OzSTOC
Honda ST1300 Section => Honda ST1300 General Questions => Topic started by: Diesel on June 26, 2013, 08:55:10 AM
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Well, I am fairly shattered today as here is a pic of my bike at the moment....
(http://i1298.photobucket.com/albums/ag42/dieselst1300/20130625_193753_zpse3d9994c.jpg)
... and I have reached the limit of my expertise and capability. Whilst I have researched the subject of alternator removal for many hours, read the workshop manual and worked with it, and coupled with my experience on mechanical things, I have to admit defeat on this daunting project. The truck should be around later today to get the 'experts' to finish the job back to this point (with a new or rebuilt alternator).
On the bright side... I may have saved a few quid in labour charges, as the shop would still have to get to this point and charge for it.
With Ebor looming, I do not have time to ponder things for a week or two.
I'll keep you posted with progress.
Cheers, Diesel
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:eek :eek
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Hi Diesel
Where do we send the flowers and cards?
(http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/ii610/pmdodds1/Stuff/e1ec6f595614d28ed6dd94c369c01f1a_zpsa27b80ba.jpg)
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:wht11 py
Buggar
lets hope the other experts dont take to long mate :fp :cuss :cuss
Tipsy
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:think1 I see the problem - You dont have your very handy mobile mechanics from down south there to guide you :spank :eek
All you needed to do was provide :beer :eat :popcorn :beer :beer :beer :beer :beer and we would have solved it for you at a lot cheaper rate :wink1 :p :crackup :rofl
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Do all the tests point to an alternator failure? I haven't heard much about such failures but they must happen sometimes.
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:think1 I see the problem - You dont have your very handy mobile mechanics from down south there to guide you :spank :eek
All you needed to do was provide :beer :eat :popcorn :beer :beer :beer :beer :beer and we would have solved it for you at a lot cheaper rate :wink1 :p :crackup :rofl
Dont know about cheaper ???? We drank more than any 4 mechanics I know would charge just fixing a tyre for him...... :whistle
How far did you push that tyre plug into Stella anyway Tony ??? Tell the Honda STealer to look for a tyre plug screwed into your alternator :eek
goodluck with STella for Ebor.....
:beer
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Do all the tests point to an alternator failure? I haven't heard much about such failures but they must happen sometimes.
Yep - looks like brushes etc, going on the tiny bit of extra charge at higher revs. There are diodes and he stator to check out too.
@ Tony and Chris - yep - mechanic is much cheaper than trying to keep grog up to you two! :p Do you know how much overtime Mrs Diesel had to do to restock the beer fridge? :eek :wink1
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Damn She is a good woman :thumbs :clap - So how did you end up with her :think1 :grin :grin
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Damn She is a good woman :thumbs :clap - So how did you end up with her :think1 :grin :grin
There's a picture on the forum somewhere of Mrs D mowing the lawns, while Mr D sits drinking. :clap :clap :clap :clap
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Hey Dave... Do those landing lights you have on the bike have anything to do with the failed alternator?
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Just looked in the workshop manual, you almost had it.
(http://puu.sh/3oHXG.jpg)
:blu13
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Damn She is a good woman :thumbs :clap - So how did you end up with her :think1 :grin :grin
Mrs Diesel is a sucker for a classy, intelligent, charismatic gentleman. Nuff said really. :p
Hey Dave... Do those landing lights you have on the bike have anything to do with the failed alternator?
When the mech saw the lights, he did this.... :eek and suggested accelerated wear. BUT..... The alternator is rated at 740 watts, and even with all my circuits, I'd be pulling only about half of that (i.e. HALF its factory rating) - so not sure if I totally agree. Brock, Whizz or others may be able to shed some HID on this for us.
Just looked in the workshop manual, you almost had it.
Yeah Mal - but this happened too close to Ebor for me to invest another few nights trying to get everything sussed.
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UPDATE:
Shop rang and confirmed the alt had no output.
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Looks like a newy, or a rewind on this one. At least bike should be going sooner rather than later.
Cheers, Diesel
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Good stuff. :runyay
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When the mech saw the lights, he did this.... :eek and suggested accelerated wear.
