GEN LIGHT / Battery Charge ... 1981 R65

[r65Barcelona]

Ok ... so she's acting up a bit.

I bought and installed a brand-new Bosch M4 F45 battery that lasted PERFECTLY for about 6 months before I started to notice that the GEN light was lightly flickering at lower rpms ...

A little rev of the engine and it would go off ... riding and starting normal ...

Little by little the GEN light was coming on MORE AND MORE ... in fact, it was coming on bright now and I noticed that by drawing the clutch it would go off ... engaging the clutch/gears it would start to flicker back on more and more ...

until that horrible day when I was in a rush to get somewhere, and I took the elevator down to the -4 level of the parking garage where I keep her .... dead battery ...

I charged it back up off the bike (noticing that one of the cells was below the minimum line and the other five were lower than normal ...I refilled the levels) but it held it's charge and she started right up ... happier than ever ...

Out for a ride and the flickering GEN is still happening ...
Today (in a rush again to get somewhere) the GEN came on "FULL FORCE" and wouldn't even yield to my throttle revs ...
I got up to ground level and decided I didn't want to chance it .... back down the ramps ... parked and I walked to the Metro station ...

HELP!!???

[KNS]

I would have a look at the brushes on the alternator.

[Deleted User 62]

I would have a look at the brushes on the alternator.

Yep, but don't forget to disconnect the ground cable of the battery first before removing the front cover, to avoid shorting the diode board.

[r65Barcelona]

....have a look at the brushes....

What should I be looking for? ... or should I leave it in the hands of my (trusted) mechanic?

[Deleted User 62]

New brushes are approximately 16-16.5mm long, measured at the center, and the wear limit is about half that. If you are not mechanically inclined, this is a job for your mechanic. Changing the brushes requires removing the alternator and stator from the bike to get access to the back brush holder and a soldering iron to remove/replace them...

[Major Softie]

New brushes are approximately 16-16.5mm long, measured at the center, and the wear limit is about half that. If you are not mechanically inclined, this is a job for your mechanic. Changing the brushes requires removing the alternator and stator from the bike to get access to the back brush holder and a soldering iron to remove/replace them...

And it's not quite as easy as some soldering, as you have to control the amount of solder wicking up the wire braid

[enigmaT120]

Does anybody here (besides me) use Joel Rappaport's method? (Sorry if I misspelled his last name.) I don't remember the details, but he crimps o-ring terminals onto the ends of the brush wires and attaches them to a couple of threaded posts on the front. No need to pull off the alternator and stator.

Now I can't even find the article on the internet. He eventually upgraded to one of the 450 watt aftermarket alternators.

[Deleted User 62]

Sounds like a plan! Pulling the alternator apart to change a brush is a PITA...