thedogsbollock Posted March 7, 2012 Posted March 7, 2012 Hi folks Please forgive me for posting a query as my introductory submission but I'm in a bit of a pickle and would be very grateful for any advice. I just took my XVS125 Dragstar in for a service and MOT and after receiving the bad news that it required a new chain & sprocket set in order to pass the MOT, when I went to collect the bike that afternoon, they apologised because they'd been meaning to call to advise me that the alternator was also kaput. Being a bit of a fairweather biker, I've hardly used the bike this winter but when I rode it for the first time a few weeks back, I was pleasantly surprised that it started perfectly. It had a good run back then to charge the battery but then when I went to take it in for it's MOT, the battery died almost immediately before the engine caught and I nearly had a heart attack (suddenly feeling very old!)) push starting it. So I asked them to check the battery to see if it was holding a charge properly. They've suggested that a new alternator is expensive (especially as my bill is already way past the £100 i was expecting (and can afford!) and that if I leave it with them they can send the alternator off to a bloke who rewinds the coil for them. However I'm wondering whether this is a good idea, as it's still going to cost a considerable amount to get this done and perhaps I'd be better off getting it replaced, or trying to find a second-hand alternator from a breakers? Also having searched the forums here, I'm now wondering whether the mechanic will have checked to confirm that it's not just the regulator, as the only power issues I've ever had in the past is when the bike has conked out on about two occasions in traffic and there's appeared to be no power at all going to the warning lights. But this has always seemed to sort itself out. I've never experience any dimming of the head lights or the indicators, which I assume to be the usual indication that the alternator isn't working? Any help or advice would be very much appreciated as I'm in a real quandary as to what to do and whether I can afford to do it :-( With my utmost thanks in advance to anyone who takes the trouble to get back to me All the best Bernard
Moderator DirtyDT Posted March 7, 2012 Moderator Posted March 7, 2012 (edited) Strange they looked at the alternator unless the bike wouldn't start. I would get it home and check and test the system and the battery. There is a fault finding thread on the forum somewhere. Edited April 27, 2012 by alexasigno Removed linked to copyrighted material
thedogsbollock Posted March 7, 2012 Author Posted March 7, 2012 > Strange they looked at the alternator unless the bike wouldn't start. I asked them to check if the battery was holding a charge, as I was assuming there might be a possiblity that the battery was knackered. It was a massive wind up, as I only booked the MOT so that I could use the bike to drive into London for some work and I remembered this bike shop nearby who'd MOTd it for me a couple of years back. But then I eventually had to call them, after driving up and down the road where I remembered them to be, only to discover they'd since moved to Kennington, which wasn't nearly the convenient option that I'd imagined! I should've given up at this stage and realised that the omens weren't looking good I'm getting a little bit past it for push starting the thing, as they're fairly heavy (why on earth did they desist with kick-starts?) and according to the mechanic the alternator is definitely dead. So what I'd really like to find out, is whether anyone has any experience of having the coil rewound on an alternator as a viable alternative to buying a new one (as I can't seem to find any secondhand ones online) Much appreciate you bothering to reply Many Thanks Bernard
Moderator Airhead Posted March 7, 2012 Moderator Posted March 7, 2012 rectifiers seem to be a weak link and i'd check that first Bernard, sometimes you can even see damage like burning for example, others...you will have to get the multimeter out Besides...you can check the stator easily yourself with a multimeter...it's all in the manual and an easy task to do, then you'll know that what they say is correct or not eh
Chris_Lowe Posted March 8, 2012 Posted March 8, 2012 ive recently had the same issue with my reg/rec and everyone on here was really helpful. I know have a fault finding pdf document which i can email you if you like, as long as you have a multimeter you can check where the problem lies. I ordered a new one from Japan, it works fine!! Hope that helps Chris
Paulwhite Posted March 9, 2012 Posted March 9, 2012 double check everything with a multimeter! if you find it is the stator (altinator) then pm me as iv got one in the shed and will do u a deal. but the last thing you want to do is to get it, find thats its the reg/rect and have to spend 90 quid on a new one. and search for xvs 125 engine casing as the "altinator" is on the inside of the left hand engine casing and is usualy sold with it.
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