csj
Member
Posts: 992
I used to be a wolfboy, but I'm alright NOOOOOWWWW
Peterborough Ontario Canada
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« on: June 15, 2021, 07:14:15 AM » |
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We now have three bikes with flat six engines;
1998 Valkyrie Tourer, 1999 Goldwing Trike, 2000 Goldwing SE.
We were out this last weekend and the 99 trike died. Needed to be towed home.
The bike would try to re-start, and would do so only after releasing the start button.
Classic bad battery symptom.
Replaced battery on trike yesterday. Trike starts nicely and keeps running, but battery voltage is only 11.9V.
Tried the same measurement with the 98 Valkyrie and the 00 Goldwing. Battery voltage 14.1V.
So, it would appear that I have a bad alternator. A couple of people in agreement will get me moving on replacing it.
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A guy called me a Ba$tard, I said in my case it's an accident
of birth, in your case you're a self made man.
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MarkT
Member
Posts: 5196
VRCC #437 "Form follows Function"
Colorado Front Range - elevation 2.005 km
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« Reply #1 on: June 15, 2021, 07:35:15 AM » |
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Agreed, you are definitely not getting a charge. Might just verify connections are good before going further. I've found the charging system is a regular maintenance / repair item on these bikes. Sooner if you load it down a lot. Around 50k seems to be the norm for failure. I have gone to all LED lights on Jade & George to reduce load, and run an Escort Passport on Jade all the time, set to display volts. Very good voltmeter, BTW. It has saved me on this issue several times. I don't care for the colored-light LED voltmeters, personally - much better to have the actual digital volts readout. But they are better than not having a meter.
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Bagger John - #3785
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« Reply #2 on: June 15, 2021, 08:13:30 AM » |
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Agree with Mark that your alternator is probably bad...and that a connection check is in order first.
All of my Valkyries have gotten voltmeters installed. In addition to a dedicated voltmeter, my current Tourer has digital water temp and oil pressure gauges that on startup also act as voltmeters. If the charging voltage goes too low or too high, they'll switch back to voltmeter mode and blink to get the rider's attention. On our bikes a voltmeter is probably the most useful gauge one can add.
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csj
Member
Posts: 992
I used to be a wolfboy, but I'm alright NOOOOOWWWW
Peterborough Ontario Canada
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« Reply #3 on: June 15, 2021, 08:37:03 AM » |
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Right - Thank you for those. Going to do the connection test. Will respond soon.
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A guy called me a Ba$tard, I said in my case it's an accident
of birth, in your case you're a self made man.
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Chrisj CMA
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« Reply #4 on: June 15, 2021, 08:50:20 AM » |
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Right - Thank you for those. Going to do the connection test. Will respond soon.
Don’t forget to check the 55A fuseable link. And oh! Disconnect the battery before putting a wrench to an alternator cable or you will become familiar with the 55A fusible link! |
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hubcapsc
Member
Posts: 16770
upstate
South Carolina
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« Reply #5 on: June 15, 2021, 01:43:53 PM » |
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Chrisj CMA
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« Reply #7 on: June 16, 2021, 09:51:04 AM » |
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When you remove the alternator there is a bit of engine oil present in the big hole. Just use some of that on your finger. It’s easy. |
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csj
Member
Posts: 992
I used to be a wolfboy, but I'm alright NOOOOOWWWW
Peterborough Ontario Canada
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« Reply #8 on: June 18, 2021, 12:50:20 PM » |
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Alternator replaced. New battery. Started up. 14.1V across battery. She'll be happy that her trike is now working properly.
Thanks for the help.
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A guy called me a Ba$tard, I said in my case it's an accident
of birth, in your case you're a self made man.
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gordonv
Member
Posts: 5760
VRCC # 31419
Richmond BC
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« Reply #9 on: June 18, 2021, 08:23:23 PM » |
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How did you find replacing it, removal and installation?
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1999 Black with custom paint IS   |
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csj
Member
Posts: 992
I used to be a wolfboy, but I'm alright NOOOOOWWWW
Peterborough Ontario Canada
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« Reply #10 on: June 19, 2021, 03:53:30 AM » |
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The bike in the video above must not be a 1999. The hoses and wires are different than this trike.
One wire goes up and under a bunch of tupperware near the fuel filler. I was/am under a time crunch, so instead of spending another day carefully removing fragile panels, I cut and stitched that wire to make the new alternator work.
Other than that one wire, pulling the old alternator out, and putting the new one in was relatively straightforward.
Discussions on this board suggest that replacing the valkyrie alternator is much more difficult.
Is it?
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A guy called me a Ba$tard, I said in my case it's an accident
of birth, in your case you're a self made man.
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gordonv
Member
Posts: 5760
VRCC # 31419
Richmond BC
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« Reply #11 on: June 19, 2021, 12:06:46 PM » |
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The bike in the video above must not be a 1999. The hoses and wires are different than this trike.
<snip>
Discussions on this board suggest that replacing the valkyrie alternator is much more difficult.
Is it?
The video was of a GW. That clocked alt makes getting the wires off much easier. Also there is about 2-5 mm more room to pull the alt to the rear. I had my 88' GW alt out replaced and the bike running in 15 min, after I cleaned it out to free the brushes. As for my IS, I've had everything from 5 min to 1 hr to get it back in. I posted on what I found and think is what causes it to be a more difficult job, what I've done to make it easier. Now it's the dampeners holding in place that make the job longer or not. |
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1999 Black with custom paint IS |
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