Seal stator cover

Hans,

Sorry you had to find this out the hard way but you hit the nail on the head when you described the problem with the SEM ignition at the stator housing. Yes this is a known problem and has been discussed several times over the years. The solutions to the problem you described are good but let me take the time to throw a few more at you.

One solution others have tried is to double over the wiring loom at the top portion (near the ignition coil) and crimp in a "inverted U" shape so that water does not flow down the wire harness into the stator housing. The crimp can be secured with a nylon zip tie. A dab of silicon at the opening can be applied, as you said, to add to the water tightness of the wiring harness.

Taffy also has drilled a small hole at the "6 O'clock" position of the stator housing and inserted a splint for ventilation of the stator unit. This also serves as a point for water/condensation to drain if it does indeed make it into the housing.

Another method is to remove the cover and dry the internals after every washing of the bike as to make sure any moisture that does make it into the unit does not sit for prolonged periods of time.

One other thing I have herd others do is to apply a light coat of WD-40 or equivalent to the area of the stator to wick moisture and keep as dry as possible and minimize water damage.

Any or all of these methods have been done to prolong SEM ignition life and are up to you to see what works best. The SEM ignitions have an average life span of about 2-3 years if not taken care of well but with a little TLC can last longer if maintained better. I am still on my original ignition with no signs of deterioration and it is 3 years old. I live in a dry desert climate so moisture is not a major problem for me but as for you a little added preventative maintenance to the unit should prolong the stator life. It sounds to me that your stator will probably need to be replaced now and there is very little if anything that you can do now that it has gone to crap. If you do have to replace it, take the above advise and it should give you many years of trouble free life. Hope this helps you and the things you mentioned are right on :thumb: .

Regards,

i spent many hours cleaning/drying my stator after i had a failure at 50hrs. unfortunately, 'berg didn't quite get it right with this setup. i was always trying to keep the stator sealed but water always got in there. i ended up just pulling it off after every ride and letting it dry.

just after i sold the 501, my friends KTM 620 which also has a SEM stator had ignition failure. when we pulled the ignition out, we saw that KTM have a drain hole in the engine cases STANDARD. the problem was, there was a little rock and some mud jammed in the drain hole, and the thought was it had got thre in a particularly wet ride about 2 months before hand.

so what i am getting at it is, that the KTM has the exact same stator, and it lasted from 1996 to 2004 on the KTM with drain hole. this guy had never pulled his stator cover off or done any maintenance on the ignition at all.

so i would
A-realise that water will get in there no matter how much silicon you use and
B-the best thing is if the stator can breath and dry itself using engine heat during operation or just after. drill the hole.

hope this helps.

Have Fun
Jeff

kking-

I searched the archives and found a thread on what Taff did as he was experiencing SEM stator failures due to moisture problems. Give it a look and post up any questions you may have if any.....

Taffys post on the stator drain hole

Regards,

I went through the same with my FE501E, I did all of the wiring harness tricks and even used gasket sealer on the cover (gave that up), in the end it's impossible to keep all of the moisture out, so I drilled a hole at the bottom of the engine case, installed a nylon barbed 90 degree elbow and then a shortened gas tank vent hose with the integrated one-way valve, hopefully that lets moisture out of the case but keeps water from entering during deep creek crossings. On top of that I picked up a can of spray silicon designed for electrical use, I clean and spray the stator at each valve adjustment. So far I haven't had any corrosion on the new stator.

kingy

good to see you about and do get more involved. your english is very good and i believe you just say 'sweden' for a laugh!

you must be fairer to sandskipper though, he clearly explains how to keep water out. we also explain how to let it dry when it gets in and how to stop it affecting the parts that the water touches.

the split pin i removed in the end and the bike is none the worse for it.

so try all of the things together and you'll have success i'm sure.

regards

Taffy

If you have checked spark strength when the engine stops and find it satisfactory other areas might be looked at.Check the simple things first.1.A partially blocked fuel cap vent 2.Carb/fuel blockages...clean the carb especially above the needle and seat assay,pilot jet circuit,also the fuel taps.Check your fuel tank for dirt... anything that could stop or disrupt the flow of fuel.2.Do a compression test 3.adjust valves ......good luck.........nsman

Interesting that somebody ressurected this thread, because I happen to have the O-Ring from the newer models (the older gasket-style seal finally broke as it had become very fragile) and now it seems to be too large to fit.

Is there an alternative?

(Dan, if you read this: it's not your fault, you sold me what you had).

kking,

If you want to try testing the stator while running you should be getting:

Green wire (pickup or trigger coil): 5-6VAC
Red wire (charging coil): ~200VAC
Yellow/blue (lighting coil): ~15VAC

These should be your readings at ~1700 - 2000rpm.

Make sure you have good clean attachments to ground.

Regards,

Good to hear. What coil did you use to replace? Did you cross-ref with another make and model?