:|||| :||||
Rubbish, the brushes are there to allow variable voltage to the rotor, the load is all drawn from the stator windings via the diodes. Brush wear is due to friction only.....
740 Watts is in the order of 60Amps, it takes a lot to draw that much..
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HIDs draw more power at startup, but less while in operation. The battery takes care of this temporary current requirement. ST11s and ST13s have been running with more power load than this for many years. The weak point usually turns out to be wiring connections, not the alternator.
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Rubbish, the brushes are there to allow variable voltage to the rotor, the load is all drawn from the stator windings via the diodes. Brush wear is due to friction only.....
740 Watts is in the order of 60Amps, it takes a lot to draw that much..
Thanks mate - I'm about to call them and work out a solution. :thumb
Thanks too saaz.
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OK - shop says there is no continuity between input and output of brushes contact pads and that I have fried the guts of it - so no replacing brushes or diodes or stator will fix - needs whole new unit. He is pricing one as we speak.
He also says that I caused this by the massive draw from the lights and electricals - but I thought relays and fuses made all this OK. :think1 hmmmm.
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Let the Defarkling Begin :fp :whistle
:grin :blk13 :grin
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Diesel, first question, how many lights do you have on your bike (including the back ones) and what wattage is each one? This will give a basis to calculate total current drawn when all the the lights were actually on, not forgetting the current actually required to run the donk at the same time.
It is quite conceivable that the alternator my have simply turned up its toes and died, it's happened to me before now both on bikes and in cars, so it is certainly not unheard of! I actually had one burst into flames on an old Ford I drove for a short while back in UK many years ago!!
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I would like to examine the alternator, I find his description hard to believe. The rotor might be open circuit, but I seriously doubt it is due to high loading....
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Agreed Gents.
I actually have 2 x 55 watt HID headlights, 2 x 55 Watt Halogen spotties and 2 x 55 watt HID spotties, a 2 x 9 watt rear marker lights, heated hand grips, cruise control unit, 12v cig lighter socket.
All this adds up to less than half the 740 watt output of the alt.
I have heard the standard 13 requires 54 watts to operate.
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I May have missed something but it sounds like a serious load on the wee alterator:
2x 55W HID 110
2x 55W Halogen 110
2x55W HID Spotties 110
2x 9W Markers 18
Heated Grips 4-5Amp 55
ST1300 (Comp, inj etc) 54
Cruise (estimate ) 50
---------
507
5-10% inefficiencies( switch/relay etc) 40
Cig lighter >120w but lets say gps 20
Grand Total 567 W
Plus the battery will need recharge after a start, which could easily top out at the 740W mark for quite a period of time till the battery is recharged.
Are the Alternators rated at 740W continous?
:think1 Just food for thought
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I May have missed something but it sounds like a serious load on the wee alterator:
2x 55W HID 110
2x 55W Halogen 110
2x55W HID Spotties 110
2x 9W Markers 18
Heated Grips 4-5Amp 55
ST1300 (Comp, inj etc) 54
Cruise (estimate ) 50
---------
507
5-10% inefficiencies( switch/relay etc) 40
Cig lighter >120w but lets say gps 20
Grand Total 567 W
Plus the battery will need recharge after a start, which could easily top out at the 740W mark for quite a period of time till the battery is recharged.
Are the Alternators rated at 740W continous?
:think1 Just food for thought
Thanks Hendo - these things are rarely all used at the same time, and night riding realistically makes up only makes up 3 percent of the bike's usage (just a guess) so the lights are barely ever on. Do you agree this could fry the guts?
Cheers, Diesel
PS - just saw that I can get one delivered for $630 from Stateside.
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Don't forget Brake Lights and Indicators as well as the rest of the continuous loads. The thing that occurs to me is whether there is an actual time limit for the specified available wattage, I don't know but from a design point of view why would Honda decide to fit a 740W Alternator if the actual design does not actually need anything remotely close to that supply?
I know that they do add a Jesus Factor with Alternators as well as everything else, I am just quite concerned with the number of very bright lights that have been added in this instance. To have 6 very bright head lights seems excessive from a current supply point of view, this effectively gives a supply requirement that is three times what was originally in the design requirement and any Design Engineer would have a minor fit if these figures were given to him to investigate!
