My alternator OUCH

[zxbob]

This one hurts . . . . but I have a Denso alternator - time to upgrade. While I wanted to keep the bike close
to original, I want reliable more.

This took out the stator also. To get replacement parts costs more than the conversion. I think on the plus
side, the reduction in weight and rotating mass is a plus for the old girl.




Bob

[barryadam]

That's nasty....

[EMS]

Bob, I don't know how much time you have, but I can probably get you a complete alternator conversion for under $600.- by early April.

I can also work with you on a less costly alteranative if you want to make some parts yourself or get your own alternator.

[Rick Pope]

Bob,

the chain of events probably started with an alternator bearing going bad, and possibly the seal leaking oil into the alternator. Is the inside all black, oily, and smelly?

Once the oil gets in, it provides movement for the brush dust to short out the regulator, fry the stator/rotor, and of course since the bearing is dragging, you now have lots of resistance to fry the clutches.

Hence my advice to change the bearings and seal every 20-30k miles. $20 will bring a lot of peace of mind.

[daves79x]

Bob:
Your failure could be very instructive to other owners preventing such an event. As Rick said, one of the bearings likely failed, locking the rotor. Can you confirm this? Any symptoms before the failure? I'm assuming you rebuilt the alternator when you went through the bike? What did you replace and what didn't you replace? Was the spring of proper length and properly shimmed? Any info would be great.

You now need to change the oil and clean the sump screen - you will find lots of metal there from the clutches.

Those of us that have been through this time and again warn often on this board about carefully checking out the alternator for just this reason. Any info you can provide would just further reinforce the point.

Dave

[daves79x]

Bob:
One other thing - your clutches look pretty dry. Are they getting the proper spray of oil between them from the little aluminum button in the end of the primary shaft? That hole can get plugged.

Dave

[Rick Pope]

Try turning the alternator by hand. It should turn with nearly zero resistance, and perfectly smooth.

Were you hearing a chirping or chattering sound from the alternator area when downshifting? That would be the alt.clutch slipping. This was the first sign my bearing's were going out. I asked the Honda dealer and his merry band of parts changers, they said "They all do that"..... It cost me a rotor, stator, regulator, and a lot of grief.

[Don]

Bob:
One other thing - your clutches look pretty dry. Are they getting the proper spray of oil between them from the little aluminum button in the end of the primary shaft? That hole can get plugged

My thoughts when I saw the picture as well - How can they look that 'cooked' when they're running bathed in pressure-fed engine oil??

If you check the alterntor bearings and brushes every year or 10,000 miles and renew/replace as needed, the stock alternator is pretty darned reliable - You can buy lots of bearings and brushes for 1/10th the cost of a conversion. There are 100K bikes out there with stock alternators . . . . Dave sold an '80 last year with 80,000 miles on it and no alternator problems

Don