alternator or stator.... stator or alternator

[micheleo]

Well friends, I was an imbecile thinking that because the name "goldwing" was on my bike, the thing should be full of power. I was - oh so wrong. I did not take notice at first that my headlight was perhaps 10-12 degrees over the left and that I was blinding a lot of people. I sort of got annoyded driving at night so in my most devious moments, I decide to put ...

2 lights (4.5") at headlamp level hight on the fearing,
2 fog lamps (4.5") on the lower crash bar,
2 lights (2.5") below the saddles pointing on the sides at a 30 degree angle,
1 USB port to charge all of my junk. ie: gps, cell, etc...,

4 miniature lights that works with the signal signs, very low amp and piggied to the signals. i had to increase my signal light fuse from 10 to a 20amp.

I have checked all of the starting equipment and narrowed it to the stator. Now should I assume (big word) that if i replace the stator everything should fine or I'm still SOL.

I have seen some web site where the guy has converted his aspencade with a regular alternator. That said, would that have more juice or cause more problems.

Where I'm a little bewelded is to the choice considering that both are time consuming projects, with one not involving to remove the engine (interesting) and the other involving customized work (need tools).

The bigger question, is how come I see interstate/aspencade with all kinds of flashing galore on their bike and they are in good running condition. (is it duracell batteries again?)

Any feedback would be interesting.
Thank you /Mike

 

[dan filipi]

The stock stator doesn't have enough power to run any more than 2- 35 watt driving lights at best. Even this will come up short at lower RPM's.

An external alternator can easily provide almost twice the power of the stator.

Unless the stator tests bad there is nothing to gain by changing it.
Check the yellow stator wires and plug. If the connections are corroded or overheated you'll get reduced power.

 

[joedrum]

mike first off ......in the left hand side cover next to the battery is the sator connector ....it has 3 yellow wires going to and form this conector ....a lot of wings with all kinds of lights and stuff all pull there power through here and this connector gets hot enough to melt and burn this connector .....a lot of us cut this connector out and soder the wires together so the resistant from bad connector is taken out .....somewhere in the teck section is a thread on this with pics and all .....i would do this and its not hard ......

mike in my opinion you have to many lights ....this is asking for trouble .....these bikes are not meant to be rolling christmas trees...
i think haveing low power stuff for charging things is fine .....me personaly i think standard lighting is fine....adjusting the headlight for good veiw is the answer in my eyes.....thats the onr thing i dont like about 1100s is they dont have an amp meter like my 79 1000 dose ....you can see the draw and its obvious your over loading things.....

as for the power thing 83 1100 are geared tall for hiway crusing at low rpm.....i myself have just gotten and 83 interstate that was wrecked ....i fixed the damage and went for my first ride yesterday .....it lacked power ....labor a lot ....and was real doggy just wouldnt get out of its own way .....i think i have carb isuses and draging brakes issuses ....but i do know that the 83 needs to be in top shape for the gearing it has which i like....my 82 has no issues in the motor and runs great ....so my job to get the 83 running good has just started....when a 1100 runs good theres no lack in power ....ignition is another sorce of poor running

first thing check those sator wires now this may save a lot of work down the road ...and then lets tackle the running thing and power ...and by the way add some ATF to the gas .....about 8oz in full tank as this will do wonder in cleaning the carbs up ...it may smoke some dont worry it needs to clean things up and may be all you need to do to get it running better....

 

[jdegase]

more stator wires under the false tank near the regulator.. just as important as the plug by the battery.
this one actually was worse on my bike, maybe because it had never been checked???

anyway
the gl1100 has 300 watts total to power everything so you can quickly figuer out that with the coils fireing, headlight running, brakelights running, and running lights burning, you actually only have around 10 amps to mess with.
I have also seen those bikes that look like christmas trees. but usually they are 1200 or bigger.

check your connections. and look into the mods posted for improvements
I found a source for 25w H3 for my running lights... works great now.

