GL1500 battery not charging! Battery good, Alternator Good

[eightball1013]

My Gl1500 is not charging the battery. I can disconnect and pull battery completely and bike still runs fine. I started bike and then physically disconnected the battery, Bike stayed running with no battery installed. I hooked up my trusty multimeter, and ZERO voltage across battery wires on battery wires that connect to the battery terminals on the battery itself. I quadruple checked the DOGBONE fuse and even replaced it. Still not alternator voltage makes it back to the battery terminals but goldwing will keep on running fine. I full recharged battery starts up fine. Eventually bike wont start without a jump as battery voltage creeps down. Measuring voltage with battery connected i see no alternator voltage, but i know alternator is working because bike runs fine with battery removed? Is there a fuse/Diode or something I am missing in the charging circuit? HELP !!

[Rambozo]

Running it without a battery is not a good idea. Without something to dampen the current, the regulator can go into runaway oscillations and fry damn near everything on your bike.
Have you measured the output of the alternator? At the alt, at the input and output of the dogbone, at the battery? Somewhere along that path you have an open circuit.

[eightball1013]

Thank you for your assistance! I have measure before and after the dogbone there is no difference - only battery voltage is present and no extra from alt. What I don't understand is why it runs without a battery if alternator us bad. There is zero volts on battery terminals even when it running on alternator alone. But yet the battery starts the bike. The alternator is less than a year old its a hitachi from dbelectrical. Last year the brushes were worn down original 1998 hitachi. Ran great for over 2 decades. There must be multiple paths the alternator feeds its output to. direct to the dogbone to the batt. Then a separate path for the bike. because ZERO volts on both sides of dogbone but bike is running with no battery. I will pull plastic off alt side and measure right of the lug tomorrow!

[eightball1013]

Does anyone know if the 1998 has a different charging diagram?

[Rambozo]

If the regulator failed in a strange way, you might get some backfeeding through the excitation wires. Plenty of GoldWing owners do some pretty strange wiring add ons. So, until you inspect, you never know what you will find.

[eightball1013]

I circled the RED - Maybe BAD Diodes? then GREEN is feeding the rest of the bike?

[Rambozo]

The thing is that since it starts and runs from the battery, you should still be able to measure power making it's way to the ignition and battery. Was the headlight on when you measured no power? Another possibility is lack of ground. I would check ground path voltage drop from the engine case, the frame, and the negative battery cable.

[eightball1013]

I can start with the battery and measure voltage across the battery terminals, and from positive post to ground on the frame. There is no alternator volatage at all, but battery voltage shows up around 12.3 starts to drop. I triple checked all the grounds are good. I can pull the battery after I start the bike and put the battery in the garage to charge come back motorcycle is STILL running like a champ, headlights, radio, gauges all work normal. Then with battery out of bike in garage but motor running off alternator ZERO volts shows up between chassis and pos batt terminal, and neg term, or chassis ground. Same with either side of the dogbone fuse. The whole-time motorcycle remains is running. After reviewing the circuit in previous post I circled the unregulated output in blue. Then circled what looks like a regulated output to the fuse box. I think the rectifier diodes for "DELTA or 3 phase" have bit the dust even though the alternator is newer. voltage is still being rectified by 2nd diodes that feed regulator and is passed to main fuse block. I may be reading the schematic wrong.

[eightball1013]

First thing this am I pulled the drivers side cover exposing the Alternator. It was putting out 3.3 Volts on the post, and the plastic insulator was melted! This in turn caused the bolt to be loose holding down the wire. I wire wheeled the threads, washer, and contacts with my dremel, tightened back down and re-checked the voltage. viola! Still 3.3v, so I gently tap on casing with my plastic side of my screwdriver and immediately heard the whining noise. Now all is good and back to normal. Is it time to replace this unit under warranty or should these alternators not have sticky brushes 11 months in? I see all over the forum these alternators suffer from this!

