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Is there anyone withinformation on how to change the alternator out? I looked on the Workshop link and didnt see anything.

 

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Pull the engine, take off rear case and pull the stator out put new one in..basically. But it cold be a bad connection in the main fuse or ground of the system..

More info needed..is everything else dead on the bike or is it just the starter dragging. What the V's on the battery before you hit the starter button? You need to track down a few things before you say it's the stator.

You can check the stator output when the bike is running by putting a meter on the battery terminals, you can check the stator condition by testing the three yellow wire that come out of it. Lots of how to's on this stuff.

 

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it's a 1500 is it not the alt. should be on the front of the motor

 

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1500 alternator is on rear of engine. It looks just like the alternator in your car but no belt. Twenty minutes or so to remove it.

 

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sounds like a poor battery connection or a bumm battery.
Did you clean the battery contacts real good.
Wilf

 

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I did that when I changed out the battery a few weeks ago. That was the first thing I look for this morning was a lose connection. Everything was clean and tight.

 

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Charge the battery, fire it up and take the voltage reading at the battery. At 2000rpm you should be reading 13.5 or better.

Also...there are more procedures in the manual to check the alt.

 

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Exact same thing on my 99 SE. Even was at the gas station, just like you! It was a faulty alternator. The windings are crimped at the factory, bad idea. The regulator took a beating from the intermittant windings, and finally took out my AGM battery. I sent it to Motorcycle Alternator Repair in Indiana, Ken Hemmings was the guy. He did a complete rewind and rebuild, and sent it back in 7 days. Cost was barely 200 bucks, with a new O-ring, and a year warrenty. It puts out about 45-55 amps at 2000 RPM. A nice improvement! He has a website, too. Not a hard job at all. I would suggest getting new alt. dampeners though. They are about 12 bucks as I remember for all of them. Don't worry, it's a common thing with the Hitachi alts. made in China. The Japanese ones are better, but I chose to improve my stock unit. Good luck. jimsjinx

 

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Parman , Kaos here , had the same problem a couple of months ago and received some very good replies on this site. If your alternator is the problem and you are planning to changeitto a Compufire one , the instructions that come with this alternator say you have to make sure youchange the bolts to the newer style , I found thatyou can just put a drill bit through the bolt holes at the backand re-use the samebolts. if your a first timer at changing things like alternators allow yourself approx.45 mins in between the cussing that generally follows whilstdoing the install.

 

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Snorebaby wrote:

Charge the battery, fire it up and take the voltage reading at the battery. At 2000rpm you should be reading 13.5 or better.

Also...there are more procedures in the manual to check the alt.

I agree, don't jump to conclusions about the alternator being bad. There are many simple things to check first.

 

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Update. I put it on charger all night and took two readings this morning.

Battery is showing 13.32 volts with motor off.

Alternator is showing 14.2 to 14.21 at 2000 rpm.

I'm going to let the bike sit all day while I'm at work and check battery for voltage again when I get home tonight to see if there is any voltage drop while sitting.

Any suggestions on what I should look for next? I'm not the brightest light bulb on the Christmas tree when it comes to electrical problems so any advice or guidance would be appreciated.



Thanks,

Don

 

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You need to go to where the ground connection is connected it's under the tupperware on the same side as the battery. Two things look for corrosion on the connector and bolt and make sure its tight. The most common problem in this case is a bad ground the Voltage will be ok but there will be no current back to the battery. As soon as you put a real load on the battery (such as when you start it) the current drops then the voltage and the bike won't start. You recharge the battery check everything and it looks ok but without the current being there the battery is not actually being recharged. Sooner or later same problem comes back.

 

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After reasing your last test readings, you indeed may not need any alt. work! Cool! jimsjinx

 

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Parman wrote:

Update. I put it on charger all night and took two readings this morning.

Battery is showing 13.32 volts with motor off.

Alternator is showing 14.2 to 14.21 at 2000 rpm.

