Should I Replace The Stator Or Convert To GM Alternator?

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Re: Should I Replace The Stator Or Convert To GM Alternator?

#16

Post by CYBORG »

Most Alternators, including the ones I use, are a one wire system. A single wire from the post on the alt. to the positive battery post. Regulator is internal, and the ground is provided by the body of the Alternator.. No other wires needed. The only other wire is to turn on a dash light if it fails to charge
1978 custom GL1000
1977 custom with 1200 engine
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Re: Should I Replace The Stator Or Convert To GM Alternator?

#17

Post by 82aspy »

pix maybe?
desertrefugee wrote:I picked field coil excitation voltage for my GM alternator from an accessory lug in the fuse box. The eight gauge charging wire runs straight off the positive terminal of the battery through a resettable 50 amp breaker.

I removed my factory regulator/rectifier unit and forgot about the stator.

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Re: Should I Replace The Stator Or Convert To GM Alternator?

#18

Post by desertrefugee »

Pics. (This is on my '84 Aspencade)

I documented the installation on another site a few years back. I took lots of pictures. A couple focused on the wiring are below. I used the small 55A Geo Metro alternator recommended by Don (Poorboy). It's nice and small and works like a charm.

The blue wire feeds the "excitation" terminal on the alternator. It's switched with the key. A good thing. The charge line runs under the battery cover and includes a 50A manual reset breaker on the old connector tab left of the battery. (And yes, it's well insulated. That's a lot of high current +12V surface area near easy access to chassis ground).
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Blue wire "excitation" voltage.
Blue wire "excitation" voltage.
2012-02-15_21-58-16_17.jpg (99.78 KiB) Viewed 559 times
Charge line
Charge line
2012-02-18_16-19-10_270.jpg (95.71 KiB) Viewed 559 times
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Re: Should I Replace The Stator Or Convert To GM Alternator?

#19

Post by 82aspy »

tx, should have been more clear, the gm alt setup?
"there is a Darwinian element"
Yoda said, "There is no try or not try; there is only do or don't do."
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Re: Should I Replace The Stator Or Convert To GM Alternator?

#20

Post by desertrefugee »

This install has been documented countless times on various Goldwing sites. Mine was very routine.

One mounting "ear" must be removed. Plus, I had to "clearance" the remaining top ear to get the pulley to align perfectly. It might've been OK as it was, but I didn't want premature belt wear or the possibility of tossing the belt on the wrong side of the tracks.
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"Thinned" the ear down to better align the pulleys.
"Thinned" the ear down to better align the pulleys.
2012-02-19_13-32-29_757.jpg (54.23 KiB) Viewed 555 times
Scrapped off a little aluminum to clear the choke linkage.
Scrapped off a little aluminum to clear the choke linkage.
2012-02-18_15-46-18_653.jpg (76.25 KiB) Viewed 555 times
Brackets from the Poorboy kit made short work of the install.  (An industrious fellow could make his own).
Brackets from the Poorboy kit made short work of the install. (An industrious fellow could make his own).
2012-02-18_16-08-50_101.jpg (80.2 KiB) Viewed 555 times
Fan shroud and bracket need "alterations".
Fan shroud and bracket need "alterations".
2012-02-18_12-12-17_658.jpg (71.35 KiB) Viewed 555 times
Bottom of the radiator kicks out (with spacers) about an inch to clear the pulley.
Bottom of the radiator kicks out (with spacers) about an inch to clear the pulley.
2012-02-19_09-18-21_997.jpg (50.43 KiB) Viewed 555 times
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Re: Should I Replace The Stator Or Convert To GM Alternator?

#21

Post by desertrefugee »

Gotta hog out the timing covers to clear the pulley. This one is not nearly done. Goes pretty much all the way to the circle seen in the casting.
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2012-02-15_21-58-04_260.jpg
2012-02-15_21-58-04_260.jpg (85.42 KiB) Viewed 555 times
Hookup is a pretty straightforward affair.
Hookup is a pretty straightforward affair.
IMG_2360.JPG (70.54 KiB) Viewed 555 times
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Re: Should I Replace The Stator Or Convert To GM Alternator?

#22

Post by rcmatt007 »

I too, like several others, wonder why two stators failed. Both my 1000's still have their original stators and the 1200 crapped out after 28 years.
-Rodger-
all it takes for evil to prosper is the want of a few good men to do nothing-Edmund Burke
The question is not how much time do you have, it is what you do with the time that you have Gandalf
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Re: Should I Replace The Stator Or Convert To GM Alternator?

#23

Post by Dirt Road Cowboy »

rcmatt007 wrote:I too, like several others, wonder why two stators failed. Both my 1000's still have their original stators and the 1200 crapped out after 28 years.
I wish I knew why they went out. All I know is that they did.

This was my first Wing, and by what everyone said about them, I really expected more from it. When it went out 3 years ago, I had to just park the bike, and haven't been able to do anything with it until now.

I don't know where the PO had the work done, or where they got the replacement stator (he showed me the receipt, but I don't remember the details). He paid $1,200 to have it done, and for all I know, they may have put a used stator in. All I can say is that the one I bought was an OEM Honda NOS. Maybe it was old and going bad? Can they go bad from sitting on a shelf in their original packaging?

I was really hoping that there was some other problem, but when I tested the output on the 3 wires I got something like: 50v, 50v, 7v, and the output to the battery was 10.2v.

The new stator came in yesterday. I haven't tested it yet, but I really think I should go with the alternator on the 78 Wing, and save the stator for the 75. I like the idea of being able to access the alternator easily on road trips, and apparently Honda finally decided that an external alternator was a better idea too, since all the newer Wings have external alternators instead of hidden stators.