I tend to agree with Hendo68 that we are not including the amount of current that is being supplied to recharge the battery after starting the engine...that is most certainly NOT a small amount, and if that is added to the current requirements for the lights etc. then I can reasonably assume that the required Alternator wattage is excessively high.
Add to this the fact that there would be somewhere in the order of 50A or more being drawn from the battery/Alternator (570W/12V + battery charge current) in amps and you can assume that there is a significant drop in voltage in the cable because of the resistance and heat being created in the cable itself, none of which is going to help the problem.
All this can reasonably be assumed to be the case because your Alternator did actually die!!...others, without the number of lights quoted, have not. The situation seems to prove itself, I fear.
Now I may be wrong, but I do think that the tripling of the number of headlights to 6, all powered by the original Alternator which was designed to feed only 2, and the subsequent death of that Alternator sort of explains itself!
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A great argument there mate, and I can only think that engineers who design bikes that will be used as Police Specials would HAVE to build a bit of fat into the amperage equation to run all that extra :cop gear. (STs and STPs run the same alt).
If you are correct (and I wouldn't doubt it)... does this mean I need to look at LEDs for extra lighting to drop, say, an extra couple of hundred of watts drawage?
Am I the ONLY one to abuse the amp meter on a ST?
All input is appreciated. :thumb
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Diesels 570 watts would be the max extra load, if everything was on at once. Battery recharge current would drop to next to nothing from maybe 10amps in a few minutes ( many years of battery maintenance talking here), in fact, probably before he got out the drive way.
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As I said, I am equally sure that there is a strong possibility that the Alternator simply stuck its head between its legs and kissed it bum goodbye. Which ever way it happened is actually quite irrelevant, the fact is that it died, hopefully the replacement will last a long time.
:rofl
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That load is not that unusual. Lionel's ST11 has run 2 x 100w halogen spots plus HID hi/los, cruise, comms and other electrical stuff for years.
On my ST11 I run 2 x 70W HIDs, 2 x 55W HID spots, cruise, comms etc. At idle with all on the bike still runs at 14v. The ST13 probably has a bit bigger alternator to deal with the extra requirements of EFI.
It will be interesting to see what the problem is, as it will indicate what might have caused it. The halogens are a bit wasteful of power, so LEDs might perform the same role to fill the gap before the HIDs kick in.
I would also look into any wiring issues, as sometimes it is not the alternator at fault but the connections into the charging system having resistance.
If all else fails, the Triumph Trophy has a 940w alternator :think1
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I agree with Brock and Ive had the Whizz situation too.
Built rally cars for a few years and had one alt give up in all that time. Mountain of old clunker lights, nav gear, pumps, and so on. One alt lost the plot out of the blue. swapped it and never had the same thing happen ever again on any of ten or so cars.
To be honest Diesel if the light was the cause then Ox or Franz or TJ or others would have found this ages ago.
Now who's got a hammer >:()
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Yea, I was going to mention that the riders mentioned have way more serious lights than Diesel. Ox has had the battery go flat while riding due to excessive load, and no sign of alternator failure.
You used up a bit of your luck meeting Mrs Diesel :wink1
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I am not a technical wizard by any means, I did the maths as best as I can and have a number of extra lights on the bike plus some extra bits and pieces that need power as well. I have used the experience of other LDRiders when it comes to setting my bike up. I have had one issue on the st1100 regarding HID lights which kept blowing a fuse as the power required at startup was to much. I replaced one set of HID with the Clearwater led's. I still get the same lighting quality out front. I now have the same setup on the st1300 and all is good.
my old setup was hid headlights plus two sets of hid spotties and one set of led running lights.
the setup now is hid headlights, one set of spot beam hid, one set of led spotties and one set of led running lights ( plus all my other bits)
all is still good, touch wooden.
I have not heard of the alt burning out being used in this way????? I would suggest considering the use of led in some way
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Great info Gents......may I throw cable gauge, connectors and earths into the equation with the auxiliary lighting......slightly dodgy connection, heat + moisture = electrolysis in a connector,then voltage drop and Alternator output increase...... on a light that appears to be working just fine on the surface.
