1997 GL 1500 alternator rapping noise?


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mstcitabria73
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1997 GL 1500 alternator rapping noise?

Post by mstcitabria73 »



Will worn/hardened alternator rubber dampers cause a light rapping noise that sounds similar to a bad crank bearing or hydraulic lifter? Noise is at idle and goes away at about 2500-3000 rpm. Former owner replaced alternator at about 75,000 miles and don't know if he replaced the alternator rubber dampers with new ones, unable to contact him and ask if they were replaced, bike now has 80,000 miles. Noise seems to come from left hand side of motor, motor seems to run fine but that little knock or rapping sound at idle/low rpm is annoying. Bike is currently in winter storage and will put stethoscope on alternator to determine if this is the issue when it's pulled from storage this spring. Anyone else experience this noise coming out of the alternator? Hoping it is the alternator damping rubbers and not bearings or lifters!


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Re: 1997 GL 1500 alternator rapping noise?

Post by mstcitabria73 »

Last edited by mstcitabria73 on Sat Feb 03, 2018 6:09 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: 1997 GL 1500 alternator rapping noise?

Post by mstcitabria73 »

any other opinons/suggestions?
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Re: 1997 GL 1500 alternator rapping noise?

Post by MikeB »

I did not read the other topics you have listed... limited time here...

Could be worn bearings in the alternator, or worn bearing wells caused by a bad bearing in the alternator.

I'd suggest replacing the rubber snubbers that drive the alternator. They do get hard after a few years of use. While you have the alternator out, check the bearings.

If all is well in that area, it could be the alternator drive bear. I had to have one replaced on a 1999 GL1500 when it had 27,000 miles on it because of a vibration. I've seen one other bike that had a noise in that area that needed to have the drive gear replaced. I think it was a 1993 GL1500.
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Re: 1997 GL 1500 alternator rapping noise?

Post by mstcitabria73 »

MikeB, thanks for the info and plan on replacing the rubber snubbers and will spec out the alternator drive gear/bearings as well. Appreciate your your input, thank you, Beautiful GoldWing you have in your avatar!
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Re: 1997 GL 1500 alternator rapping noise?

Post by MikeB »

The alternator drive gear sprocket replacement requires engine removal in case you didn't already know. I had mine replaced under warranty so I can not guess at what it would cost to replace it. I hope it is the snubbers or the alternator bearings that are causing your issues.
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Re: 1997 GL 1500 alternator rapping noise?

Post by mstcitabria73 »

Purchased and getting ready to install the alternator rubber dampeners and looking for video/or information on how to correctly install them. Removal of alternator should be no problem but looking for info on how to install the dampeners, are they installed on the motor side which receives the alternator or on the alternator itself? Which way do the dampeners face? Does the band that holds the rubber dampeners together face forward or to the rear of engine? Any other advice appreciated!
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Re: 1997 GL 1500 alternator rapping noise?

Post by WingAdmin »

mstcitabria73 wrote: Thu Mar 29, 2018 12:51 pm Purchased and getting ready to install the alternator rubber dampeners and looking for video/or information on how to correctly install them. Removal of alternator should be no problem but looking for info on how to install the dampeners, are they installed on the motor side which receives the alternator or on the alternator itself? Which way do the dampeners face? Does the band that holds the rubber dampeners together face forward or to the rear of engine? Any other advice appreciated!
They're pretty hard to install wrong. The go into the motor side, with the bands facing the rear. Each band goes over the vane on the engine side, and the vanes on the alternator then slide in between the sets of dampeners.





This is what you should be looking at on the engine before the alternator goes on:



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Re: 1997 GL 1500 alternator rapping noise?

Post by mstcitabria73 »

Wow, thanks for the quick response, info and great pics! Very much appreciated, thank you!
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Re: 1997 GL 1500 alternator rapping noise?

Post by mstcitabria73 »

Curious, what drives the alternator, the crank or the cam on the left cylinder bank? Bike is still in winter storage and not able to remove side cover to have a look. Also the rubber dampeners were purchased from the local Honda dealer yesterday, opened up a package to have a look and found them to be very dense hard rubber material, but not supple or squeezable at all. Does that sound right for new dampeners?
Last edited by mstcitabria73 on Thu Mar 29, 2018 4:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: 1997 GL 1500 alternator rapping noise?

