Stranded...again....(alternator failure)

what brand alternator is that joel

No identifying marks/stampings anywhere on it, William. I got it from dbelectrical on ebay. Supposedly NEW, not reman, and it does appear to be new.

[url=https://classicgoldwings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=201111#p201111:1uoj9ulp said:

AApple » Thu Mar 08, 2018 4:59 am[/url]":1uoj9ulp]
2 year warranty was another $30. I tore the thing apart this morning, and all it needs is new brushes(same as the OE one needs)....which I ordered, for $10. I'll put the new brushes in this one, and have a spare. I'll install it after I put the new brushes in, and if it werks well, then I'll get another set of brushes for the OE one...and have TWO spares...for $20!! Apparently, these things will eat up brushes pretty quick. If the dam things weren't soldered in, they would give quite a bit more service, but as it is, the dang things just don't have enough slack in the cables to allow the brushes to travel very far. Oh well..... :builder:

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When you put your new brushes in just make sure you solder them with maximum brush length available. I have noticed that brush material is getting a lot softer which seems to wear out quicker. Make sure that you polish up the slip rings with fine emery paper as this will also improve brush life. Most the aftermarket (Chinese mainly) replacements are not too impressive internally when you pull them apart. Do you ever wonder why they give you spare brushes with cheap Chinese electrical tools... :doh:

[url=https://classicgoldwings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=201136#p201136:1fkydqzg said:

Ansimp » Thu Mar 08, 2018 4:42 pm[/url]":1fkydqzg]
When you put your new brushes in just make sure you solder them with maximum brush length available. I have noticed that brush material is getting a lot softer which seems to wear out quicker. Make sure that you polish up the slip rings with fine emery paper as this will also improve brush life. Most the aftermarket (Chinese mainly) replacements are not too impressive internally when you pull them apart. Do you ever wonder why they give you spare brushes with cheap Chinese electrical tools... :doh:

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Just hafta wait and see how long the cables are on the new ones. Yes..these brushes do seem to be really soft. :yes:

Otay, so my new alt got here yesterday, and I installed it last night...it's working just fine. Charging a steady 14.2v at all rpm ranges. Computer printout that came with it showed it maxed out at 97 amps. It doesn't have the high pitched electrical whine the other one did, so that's good....I guess.
The new brushes came also, and I got them soldered into the brush holder today....what a pita. Haven't gotten the alternator all back together yet, but once I do, I'll pull the new one off, and install my "re-brushed" one and see if/how it works. If it turns out otay, I'll swap them back and run the new one, saving the rebuilt one for a spare. I'll prolly go ahead and get new brushes for my original, 40 amp alt, and fix it, so I'll have 2 spares.
Took a few pics to show a comparison of the worn brushes, and springs.
BIG difference in the length and tension of the springs that came with the OE Honda brushes. I'll bet the longer, stiffer springs that I took out of the failed alt are what caused the accelerated wear of the brushes.
"Old" spring on top, OE spring on bottom

Worn brushes on top...you can see how much they were worn, compared to the new brush. Also, notice the difference in length of the cable on the new brush, compared to the old.

Get a Volt meter bro.:?

~O~

Most brushes have long leads and when you solder them in position you trim the excess off and that is more than likely the original brush lead length.

Well folks...here we go again! Friggin alt took a dump on me again yesterday on the ride home. This time it put me on the side of the road 20 miles from the house. Put my booster pack on it and hoped it would get me home.....ALLLLLLMOST made it! Dang negative clamp fell off twice and had to stop and put it back on. The second time it came off, I was about 1/2 mile from the house, right at the intersection of the service road off the innerstate, and the street I go down to the house. Put the clamp back on, but....booster pack was DEAD. Had to call Mama and get her to go out in the garage and get my other booster pack and bring it up to me. Got the durn thing home after that. I installed my spare alt I re-brushed a year or so ago, charged the battery up, and got it all working again. Got new brushes ordered to fix the failed one. Jeeze.... :fiddle:

Lot easier fix than the stator.
Good to see you also have a spare on hand, & your back on the road.

Well you got over 2 years from this one, or is still about 11k miles?

Shouldn’t brushes last longer that that? Or was the problem the RR?
My van likes to kill diodes.

The replacement brushes are not near as good as the stock ones.
That's what the guy where they actually rebuild alternators, & starters, as well as car repairs told me.

About 20,000 miles on this one, I think. This is the same alt I had to replace the seal in a while back.
I agree that the replacement brushes are NOT as hardy as the originals, even tho they ARE OE Honda brushes. I haven't torn it down yet, but I'm 99.9% certain the brushes will be worn to the nub. I also still have the original 40 amp alternator that took a dump, that I never replaced the brushes in, but now I'm considering doing that just to have a spare spare on hand... :yes:

The front bearings CAN be replaced, even though they say not possible.

i didn't realize that you were still having alternator problems Joel. the quality of DB electrical alternators must have gone down, i have one on my wing. i had around 70,000 miles when i put it on and i'm just under 105,000 miles now with no alternator problems, sorry this keeps happening to you. i never did rebuild my stock alternator cause a friend was parting out a '95 and i got the compufire alternator off of it, i was trying to get mufflers too but he forgot i wanted them

Well, William....you know how it is with me....if it has boobs or wheels, I'm gunna have trouble with it..... :smilie_happy: :mrgreen:

I had to put brushes on my Valkyrie alternator last season. I just kept the OEM unit and re-brushed it. That was at about 52k miles. I guess it's hit or miss. But I would definitely be irritated if I was you, Joel.

Once brushes are used up, there is bound to be arcing which will damage the slip rings. They should be polished to prevent rapid wear to the new brushes.

Are you letting the spare alternator rest next to your spare tires? (You know they talk and probably talked those brushes into crapping out early. Its a game they play.) Fix the alternator and you know you will get a flat. :hihihi:

[url=https://classicgoldwings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=219969#p219969:15bzdy24 said:

mcgovern61 » Fri Nov 13, 2020 9:45 am[/url]":15bzdy24]
Are you letting the spare alternator rest next to your spare tires? (You know they talk and probably talked those brushes into crapping out early. Its a game they play.) Fix the alternator and you know you will get a flat. :hihihi:

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Dang....just cain't get no lurv from youse guys..... :smilie_happy: :mrgreen: