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Campbell's Electronics







 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 About the GL1200 Stators

  In 1984, Honda Motors began selling the GL 1200 with fancy new electronics. As new things go, they inherited a
boat load of problems with the new electronics. Honda is in the mechanical business, and they produce the best engines
and mechanical systems on the face of the earth. They outsource their electrical and electronic systems to other manufacturers
and thats where the failures start.

  The most famous was the 1200 stator failures that often occurred around 40,000 miles. The fancy new Panasonic
Stereo/CB combos were plagued with electrical noise, squealing in the intercom and poor CB performance due to bad
wiring in the charging system and radio systems.

  Hondas Dealer story was that the GL1200 Stator was flawed. It was not. The GL1200 stator is mechanically and
electrically identical to the GL1100 stator except for the position of a wire clamp. I have removed both from the 1100
and 1200 engines and torn them to little pieces, and measured them with test equipment, they ARE the same. The
LTD/SEI stators are different in that they are thicker with different electrical characteristics.

  The 1200 stators fail due to chemical attack from motor oil which is aggrivated by engine overheating. The 1200 stator gets
soaked with oil from a small hole in the bottom rear of the engine block. The 1100 stators come out without oil- the same stator
in the GL1100 rarely failed. The chemist I spoke with back then suggested that acids in the motor oil were attacking the stator
windings. Sulfuric acid is often found in used motor oil and is a by-product of combustion when sulfur in the gasoline combines
with H2O (water) produced during combustion. This acid is carried by the oil through the engine. In addition, heat makes
the windings expand and press together and if severe enough, a short is the result.

 Neither my Harness, nor anyone elses copy of my harness, will eliminate Stator failure. It may be
damaged already. No stator "redesign" will prevent stator failure - it's due to problems much
bigger than the stator. 

  Defective wiring does not cause stator failure, but does cause low charging voltage and weak spark that lead to
engine overheating. Ive seen 1200s with engine cylinders destroyed due to this problem. The stator is sealed inside
the engine with no cooling so excess engine heat adds to heat from electrical load.

  Poor electrical connections cause low voltage (or intermittiently, no voltage) to the ignition coils. I have used an
oscilliscope to measure as low as 6 volts DC on the ignition coils of a GL1200 due to bad wiring. This caused
weak spark and incomplete (or intermittiently, none) combustion of the air/fuel mixture in the engine cylinders and in
some cases, severe engine overheating. I have measured idle temperatures on GL1200 exhaust manifolds over 500° F -
 they should be about 240° F in a perfectly tuned engine. Poor spark leaves unburned gasoline in the oil. Overheated
and dirty, acid contaminated motor oil attacks the stator windings. Excess engine heat causes the stator winding insulation
to crack which leads to shorts in the windings.

  Some things that can be done to attempt to reduce the chance of stator failure:

    1.) oil-changes every 2000 miles
    2.) yearly crankcase flushing
    3.) Repair low charging voltage and weak spark with the ORIGINAL GL1200 Charging System Harness™
    4.) Reduced engine temperatures thru proper tuning of the engine (replacing spark plugs and air filter are NOT tuning,
         they are maintanence!)

© 1992-2006 David R. Campbell.
No one has permission to reproduce this information except SABER CYCLE to whom thanks are due
for referring this page. There are no "authorized agents" nor anyone authorized by me to reproduce or
sell The ORIGINAL GL1200 Charging System Harness™.