Post by MikeB »

Actually, the alternator well should be intact, not like the above picture but like the one below.


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Re: 1997 GL 1500 alternator rapping noise?

Post by WingAdmin »

MikeB wrote: Thu Mar 29, 2018 4:17 pm Actually, the alternator well should be intact, not like the above picture but like the one below.
alternator mount.jpg
Much better picture than the one I found (I think the guy got frustrated trying to get his Compu-Fire alternator in and decided the solution was to hack a chunk out of the engine).
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Re: 1997 GL 1500 alternator rapping noise?

Post by mstcitabria73 »

In your first pic where part of the block has been carved away what is the black wire or is that a rubber seal hanging out of the opening?
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Re: 1997 GL 1500 alternator rapping noise?

Post by WingAdmin »

mstcitabria73 wrote: Thu Mar 29, 2018 3:34 pm Curious, what drives the alternator, the crank or the cam on the left cylinder bank? Bike is still in winter storage and not able to remove side cover to have a look. Also the rubber dampeners were purchased from the local Honda dealer yesterday, opened up a package to have a look and found them to be very dense hard rubber material, but not supple or squeezable at all. Does that sound right for new dampeners?
They drive from the crank, not through the cam - that would put too much load on one cam/timing belt. Also, if you look where the alternator is positioned, it's right in against the engine, and the cam is actually way out at the end of the head, sticking out the side of the motorcycle. The dampeners are quite hard, although when they get old (from engine heat) they get rock hard, and need to be replaced. They're not supposed to be squishy.
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Re: 1997 GL 1500 alternator rapping noise?

Post by MikeB »

mstcitabria73 wrote: Thu Mar 29, 2018 7:32 pm In your first pic where part of the block has been carved away what is the black wire or is that a rubber seal hanging out of the opening?
It looks to me like the alternator oil seal O-Ring that is normally on the alternator.
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Re: 1997 GL 1500 alternator rapping noise?

Post by WingAdmin »

MikeB wrote: Fri Mar 30, 2018 12:01 am
mstcitabria73 wrote: Thu Mar 29, 2018 7:32 pm In your first pic where part of the block has been carved away what is the black wire or is that a rubber seal hanging out of the opening?
It looks to me like the alternator oil seal O-Ring that is normally on the alternator.
That's exactly what it looks like to me as well.
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Re: 1997 GL 1500 alternator rapping noise?

Post by ct1500 »

WingAdmin wrote: Thu Mar 29, 2018 7:17 pmMuch better picture than the one I found (I think the guy got frustrated trying to get his Compu-Fire alternator in and decided the solution was to hack a chunk out of the engine).
OMG :shock: I wouldn't have that guy put air in a tire.

I will throw a pic of mine in the ring showing correct installation of the drive rubbers.
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Re: 1997 GL 1500 alternator rapping noise?

Post by mstcitabria73 »

Thanks for all the pictures and information, very helpful and much appreciated! :)
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Re: 1997 GL 1500 alternator rapping noise?

Post by mstcitabria73 »

Replaced the rubber dampeners in my alternator today and very happy to report that cured the noise that was worrying/annoying me, what a relief it was to find out it was not something like a lifter or bearing in that sweet running six cylinder! The original rubber dampeners (21 yrs. old, circa1997) were rock hard, the new replacements were a simple fix! A big thank you to the staff ;) at Goldwing Docs for the tutorials and info you provided and to all who posted here!
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Re: 1997 GL 1500 alternator rapping noise?

Post by mikemcd »

Finding your post about the alternator vibration dampening blocks is very timely, for me. I am going to do the alternator replacement today and been searching hard. My son and I went to change the alternator at his place in LA but quickly ran up against the wall as we were not prepared for this as 2 were broken. we reassembled the alternator with the broken parts ok, but I've been hearing a strange noise coming from the left side of the bike. I hope that is the problem.


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