 

[micheleo]

wow guys thanks a lot for the quick responses. from what i hear, perhaps the way to go is with the custom an alternator gearing to this bike, i.m not quite anxious or interested to open up the motor and have to change all the oring, gaskets blablabla to be back to the same square.

has i had mentionned, i troubleshoot the bike with all the electrical components, and welded the 3 yellows. i will check the other ones be the regulator

thanks for the tip for the carb cleaning stuff. i would appreciate the name in full so i dont look like an idiot when i go to the bike shop asking for ATF

i intend to do the external alternator project. any one has any idea what type and size i should go for, i was told that a good old gm would be the best.

i see summer skip right by me and with no ride in sight. BTW - us canadian like xmas tree !

i appreciate all the different feedback

tks/mike

 

[jdegase]

if I remember right, I think your looking for a 60 amp single wire alternator from a fork truck.
its very small in size physically, and will fit behind the lower fairing cover with a bit of modification.

60 amps should give you around 600watts total

 

[joedrum]

ATF just refers to automatic transmission fluid buy it anywhere .....aft has properties that clean and keeps o rings and stuff in good shape and also replaces the heavy oil content that is strip out of the gas of today and makes the gas more suitable for older carb engines of yesterdays wings like ours.....

 

[micheleo]

thank you for the precision. i guess that it would be better to mix it with gas in my gerry tank before and then put it in my gas tank. right?

 

[micheleo]

Joedrum,

note that i only ever put super gas and i dont go for the everyday el cheepo... does that make any difference?

 

[joedrum]

here in the states the the last gas or the realy crappy gas ....kinda like the last of the moonshine as in alcohol....is pounded with additives to make preamium gas and actuly gose bad through evaoration faster than regurlar gas ....i dont bother pre mixing the gas as it hard enough for me to keep up with just putting it in....but whatever is easyest for you

 

[mcgovern61]

thank you for the precision. i guess that it would be better to mix it with gas in my gerry tank before and then put it in my gas tank. right?

When adding ATF, pour 8 oz into the tank when you are at the gas station. It mixes while you are filling the tank. Also, when the ATF is mixed and working, you will more than likely see a puff of white smoke when you first start your bike cold. It clears up quick and normally increases your MPG.

 

[steveswing]

Thats why I want to build a standard rather than have a wing look like a glowing beacon running down the road.
I have checked bikes charging system with all the extra lights and at idle the the charging system is not charging the battery, not good.
It showed 11.95 volts on the meter while idling, hope he doesn't get stuck in city traffic the battery will be dead by the time he gets home! :help:

 

[radioman]

Lots of good info here, but I must add, NEVER ever replace a fuse with a larger one without increasing the wire size too. A circuit with small wire and a large fuse is a fire looking for a place to start. Radioman

 

[Tomahawk]

The stock stator doesn't have enough power to run any more than 2- 35 watt driving lights at best. Even this will come up short at lower RPM's.

An external alternator can easily provide almost twice the power of the stator.

Unless the stator tests bad there is nothing to gain by changing it.
Check the yellow stator wires and plug. If the connections are corroded or overheated you'll get reduced power.

I run an 83 Aspencade

Dan is Right 2, 35 Watt Fog/Running lights is about the limit. Honda just didn't engineer these bikes to be tricked out with extra lights. A few LED's won't hurt but no way will an 83 Wing push the power you want and keep the battery charged. In town idling will pull it down but once giving any amount of revs the battery will be okay with only 2 lights. Kind of the Achilles heal of the old wings.

The three yellow wires are an issue on all makes of bikes I have a Suzuki and a Yamaha as well and have had to repair those connections on those two bikes as well. Get rid of the connector and solder the wires together it's the only way to reduce the resistive nature of the connector and prevent failure. You will need some good flux to make the solder take. The wires are old and most likely oxidized and will need good flux to solder then after clean the excess flux off the new connection to prevent the flux from producing more oxidization. Tape or heat shrink them real good to keep moisture out

I have been seeing Hi intensity LED driving lights coming out recently but they are a bit pricey still but coming down as the technology develops

Cheers
Tom

 

[Tomahawk]

Lots of good info here, but I must add, NEVER ever replace a fuse with a larger one without increasing the wire size too. A circuit with small wire and a large fuse is a fire looking for a place to start. Radioman

To Run twenty amps you need 12 gauge wire. 14 gauge is only good to about 15 amp. Many bikes run 16 and 18 gauge wire so a 20 amp fuse will not provide any protection. As radioman says the wire will catch fire long before a 20 amp fuse pops

 

[fastmover83]

For what you spent on all those lights you could have bought a PIAA High intensity bulb, 135w to 110w illumination with only 65w draw, and had all the illumination you need, they even make one with a yellow glow that works good in fog.