulator rectifier with the Mikes Xs replacements . Based on my meter tests the rotor was bad. I went ahead and replaced the rectifier because it was the original. while battery testing with meter the voltage never or mildy increased when revving to 3000 rpms and the headlight and headlight on indicator light no longer come on. I tried metering the white wires on the stator plug but I was get a reading of 3.3. it is suppose to be around .9 u think.. I am not sure where the yellow wire from the stator goes. I believe it should be unplugged to accurately measure. is it the yellow wire plugged into the red one in the photo? I am leaning to replacing stator but it would be nice to know that was the problem before I keep spending money. Again headlight and headlight indicator won't come on. They worked fine before this happened. All fuses are good. Not sure if it could be the headlight relay, but again I am just guessing. So in recap - new rectifier meters correctly and new rotor meters good . Can I clean inside of stator with scotch bright or something. Re routing the wiring for a new stator looks like some work. Also. I replaced the brushed before anything although old ones did not look bad. And if I do have to replace stator do I drill out or cit slots in tci ignition to remove from old stator? Could I be missing something simple?
Anyway any help would be appreciated - Thanks for letting me join this group - I have been getting a lot of great info on here - finally I did need to reach out for some help tho THANKS

 

[Jan_P]

There are service manuals on line how to check the stator
No scotch Brite i dont know if it can leave conductive bits wipe with a rag perhaps some moisture on the rag
No drilling
Assuming it has stock fuse box I would remove the ones not needed for charging and ignition see if it gets better charging at + 3000 rpm
measured across battery

If no success i would try the old rectifier with a replacement automotive regulator as recommended here on the forum .
Will set you back a few bucks but save the nerves and time

I have an 1980 but no relay for light .The fuse removal can give info