Can you tell me if the alternator not working. I can crak the bike and remove the battery cable and it will cut off...I can rev the engine to 3 to 4000 RPM and after i disconnect the cable the bike dies... Can it be anything else....
:waving::waving:Welcome to the Best Goldwing Site on the Interenet! jwg1950!:waving::waving:
The best way to tell if the alternator is working is to use a voltmeter, measure the battery voltage with the engine shut off and then again with the engine running around 3000 rpm or so. With the engine running the meter should read around 14V or a little bit more. It's an easy job to pull the alternator, 15 minute job and you can take it to an automotive electrical shop if you don't want to work on it yourself. But before removing it,check the 30A Main Fuse B that's the fuse that carries the current from the alternator to the battery.
You're lucky the alt is dead. That is never a good idea to do that,that is, disconnecting battery, if the alt., indeedworks. You can take out bulbs, and electronics, cause the alt thinks the battery is dead, so ittrys to compensate. Voltage will overshoot. Always use a voltmeter.
It could just be sticking brushes, or wore out brushes. These are famous for that. Assuming it's an orig alt. Hope it's not the field. How many miles? Those early 1500 alts, are pretty robust, luckily. Local auto elec shop should be able to fix you right up. It's a Hitachi alt, if it's orig.
Welcome to the forum Wayne. I was always under the impression that disconnecting the battery + lead with the engine running would be likely to ruin the alternator.
This is a quick check I have used on Delcatron alternators if you are out and do not have a voltmeter available. With the engine running place your pocketknife blade on the rear of the alternator, if it is charging you will be able to feel a magnetic pull as you remove the kinfe blade away from the case of the alternator. Be " VERY CAREFUL" that you do not come in contact with a hot wire or post. Stick with the previous posts and use the voltmeter.
I carry the LED voltmeter from Radio Shack in one of the saddlebags, its not expensive and is small, quick and easy to use. When you get it all repaired and back in service, check into installing a voltmeter on your bike, mine just left me sitting beside the road a couple of weeks ago and could have been prevented if I had installed a meter before.
I don't understand this Wayne. Why are you disconnecting the battery lead with the engine running, what reason would you have to do this? If you are just wanting to see if the alternator is working, a quick test with a multi-meter is much safer than pulling the + lead each time.
Wayne, you have received some good advice here. I would never disconnect my battery with the engine running, there are too many devices that can be damaged by a voltage spike. An alternator does not have permanent magnets in them to create a magnetic field such as was used in the automotive industry years ago. The alternator is excited by 12 volts through the regulator. An example is a car with the red idiot light, turn on the key, the light is on, the circuit is also supplying 12 volts to excite the alternator. When the engine starts and the alternator begins to charge then an internal relay in the alternator will switch over and the light will go out.
Older General Motors vehicles used a length of resistive wire to accomplish this, the same can be done with a light. I have a light on my tractor that I installed after I put a 12 volt alternator on it,. If you remove the bulb the alternator will never charge as it has never been excited, put the bulb back in and all is OK.
With all the components like the fuel pump, coils, etc. that require 12 volts to operateI don't see how it could be expected to run once the battery is disconnected. I don't think the alternator will establish enough residual magnetism to allow the alternator to workand carry the load.I am not an expert by any means, just sharing my opinions and hope you have solved your problems.
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