Just say'in
:beer
Come on STella "breath, breath" :thumbs
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With my STead, I had 35W HID headlights, 35W HID spots and a pair of 75W Lightforce lights.
With all that I was sailing close to the wind as to speak with usable power.
With revs and the HID's the charge was 13.75V. Add the halogens and that dropped to 12.75V.
The alternator was working too hard.
:blu13
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Come on STella "breath, breath" :thumbs
[/quote]
She might need some hands on, or an injection of volt(aren).
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Come on STella "breath, breath" :thumbs
She might need some hands on, or an injection of volt(aren).
[/quote]
:crackup
Hope you get the bike sorted for Ebor, it's only me with my BB who turns up to a Overnight RTE in the car :p
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Diesel I run 35w HID Hi/Lo, 35w HID Spots, 50w Halogen spots, Cruise, Starcom1, GPS, UHF, etc on my ST1100 and do what you do regularly. My bike still charges at 13.8v at idle with a 40amp.
The head Mechanic at my local stealer tried to tell me the same thing until he met the tech that advised me on the set up of accessories and was categorically proven wrong, unless he could produce old ineffective wiring which could cause localised problems. He now doesn't comment on my set up unless it interferes with his mechanics. I would send all of your farkles and ratings to a smart techie type boffin (you may even find one on the forum :whistle) and get him to do a full rating for you to ease your mind. You would be surprised how much you have left in the ratings to run the general bike operations and still have a little left over to ensure you aren't frying the alternator.
Point of interest: This is why QPS went away from the ST after Dave Sheen was killed in Brisbane on a Code Job (Lights & Sirens) because the standard system couldn't handle police extras and also give us ABS power. During the investigation it was shown that ABS braking could have stopped him in time to save his life. The exact same reason that the BMTroubleU's & FJR1300's runs a dual battery system while the ST1300 still only has a single unit.
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Here is a link that may help in working out what you have left after the requirements of the bike
http://stwiki.notonthe.net/twiki/bin/view/ST13/ElectricalReference (http://stwiki.notonthe.net/twiki/bin/view/ST13/ElectricalReference)
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Not a bad spread sheet, tho it can be modified for Oz a bit. We dont have position lights, and 42Watts for an indicator??? I dont think so, 42 watts for left or right maybe, but as its not on all the time (they arent are they??) they could be left out of the calculations. Also drop out brake lights, we dont ride with those on continuously..
I also dont think we ride with the fans on all the time, unless in slow traffic, so in that case high beams wont be in use
I will have a bit of a look later...
After quick look and adjustments, I see about 40 A available for use (at full load) more likely 30ish in reality, as alternator gets hot over time, and ability to supply will drop.
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Very glad you had a quick look, I started to get a bit concerned when I worked mine out :eek but looking at your early estimate I still have a few amps left over :runyay
the two small lights in the headlight of the 1300, do they suggest that they are the position lights?
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Make sure you retain the fried alternator so one of our esteemed technical officers can evaluate the offending piece of equipment. Put the speculation to bed once and for all.
Cheers.
Skip.
P.S. Am i the only operator who can claim to own a stock standard showroom version of the mighty 1300 ? i.e. farkle free. :grin
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the two small lights in the headlight of the 1300, do they suggest that they are the position lights?
Yes, these are the "Position Lights". See page 119 of the ST1300 Owners Manual.
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P.S. Am i the only operator who can claim to own a stock standard showroom version of the mighty 1300 ? i.e. farkle free. :grin
Why would anyone admit to that!!?? :popcorn
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I have only two points,one at work (farming,earthmoving)we no longer rewire,repair alternators,starter motors from experience we get less than half the original life out of them.HID'S have been fazed out as we have had a lot of trouble with the ballast's,now using "white pointer"LED's so far proving effective.hope you get to the bottom of the issue.Noel
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P.S. Am i the only operator who can claim to own a stock standard showroom version of the mighty 1300 ? i.e. farkle free. :grin
Why would anyone admit to that!!?? :popcorn
:think1 Perfectly good bike without them ? ( Except for that damn seat. ) :fp
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When the mech saw the lights, he did this.... :eek and suggested accelerated wear. BUT..... The alternator is rated at 740 watts, and even with all my circuits, I'd be pulling only about half of that (i.e. HALF its factory rating) - so not sure if I totally agree. Brock, Whizz or others may be able to shed some HID on this for us.
