alternator brushes

[The emperor has no clothes]

I had an alt. go out a couple years ago. just now took it apart to examine it. Obviously these brushes need replacing, but does it hurt or ruin the alt. if it was run this way for a 100 miles or so ? Or is all i need to do is put brushes in ?

[Chrisj CMA]

I would just put new brushes in and see what happens

[The emperor has no clothes]

I would just put new brushes in and see what happens

Thats probably what i will do. But they are such a pain to get in and out.

[gordonv]

Your choice. $6 brushes, or $100 alternator?

Should have had no adverse affect running it for 100 miles.

[sandy]

The OEM manual has a test procedure for testing the armature. Do that before spending time on the "see what happens" idea. It'll take the guess work out of the job.

[The emperor has no clothes]

The OEM manual has a test procedure for testing the armature. Do that before spending time on the "see what happens" idea. It'll take the guess work out of the job.

Thanks, I'll check it out.

[Chrisj CMA]

Brushes are easy if you have a soldering gun

[lee]

Always check the bearings when replacing the brushes.

[The emperor has no clothes]

Brushes are easy if you have a soldering gun

Yeah I worded that bad. I meant putting the alt. back in the bike is a pain.

[The emperor has no clothes]

Always check the bearings when replacing the brushes.

I'm thinking if it checks out I will just replace the bearings also. The alt. has 88k on it.

[Gryphon Rider]

Is there some hazard of spinning an alternator with worn-out brushes that I am unaware of?  I am assuming that what you mean is that the alternator quit, but you found some way to keep the bike running for the 100 miles to home or the repair shop, such as swapping batteries with another bike, or charging the battery and pulling the fuse for the headlight so the main draw on the battery was the ignition system.

I can't imagine over-worn brushes damaging the rings they ride on.

[The emperor has no clothes]

Is there some hazard of spinning an alternator with worn-out brushes that I am unaware of?  I am assuming that what you mean is that the alternator quit, but you found some way to keep the bike running for the 100 miles to home or the repair shop, such as swapping batteries with another bike, or charging the battery and pulling the fuse for the headlight so the main draw on the battery was the ignition system.

I can't imagine over-worn brushes damaging the rings they ride on.

Yes that is it. I'm just not real versed on alternators and I didn't want to redo it and then find that it was no good. Thanks 

[Ricky-D]

Those brushes pictured actually don't look that bad to me. Yes they are worn, but not to the point where there

would be damage occurring to the armature. There is still a lot of miles left in those brushes. Naturally, now that

they are out, it would be foolish to not replace them with new brushes. Any rebuild shop will have these brushes

and they are very inexpensive. There is nothing special regarding these brushes, and they are a very commonly

used item.

***

[Gryphon Rider]

A common cause of Valkyrie alternator failure is a break in a wire that leads to a coil on the alternator's rotor.  Following the testing procedure in the shop manual can confirm this.  The rotor is available as a separate part from Honda, and when I replaced mine many years ago it was a fair bit less expensive than replacing the whole alternator.  Of course you can take it to a reputable rewind shop to see if they can repair it for less.

[John Schmidt]

Judging from the picture, it appears the brush on the left may have been stuck and not making contact....or good contact.  It doesn't look to be as worn as the one on the right and may have been your only problem. Dust from worn brushes causing them to stick isn't a new problem. But since you have them out, I'd still go through the unit completely.

[The emperor has no clothes]

Judging from the picture, it appears the brush on the left may have been stuck and not making contact....or good contact.  It doesn't look to be as worn as the one on the right and may have been your only problem. Dust from worn brushes causing them to stick isn't a new problem. But since you have them out, I'd still go through the unit completely.

Interesting ! I assumed they were as wore as they get. Shows how little I know about alts. This is the first one I've ever took apart. In the past I've always just got a new alt. When this alt quit it was extremely cold and snowing. Do you think the brush just got stuck and quit producing juice ?

[gordonv]

Do you think the brush just got stuck and quit producing juice ?

That is exactly what happened to mine. 63K miles, and they got stuck. Cleaned, and they are still working. I bought spares, but will do it sometime in the future, maybe even this year.