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mnvalkrider
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« on: August 17, 2010, 03:20:09 PM » |
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Could use some advise here on the valkyrie charging system. Have had the battery go dead on me twice now. Didn't catch on the first time, just charged up battery and figured I had a bad conection. Now after charging and staring the bike there is only 11.8 volts at the battery. I plan on pulling the alternator and checkin the brushes. Any words of wisdom here will sure be appreciated. She has some over 70K so the brushes sound like a good place to start. I'm missing some beautiful riding time up here in Minnesota, it has finally began to cool off some. More like we like it. Thanks, mnrider
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Earl in Pensacola
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« Reply #1 on: August 17, 2010, 03:45:44 PM » |
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If it were me, I'd connect a volt meter directly to the battery and start the bike. The charge rate should increase to as much as 14.1 or close. If it doesn't, then it's a good bet that you may need to service the alternator. If it does, then I'd start checking ALL the connections from the terminals to thru the ground cable just to be sure, then recheck the charge rate, then load test the battery.
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fudgie
Member
Posts: 10613
Better to be judged by 12, then carried by 6.
Huntington Indiana
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« Reply #2 on: August 17, 2010, 04:14:00 PM » |
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How old is the battery? ???
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 Now you're in the world of the wolves... And we welcome all you sheep... VRCC-#7196 VRCCDS-#0175 DTR PGR |
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Farther
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« Reply #3 on: August 17, 2010, 04:50:55 PM » |
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Check all the grounds on the alternator. Sounds just like the problem I recently had.
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Thanks,
~Farther
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mnvalkrider
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« Reply #4 on: August 17, 2010, 05:24:54 PM » |
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thanks for the replys guys, iwent ahead and pulled the alternator and the brushes are worn past the notch and the side. actualy it is worn through the hole on one of them. the job went pretty smooth except for the mounting bolt for the alt that i was a little rough with and it broke. dam i haven't pulled that one for along time. my wrenching must be as dusty as the parts in the alt. will have to get the brushes or maybe just have the shop solder them in, not sure how critical the placement on them is. the broken bolt is the front center one. am sure it will be a joy to remove. wasn't into the penatrating oil at the time.
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Ricky-D
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« Reply #5 on: August 18, 2010, 07:09:24 AM » |
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The brushes in the Valkyrie alternator are pretty much standard in the industry.
And they must be really inexpensive, because
When I took them to an alternator repair shop he simply looked at them and pulled open a drawer and gave me a brand new pair of brushes and the pins to help in re-assembly.
How nice was that!!!
Anyway, the long and short of that is: It was not the brushes.
The armature was the culprit and I learned from the alternator guy, who rebuilds the Honda species, that the armature is the main failed part of the alternator.
So, my advice to you is to test the armature fully before you go investing a lot of time on the other parts only to find you been wasting your time!
***
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2000_Valkyrie_Interstate
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Gryphon Rider
Member
Posts: 5227
2000 Tourer
Calgary, Alberta
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« Reply #6 on: August 18, 2010, 10:33:07 AM » |
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By all means, replace the brushes, but my alternator failed due to a broken wire in the rotor. Use the shop manual's testing procedure to see if this is the problem. The rotor can be purchased separately.
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mnvalkrider
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« Reply #7 on: August 18, 2010, 06:41:13 PM » |
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I did bring the alternator into the shop to have henry go through it. I feel better about that than just changing out the brushes and cleaning it up. I messed with the broken bolt some today. I cut a groove into it with a disc and a dremmel tool. Then tried some screw driver action to no avail. still soaking it with penatrating oil and keeping my fingers crossed. Its broke off just inside the threads 1/8 to 1/4. Things will look better tomorrow.
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