Diesel, very sorry to hear about your woes. I am only very new to ST1300s and not technical, but I am interested in the source of your information that the alternator is 740 watts.
The specifications at this location suggest otherwise at 480W for an ST1300A ( http://motorcycles.honda.com.au/Sports_Touring/ST1300A (http://motorcycles.honda.com.au/Sports_Touring/ST1300A) ). I hope I have read this correctly!
Would they change alternators for different year models, or did you get yours upgraded? Something not making sense to me. :-[
Cheers,
Marty
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from memory the 740W was when the bike was at 5k rpm
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So is it fixed yet? :popcorn :beer
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So is it fixed yet? :popcorn :beer
Anyone seen a Red ST called STella on the road lately.....
Sadly - she is still in Honda Hospital waiting for my rebuilt alternator to resurface. I should be picking the alt up on Friday, and delivering it back to Honda Sat/Mon to pick her up Tues/Wed, to put all her clothes back on Thu/Fri. :eek
As you can see, it will be a 'skin of my teeth' situation as o whether I can make it to Bilo - so I'll have to drop my attendance status down to 'possibly'.
Will update here further as events come to pass.
Cheers, Diesel
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So is it fixed yet? :popcorn :beer
Anyone seen a Red ST called STella on the road lately.....
Sadly - she is still in Honda Hospital waiting for my rebuilt alternator to resurface. I should be picking the alt up on Friday, and delivering it back to Honda Sat/Mon to pick her up Tues/Wed, to put all her clothes back on Thu/Fri. :eek
As you can see, it will be a 'skin of my teeth' situation as o whether I can make it to Bilo - so I'll have to drop my attendance status down to 'possibly'.
Will update here further as events come to pass.
Cheers, Diesel
Just hire a scooter Diesel.... If its not ready..
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I hope STella gets fixed in time. Meanwhile, I should be up at Biloela, and Lionel will be doing a shakedown of the the new Taj caravan at Bribie Island, so on the way back I might spend a day or so in the area. A boat ride on Moreton island might be on the cards as well. So either celebrations or the other :beer
So is it fixed yet? :popcorn :beer
Anyone seen a Red ST called STella on the road lately.....
Sadly - she is still in Honda Hospital waiting for my rebuilt alternator to resurface. I should be picking the alt up on Friday, and delivering it back to Honda Sat/Mon to pick her up Tues/Wed, to put all her clothes back on Thu/Fri. :eek
As you can see, it will be a 'skin of my teeth' situation as o whether I can make it to Bilo - so I'll have to drop my attendance status down to 'possibly'.
Will update here further as events come to pass.
Cheers, Diesel
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Owing to circumstances beyond my control I collect my new van on 6 Aug.
Biloela might be a possibility after all.
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Go for it lionel see you there!
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Latest development in the alternator saga for my STella...
As you may be aware - STealership wanted $1700 to replace and fit it and the throttle body (me doing the rest in my garage. So I said.... :cuss THAT!
I took it to an auto electrician that I knew and proceeded to wait 4 weeks while the alternator got rewound for a 6 volt system! :cuss :||||
Back it went to be redone for 12V. Another week and a half later, I picked it up last night to find that the output shaft had been bashed out of shape either by a hammer (to get it pressed back on) or by the unit being dropped! :|||| :|||| :||||
Honda guy thinks he can repair it (as it is a snug fit) but cannot get to it for days! |-i :cuss
So I will once again be attending a RTE in the car. :eek 8)
See you all at Esk this weekend.
Cheers, Diesel
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Thanks for the update mate....... :popcorn
Just imagine the reunion !!!!!
:beer
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Diesel, How much was a new alternator from a US supplier, compared to what you have needed to spend for the rewind etc?
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Diesel, How much was a new alternator from a US supplier, compared to what you have needed to spend for the rewind etc?