[Rambozo]

I would warranty it if possible. Heat is the enemy of electronics. Dirty connections get hot and melt things making them get looser and hotter...
If it's melted on the outside, it's likely melted on the inside, too.

[eightball1013]

Thank you for all your help! I really appreciate you and this website! Kudos to Wing-admin! It's a great service to Goldwing owners. I have to pay $20 to ship back! but they are going to upgrade the Hitachi to 90amp!

[MaineStreet]

It was putting out 3.3 Volts on the post, and the plastic insulator was melted! This in turn caused the bolt to be loose holding down the wire.

I'm wondering if the bolt was loose to begin with (i.e. the first cause). That condition then resulted in a poor electrical connection, which lead to arcing which lead to overheating, which lead to the melted insulator and then the dysfunctional alternator.

[eightball1013]

Could of been the bolt came loose, but now I have a new problem. I thought I would upgrade to 90 amp and did. I installed it was charging at 14.5V. But running down the road it vibrates and is noticeable especially when your use to butter smooth. After searching the forums I READ this common issue with CHEAP 90 amp Alternators. The Cheap 40amp hitachi CHINA clone was butter smooth. I checked every forum they all say the same; stay away from the 90 amp Alternators. I called Cyclemax they assured me that Rick's HOT SHOT alternator did not have this problem. Can anyone confirm this???? At this point I feel like trying to find a $400 OEM Hitachi my local honda dealer has in stock!

[MaineStreet]

I can't comment on that specific alternator, but a few things come to mind. First, are you sure you've snugged all three of the alternator bolts (snug, not over-tightened so as to strip threads)? Did you replace the dampener? Maybe that was unnecessary given the condition of the existing dampener. Finally, if it isn't working and you think it is defective, return it to Cyclemax for another one.

One more thing I will say is that if you look for complaints about ANY alternator (perhaps notwithstanding stock, made in Japan hitachi models), you'll find them. Similarly, you will find positive reports for the same model. It seems like there is a bit of a manufacturing crap shoot regardless of manufacturer. Defects happen.

[eightball1013]

Thank you kindly for the reply. I did replace the bumpers/dampeners with new ones. And did torque the bolts down and they are in perfect condition. I verified everything again this afternoon. Everything is installed correctly, it's definitely an alternator issue. The 90 amp I replaced was from DBelectrical to replace DBelectrical hitachi 40 amp clone that worked for 11 months and was as smooth as the original with no vibration. Searching Glodwingdocs and all the forums I could find many who state that the Chinese 90 amps all have this vibration issue! Here is just one reference to the issue. viewtopic.php?p=399418

I just wondered if anyone has tried the Hotshot alternator by Rick's Electrical. The kind person at Cyclemax assured me that he sold many with zero complaints, and that the compufires had this issue later in production years. Before I fork out $400 more for the hotshot alternator, I wanted to hear from someone who can attest to its quality. It seems most folks are forgetting the 90 amp and going for original NOS Honda Hitachi LR140-708C for $400+ dollars. How ever today I also installed new brushes in my original alternator today and will install it tonight to see if it resolves the issue. Unfortunately, we are going on a week-long trip, and I do not have enough time to pull the bearings. I did clean the slip rings and lightly sand them, and also thoroughly cleaned the housing and stator. I did not replace the bearings, but they seem to be good.

[eightball1013]

My original alternator that I partially rebuilt is a dream! Charging at 14.5 and quiet and all vibration is gone. I did figure out what's wrong with the 90 amp. The mounting flange is NOT true! Its surface towards the lower bolt is about 1-2 mils off. So, if you snug up the bolts it pulls it in crooked. Installing a washer over the Dole would fix, but I just sent it back. I am going with my original.

[MaineStreet]

I did the rebuild on my 1999 alternator a few thousand miles ago and no worries (yet). Glad that the rebuild worked out for you, too. Good info on the quality of the DBElectric products, too. Sorry it was such a hassle, but glad it's working well now.

Regards!