I had thought about going with a Poor Boy kit, but they don't fit the 1000, and back then, I didn't have any tools to make my own setup. I did have a retired machinist make a pulley for me with the 10mm bolt hole, and a heavy duty shaft, but until I found the $40 GM Alternator Conversion post on this site, I really didn't know what to do with the brackets.

Now that I have a few more tools, a plan, and some time, I think that I should be able to pull the conversion off!

Thanks for the advice everyone.
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Re: Should I Replace The Stator Or Convert To GM Alternator?

#24

Post by rcmatt007 »

they should not go bad sitting on the shelf, paying someone to replace a stator is $$$ because you have to pull the engine. If I recall, one risk is demagnizing (sp?) the outside part... dropping it for example
-Rodger-
all it takes for evil to prosper is the want of a few good men to do nothing-Edmund Burke
The question is not how much time do you have, it is what you do with the time that you have Gandalf
"One of the greatest dignities of humankind is that each successive generation is invested in the welfare of each new generation." Fred Rodgers
"it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert" ancient saying
78 constantly modified/customized since 1978, BOTM June 2015 de-evolving this very moment viewtopic.php?f=30&t=65511
76 Ltd "cookies bike" ALMOST DONE
79 project, finished, FOR SALE
'86 1200 (Beth's)(FOR SALE) with motorvation sidecar (sidecar sold) , July 2017 BOTM
'17 HD Road king and 08 HD Heritage softail (Beth's) (FOR SALE). I guess you can say we have MBS
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Re: Should I Replace The Stator Or Convert To GM Alternator?

#25

Post by 82aspy »

Dirt Road Cowboy wrote:I had thought about going with a Poor Boy kit, but they don't fit the 1000, and back then, I didn't have any tools to make my own setup. I did have a retired machinist make a pulley for me with the 10mm bolt hole, and a heavy duty shaft, but until I found the $40 GM Alternator Conversion post on this site, I really didn't know what to do with the brackets.
http://www.donaldantiquerototillers.com/Alternator.html
"there is a Darwinian element"
Yoda said, "There is no try or not try; there is only do or don't do."
=====================
ngw quotes anim-cheers1 - \ "I will strip the beast" \ "the swingarm is just a hunk of metal" \ "gonna maybe ...dunno yet" \ "It's never done, thats the fun." \ "something about this site brings me back"
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Re: Should I Replace The Stator Or Convert To GM Alternator?

#26

Post by Dirt Road Cowboy »

I thought about doing something like that, until I found this one here on NGW:

http://ngwclub.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=41463

This one is really cool because everything is hidden under the false tank. I already started making the cardboard templates for it using the open 75 frame as a guide, along with the GM alternator out of my wife's 1980 El Camino.

Once I get the mock up looking the way I want it, I'll transfer the pattern to steel, and cut the pieces. I need to remember to take photos of the process for the next guy that needs it for a GL1000.
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Re: Should I Replace The Stator Or Convert To GM Alternator?

#27

Post by 82aspy »

Dirt Road Cowboy wrote: I need to remember to take photos of the process for the next guy that needs it for a GL1000.

:popcornx2 action1 crossy.gif dancr anim-cheers1
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Yoda said, "There is no try or not try; there is only do or don't do."
=====================
ngw quotes anim-cheers1 - \ "I will strip the beast" \ "the swingarm is just a hunk of metal" \ "gonna maybe ...dunno yet" \ "It's never done, thats the fun." \ "something about this site brings me back"
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Re: Should I Replace The Stator Or Convert To GM Alternator?

#28

Post by 82aspy »

rcmatt007 wrote:I too, like several others, wonder why two stators failed..
there many other examples out there
"there is a Darwinian element"
Yoda said, "There is no try or not try; there is only do or don't do."
=====================
ngw quotes anim-cheers1 - \ "I will strip the beast" \ "the swingarm is just a hunk of metal" \ "gonna maybe ...dunno yet" \ "It's never done, thats the fun." \ "something about this site brings me back"
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Re: Should I Replace The Stator Or Convert To GM Alternator?

#29

Post by rcmatt007 »

82aspy wrote:
rcmatt007 wrote:I too, like several others, wonder why two stators failed..
there many other examples out there
sure, but other than the bad batch in the first 1200's nearly all of these bikes have and still have stators that are decades old. If someone told me that had several alternators go out in a row on their car, I would wonder the same thing. Not any different than if I see a patient for the same thing more than a couple of times, I have to think different about what I am doing, cuase what I am doing just aint working

Now I have heard that maybe some electronic stuff imported cheaply is exactly that.... cheap....
-Rodger-
all it takes for evil to prosper is the want of a few good men to do nothing-Edmund Burke
The question is not how much time do you have, it is what you do with the time that you have Gandalf
"One of the greatest dignities of humankind is that each successive generation is invested in the welfare of each new generation." Fred Rodgers
"it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert" ancient saying
78 constantly modified/customized since 1978, BOTM June 2015 de-evolving this very moment viewtopic.php?f=30&t=65511
76 Ltd "cookies bike" ALMOST DONE
79 project, finished, FOR SALE
'86 1200 (Beth's)(FOR SALE) with motorvation sidecar (sidecar sold) , July 2017 BOTM
'17 HD Road king and 08 HD Heritage softail (Beth's) (FOR SALE). I guess you can say we have MBS
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Re: Should I Replace The Stator Or Convert To GM Alternator?

#30

Post by 82aspy »

too many stator stories out there for me to go there, unless perhaps engine out for other reasons
"there is a Darwinian element"
Yoda said, "There is no try or not try; there is only do or don't do."
=====================
ngw quotes anim-cheers1 - \ "I will strip the beast" \ "the swingarm is just a hunk of metal" \ "gonna maybe ...dunno yet" \ "It's never done, thats the fun." \ "something about this site brings me back"
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