I would say cheap compared to the levels of stress involved.... :crackup
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OUCH >:()
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Diesel, How much was a new alternator from a US supplier, compared to what you have needed to spend for the rewind etc?
$630 delivered - PLUS - it would have been here 3 weeks ago!
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It seems to me the rewind people owe you big time for not only failing to deliver a proper repair the first time, but then delivering a seriously damaged item.
How can they stay in business if that's an example of their work.
PUBLISH their name if they won't do something to compensate you.
There is a website where you can air your grievance. Tell them you're going to post them up there if they won't help you.
http://www.notgoodenough.org/ (http://www.notgoodenough.org/)
I've used this and it works!
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If you let this go by Diesel then they just make a habit of it..they try it on with the next and so on.
Their cock-up with voltage and then the bash..just not on mate.
Use your spurs.
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Yep, go hard or go home.
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Ah I see your problem don't know why id didn't come to me earlier
Your problem with bike is it is not Pearl Corrinado Blue. o:)
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:rofl :rofl :rofl :-++ :-++ :-++. I was thinking that, but I've seen the size of diesel and he can probably run faster than me too.
It's ok Diesel, we love ya even if it is a red. :thumb
I hope Stella is back on the road soon.....
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:crackup :crackup
I explained the situation and he gave me a $50 discount. That means I have had the alt re-built, re-wound and re-conditioned for $195. This makes me :grin
Not out of the woods yet tho. :wink1
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Bugga Diesel it should have been free. You know where to not go next time :phone :-(((
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Winston66.
Wonders,
this is very interesting, but here I will probably shown some ignorance,
My question is about the voltage regulator that controls the alternator output.
I have often heard and or read about some regulators being called a Shunt regulator.
Now i do not know what the ST1300 configuration is, But it is my belief that a shunt type regulator lets the alternator operate at its rated output, and whilst supplying the necessary power,(voltage and Current)draw to the needed electrical items it also then shunts any surpless current through a suitable resistor (load) to the electrical earthing point.
This suggests to me that if my guess is correct an alternator that is in this type of configuration will be putting out its rated output at its specified rev. range.At all times
Now I stress the fact that I am not sure if what I have said is correct and I hope that some knowledgeable person can put some light on the subject so to speak.
And I also do not know if this supposition will have anything to do or any bearing on the problem to hand.
Cheers to all.
Winston66
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Don't be concerned doing a RTE in the car Diesel my friend, got my BB trained to jump in the passenger side when required :grin
Pockey :thumb
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:cuss
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Sory to say that you are wrong Winston, in fact I have never heard that explanation in working with electrickery in the last 40 years.
An Alternator (or generator) is designed to operate at a certain voltage, with a capacity to deliver a maximum current of what ever it may be. The regulator keeps the voltage constant ( in our case 13.8V approx). As more current is drawn, the voltage tends to want to drop, so the reg works to keep it where its supposed to be.
An analogy would be a water tank on a high stand, with a pump to keep it full and a feed pipe. The tank will have a certain head of pressure, that will start to drop slightly as the water flows out through the tap . As the level in the tank drops, the pump turns on to refill the tank..
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Reckon I'll be ready for RTE tomorrow?
Here is what Stella looked like at 11.00am ......
(http://i1298.photobucket.com/albums/ag42/dieselst1300/20130831_080524_zps0e8aced9.jpg)
(http://i1298.photobucket.com/albums/ag42/dieselst1300/20130831_080540_zpse9752fbb.jpg)
Am pulling the :cuss HID headlight out as I had no headlights!!! :|||| :|||| :||||
I'll see where I can get up to.
Cheers, Diesel (on lunch break) :eat
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Sory to say that you are wrong Winston, in fact I have never heard that explanation in working with electrickery in the last 40 years.
He's talking about this:
Linear regulators exist in two basic forms: series regulators and shunt regulators http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linear_regulator (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linear_regulator)
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Gee Diesel - Looks like you need some sober assistants this time :grin
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That is so not Good Diesel,
Hope things improve.
Allan,
That descripton sounds a bit like the system used to control the exciter voltage in the alternators rotor. Used as an output regulator for the alternator would be wildly inefficient.
