[1stWing]

Kind of a play on the old Harley joke, the other day I found myself stranded.
The electrical system stopped charging and once the battery discharged that was the end of the ride.

So, I was wondering what alternator might be the best replacement or should I have the old one rebuilt?
The reviews I read about DB Electrical' s alternator have one guy saying it is the best ever and the next says it didn't last, so I don't know what to think.

 

[#1Blackbetty]

When it comes to an alternator for your bike. OEM seems to get the best results. How many miles were on the bike when it failed?

 

[techdude2000]

Kind of a play on the old Harley joke, the other day I found myself stranded.
The electrical system stopped charging and once the battery discharged that was the end of the ride.

So, I was wondering what alternator might be the best replacement or should I have the old one rebuilt?
The reviews I read about DB Electrical' s alternator have one guy saying it is the best ever and the next says it didn't last, so I don't know what to think.

Are you sure it’s the alternator? The cruise fuse will kill it if blown.

 

[Captron]

Are you sure it’s the alternator? The cruise fuse will kill it if blown.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa good info to know!! Thank you! :kiss::kiss:

oops ! Sorry to butt in on your conversation here!

Ronnie

 

[1stWing]

Cruse control works fine and I checked the fuse anyway.
Battery is good.
Runs just fine till battery discharges.


Alternator is making sounds as if bearings are out.
Personally I think the design has a flaw in that dust and dirt that gets kicked up from the front wheel gets sucked in.

 

[1stWing]

Just about to turn 70K.

Everything was working great, I looked down at the speedo and both it and the tack were on the zero pegs.
Less then a mile later and the engine started cutting out, then it quit.

After I got it home and charged up the battery I measured the voltage which measured less with the bike running then with everything turned off. None of the fuses were blown and I could hear the alternator, so I guess it was my bad for not checking it before I got stranded.

BTW: It cost me over $200 to get home. 2 Uber rides and I bought a battery for $130 which allowed me to ride home. Only one person tried to help, the rest were capitalizing!

 

[techdude2000]

Just about to turn 70K.

Everything was working great, I looked down at the speedo and both it and the tack were on the zero pegs.
Less then a mile later and the engine started cutting out, then it quit.

After I got it home and charged up the battery I measured the voltage which measured less with the bike running then with everything turned off. None of the fuses were blown and I could hear the alternator, so I guess it was my bad for not checking it before I got stranded.

BTW: It cost me over $200 to get home. 2 Uber rides and I bought a battery for $130 which allowed me to ride home. Only one person tried to help, the rest were capitalizing!

Sorry to hear that. I agree that it is in a hot dirty area and needs better ventilation. Good luck with your repair, I recommend only OEM alternators if you are going for a replacement.

 

[1stWing]

Well, I managed to get the alternator off the bike. Not a lot of fun removing that bolt in the top!

The local electrical repair guy said he didn't want to work on it and has no way to test it, but from the looks of the dirt packed in the fins he thought it may have overheated and that may have cause it to fail.

 

[Corventure]

I recommend sending it to Ken Hemming. Google MARS motorcycle alternator.
I have had him repair 2 GL1800 alternators over the years. One for me and another for a friend. Highly recommended here.


Corventure Dave

 

[GoldWingrGreg]

If it is not too expensive too OH with OEM parts, the only other good choice is getting a new one from Honda. You can search the forum regarding DB Electrical, and you'll probably find the same thing ... spotty at best. For me reliability is paramount.

 

[CAWing]

Sorry to hear about your alt. failure. Given the location and the ability to pick up dirt, dust, etc. I periodically fire up my air compressor and blow out all that crap. You'd be surprised at what comes out. May help, may not but just takes 5 minutes to do. :shrug:

 

[Captron]

Sorry to hear about your alt. failure. Given the location and the ability to pick up dirt, dust, etc. I periodically fire up my air compressor and blow out all that crap. You'd be surprised at what comes out. May help, may not but just takes 5 minutes to do. :shrug:

Hmmmmmmmmm excellent idea here..Thanks for the suggestion :wink2:
Although I never ride my bike in dirty/dusty areas (If I come to a dirt road I just turn around) then give her a bath when ever I get home/and a good wax job whenever it rains...00

Ronnie

 

[greyhound]

Sorry to hear about your alt. failure. Given the location and the ability to pick up dirt, dust, etc. I periodically fire up my air compressor and blow out all that crap. You'd be surprised at what comes out. May help, may not but just takes 5 minutes to do. :shrug:

I did that once on my '02 and yes - a lot of dust did blow out. But now I am hesitant to repeat because I can't help but wonder if doing this might result in some dislodged material getting blown into places in the alternator that would result in its failure??

 

[weengers]

I did that once on my '02 and yes - a lot of dust did blow out. But now I am hesitant to repeat because I can't help but wonder if doing this might result in some dislodged material getting blown into places in the alternator that would result in its failure??

With that in mind, wonder if doing blowing it out while the bike is running would be better or worse, I'm thinking better.

 

[CAWing]

With that in mind, wonder if doing blowing it out while the bike is running would be better or worse, I'm thinking better.

I've been doing it that way for many yrs on 2 different GL1800's with no problems.

 

[1stWing]

Another think that comes to mind, my bike would sometimes over heat before I replaced the ECM last year. So another reason to upgrade the ECM if it needs it.

 

[greyhound]

Sorry to hear about your alt. failure. Given the location and the ability to pick up dirt, dust, etc. I periodically fire up my air compressor and blow out all that crap. You'd be surprised at what comes out. May help, may not but just takes 5 minutes to do. :shrug:

With that in mind, wonder if doing blowing it out while the bike is running would be better or worse, I'm thinking better.

With some trepidation, today I once again blew out alternator dust on my '02 with my air compressor - this time leaving the engine at idle. Not as much dust as experienced the first time (currently at 88k). Watched my on-board voltmeter and all seems well; fingers crossed...

 

[weengers]

With some trepidation, today I once again blew out alternator dust on my '02 with my air compressor - this time leaving the engine at idle. Not as much dust as experienced the first time (currently at 88k). Watched my on-board voltmeter and all seems well; fingers crossed...

Good to know and good idea keeping eye on voltmeter.