[piperbill]

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I just experienced a nice electrical flameout, so to speak, on the way to work this morning. I smelled a little smoke and realized it wasn't from the truck in front of me, but from next to my left boot. As I glanced down and saw the wisp of smoke, a small flame appeared as well. I pulled over quickly and put the flashers on (really fun in the center shoulder during rush hour traffic). Sure enough, the connector to the left of the battery was charred, as were about an inch of the wires.

I'm only recently getting back into serious riding with my (bought it new) '86 Aspencade, so after doing a minor tuneup, replacing the brake pads and tires, I've been gradually riding and listening/watching/checking for anomalies. I forgot all about the dread stator connector issue after all these year.

So, is this connector on the left of the battery indeed the stator wiring (3 wires - color indistinct but probably yellow as per the manual)? And is soldering all three the standard fix? I've seena note about replacing the wire with larger gauge, but is that easy to do or does the alternator have to be dismantled?

Anyway, I'm at work so my plan is to go to Radio Shack at lunch, grab a roll of 12 gauge wire, one of those new battery soldering guns (and solder) and fix this thing so I can get it home safely. Anything else I should do at this point?

_________________
Bill Tubbs

 

[piperbill]

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Good point. Thanks! I note that the Shack only has 10 gauge, but better than 14 ;-)

Thanks, Michael.

Just to confirm (since the online photos aren't really clear) am I correct that the cylindrical object in front of and lower than the battery is the alternator and the 3 wires coming out of the center of it are the stator (yellow) wires since they go directly to that 3-prong connector next to the battery? I'm 90% sure, but 100% is better

Thanks,
Bill

 

[piperbill]

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I'm under some time constraints and RS is the only place close by, or I wouldn't go there. Plus I have tons of good automotive wire at home, but thanks for the idea.



My original stator went out back in the late 80s and I was rewarded by Honda with a $900 "lifetime warranty" replacement installation. If the stator is fried, then I guess I'll find out if they lied or not. And then to find a Honda shop that will actually work on it



I'm going to see how far I get on the battery (30 miles home) and go from there.

 

[piperbill]

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Thanks, Conley. I normally don't cross-post but I was looking for some help, fast. You guys did it

 

[piperbill]

imported post

Thanks, Conley. I normally don't cross-post but I was looking for some help, fast. You guys did it

 

[piperbill]

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neoracer wrote:

pull the connector at the regulator and check that too,it can also be an evidentual problem area too

Is this the connector on the right side of the battery? Yep, that fried a few years ago and I soldered it at the time. But I'll recheck it to see how it's holding up. Thanks.



I saw a note (I think) about checking the stator output voltage at 50v on each of the 3 wires (bike running, I assume ) Is this correct? And if there isn't the 50v then I have a stator problem....



FYI, I decided to take recommendations and just ride the bike home on battery support only. I wasn't sure if I could do it for 30 miles, but it was no problem. I'll try to fix it this weekend.



Thanks for all the tips!



Bill

 

[piperbill]

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Nope, you've got it right, Conley. I don't believe anything shorted to ground, but when the connector 'fried' a couple of the stator wires shorted to each other and that's going to be the problem.



I'll run through voltage checks this weekend and see how it pans out.



Thanks!

 

[piperbill]

imported post

Okay, thought I'd end my part of the thread with good news. The stator checked out okay with voltage checks (+50 on each wire @ 3000rpm) so I went ahead and soldered clean lengths of 12 gauge wire between the stator wires and the regulator wires, and took a short 100 mile trip. No problems, and in fact the bike seems to be running better. I'm guessing that the wiring was on its way out for a while and the resistance buildup cause the voltageto drop a bit, because I've been getting a little backfire and some missing recently. During my 100-miler, absolutely nothing like that.



Knock on wood....



Thanks for the help here!

 

[piperbill]

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Yep, there was negligible resistance at all points. Like I said, I didn't check out the regulator so I'm gambling on that component, but I just cruised the 30 miles to work this morning after letting the bike sit for a day. Runs great!! <knock on wood>