I'm going to let the bike sit all day while I'm at work and check battery for voltage again when I get home tonight to see if there is any voltage drop while sitting.

Any suggestions on what I should look for next? I'm not the brightest light bulb on the Christmas tree when it comes to electrical problems so any advice or guidance would be appreciated.

Don

Looks like the first reading with the motor off is a little high, probably because you read it shortly after taking the charger off. It will settle down slightly to about 12.5 or 12.6 after a little while. When you get home tonight that is what it should read. The 14.2 reading at 2k is about what it should be. Appears the alternator is ok.

Be sure to check for good ground on the frame as stated above.

 

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HEY dad your wing looks good up there my 86 is still running baby haha. Geterrrr done

 

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When I got home tonight after letting it sit all day the battery read 12.02 to 12.3. After starting it the Alternator reading at 2000 RPM was 12.2 then after aquick twist of the throttle it kicked up to 14.2 and stayed steady for 2 minutes of testing and retesting. I also put full load with all assesories running lights, heater grips, radio while running. No change in alternator readings.
I shut engine off then battery ready 13.2 volts. I'm thinking its safe to say it's not the alternator. :smiler:

I think I will start tracing down a bad ground or connection at the other end of battery terminals. Any other ideas of what else I might need to look for?

Do you think I should have battery load tested? It's only a month old.

:?

 

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If you can't find any poor connections at the other end of the gnd or hot side of battery cables it might be a good idea to have the battery load tested. New batteries can go bad too.

 

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Parman wrote:

Update. I put it on charger all night and took two readings this morning.
Battery is showing 13.32 volts with motor off.

Thanks,

Don

The high reading of voltage is due to a surface charge after charging. It must be removed before any voltage readings are taken.

This is accomplished by turning key on and let the headlight burn for a minute or two removing the surface charge. Battery is now ready for an accurate measurement.

JD

 

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GL1500 altenator is at the back of the engine, left side. Side panel off, 3 bolts holding the alternator in position.

 

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Started stripping her down yesterday and all connections and grounds look good. This is the first time of totally stripping her down and it has been interesting to say the least. It started out as tracing the ground wire which is clean and tight but then I just kept going. Going to do a complete service while its down. Fuel and air filters, plugs, and oil change.

Still haven't determined what caused the bike to shut down though. Only thing I can think of is checking the new battery to determine if its bad.

Nasty air filter:

 

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New battery sounds like it is ok but a load test at any parts store will determine this.
You say at one point that alt. is putting out 12v @ 2000 rpm and a quick revup brings it to 14v.
I would bet on the alt. or specifically the alt. regulator being bad. To know for sure , remove the alt. and have it tested at any automotive electrical shop.

 

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Machinehead,

When I first started it I got a 12.2 at 2000 then a qick snap of the throttle it stayed at 14.2. Everytime Ive started and tested it was at 14.2 except that one time. Do you think that the alternator might be ready to go?

 

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Don't think so. Is there any chance the day your bike stoped the first time that something was left on and drained the battery down, It may have just had enough power to start it and run to the gas station but not recharge the battery.
Wilf

 

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No. I always double check all assessories before I get off to make sure they are off. When I park in the garage you can see thew running lights against the wall if I didn't turn them off before geting of at the end of a ride.

 

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I'm stumped on this electrical problem. :?I had battery load test good today. I stripped the bike down and checked all cables and connections. Everything is clean and tight.

I did manage to do a complete service while I had it apart. Did fuel, oil, air filters, plugs, coolantand oil change.

Put everything back together and now I'm only getting 12.2 to 12.3 volts when at 2000 rpms. if I rev it up to 2800 rpms it reads 13.2 volts at the alternator.

I really don't want to take it to the dealer but other than pulling the alternator out and having it checked I don't know what else to do. I have a trip planned in the near future and sure don't want her quitting on me while traveling.