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That is so not Good Diesel,
Hope things improve.
Allan,
That descripton sounds a bit like the system used to control the exciter voltage in the alternators rotor. Used as an output regulator for the alternator would be wildly inefficient.
To me it sounded like what you'd get on a circuit board or similar not as you say the alternator output.
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As there has been a bit of debate about regulators and alternators in this thread I thought I'd add my two cents worth having been in the electronics industry since 1980.
Alternators produce AC (Alternating Current)
Wiki on Alternators: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternator (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternator)
From Wiki: "Automotive alternators invariably use a rotor winding,[citation needed] which allows control of the alternator's generated voltage by varying the current in the rotor field winding." This is how they achieve regulation of the output voltage. As the current draw increases, the voltage tries to drop. (Power = Current x Voltage) so teh exciter coil is energised harder to make a stronger "magnet" which produces more voltage. As the current draw drops the exciter coil is driven less hard bring teh voltage back to the correct level.
Alternators are more energy efficient with most of them being 3 phase alternators, meaning that there are three sets of coils producing energy, but the coils are 120 degrees out of phase with each other. (360 degrees per circle/cycle). by having them out of phase it requires less energy to pass each coil through the magnetic field and because they rapidly follow each other there is a constant supply of energy. Each phase normally rectified in the alternator and the regulator is usually built into the alternator as well.
Automotive Generators usually produce DC (direct Current)
Most automotive generators are actually Dynamos: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_generator#Dynamo (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_generator#Dynamo)
It was the old dynamos that used either shunt or series regulators and sometimes both. The old Land Rover Series II had a Generator mounted on the engine and the regulator up on the firewall. It limited the voltage to 13.8V but could not stop it dropping low and it also regulated the current by limiting the current draw.
Hoping this clears it up.
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Aah.. success!
(http://i1298.photobucket.com/albums/ag42/dieselst1300/20130831_202203_zpse8b1899d.jpg)
:rockon
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:runyay :runyay :runyay
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Well done that man !!
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An ST in pieces is never a good look.
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Well done young man. That was some journey. :thumb
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Woohoooooo!!!!1 :runyay :hatwave :clap
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No excuses now....get into it. :rockon
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Good to see Stella back together, with all her bits working. See ya on the road.
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good to see mate :thumb
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Yay!
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:thumb :clap
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So, do you have to re-sit your bike licence?
Where did you ride this beautiful weekend? (Just reply when you get home will be fine).
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Thanks Gang! Had a great day out with some wonderful OzSTOC friends riding to Murwillumbah for lunch.
Stella performed flawlessly (as has usually been the case).
Look for some ride reports and pics in the pertinent thread.
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Is this an impertinent thread? :think1
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Is this an impertinent thread? :think1
Lol - only for ride reports Champ. :clap
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I suppose the first hour it was like :candystwheelie and then you settled back into :13Candy :grin
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Crikey, started to think you swapped over to the dark side.
Hope there are no long term side affects.
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Turned up to the meeting point on Saturday, fuelled up and wondered over to the group. Talking with Gadget and this really tall bloke came over and introduced himself as Diesel. I said to Gadget, 'Kind of remember a guy a long time ago called Diesel, thought he must have moved on.' Then the memories come flooding back'.
Just joking, good to have the old boy back with us.
Sean
:clap :clap
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Woo hoo!!!! Glad to hear Stella's all better :runyay :runyay :runyay :runyay :runyay :runyay
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Turned up to the meeting point on Saturday, fuelled up and wondered over to the group. Talking with Gadget and this really tall bloke came over and introduced himself as Diesel. I said to Gadget, 'Kind of remember a guy a long time ago called Diesel, thought he must have moved on.' Then the memories come flooding back'.
:well :nahnah
Woo hoo!!!! Glad to hear Stella's all better :runyay :runyay :runyay :runyay :runyay :runyay
:Blow
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If I say something positive will you blow me kisses as well? Wot thuh
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ummmm...... :think1 Nup! :nahnah
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Must be a good feeling to be in the saddle again
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congrates on the bike :thumb and the stickers on the panneries are quite bright Wot thuh