Alternator Grommet Repair - helpful tips!

[Pigford]

A common problem with Zeds is a leak from the L/H casing where the alternator wires exit
If you can't stop oil leaks with silicon/sealent etc, then its time for a new grommet
The casing needs to be removed (lean bike to the right to prevent oil pouring out).
You will need to remove the windings in the casing. Remove the 3 x screws and a bit of gentle persuasion may be required
The wires will need to be cut to remove the old & re-fit the new grommet
Although it shouldn't matter if the wires get muddled, its probably best to mark the wires at the stator end & further up past where the wires will be cut
Once the wires have been cut, you'll need to thread them thru the new grommet To make this possible I used a bit of heat shrink over the end to hold the 'hairy' cable cover whilst its pushed thru the grommet holes:



The heat shrink can then be removed before the next step.
The wires need to be soldered together securely. I used more heat shrink to cover the joints once soldered, so remember to put some more over the wires before soldering
Whem replacing the casing, make sure its very clean, no old gasket left on any of the faces & tighten evenly
Jobs a good'n

[Rich]

You can de-solder them from the stator and reattach after putting the new grommet on. OE is lacquered but shrink fit will be fine - oil is non-conductive but reclamp in the same fashion as removed.

[RALPHARAMA]

I have recently had a bad time with my alternator.

When I stripped the engine I noticed that the three wires from the stator windings had the insulation badly cracked so unsoldered them and carefully soldered on new wires. I put heat shrink over the soldered joints and braided stuff over that and even used a bit of RTV either end of the braided cover. I sealed the wires with great care as they left the casing. Bottom line is that whilst it was charging, it wasn't producing enough welly. Initially I supposed that the rectifier was dog and ducked, but after replacing it with a reg/rec from Z1 Enterprizes this proved not to be the case. As the Ace is getting to close for comfort I decided against firkin about with it any more and put a new one on. This cured the problem. The meter readings for resistance on the stator windings were correct as per the book of lies peddled by Mr Kawasaki. I was running in new rings and whether that had a bearing on the resistance of the oil I have no way of telling. I noticed that the new winding had the soldered joints firstly covered in heat shrink and then covered in a thick coat of shellac. It would be interesting to cover the joints on my original stator with shellac to see it that makes any difference.

[Pigford]

Thats why I decided to cut the wires at that point, and leave the shellac stuff well alone

[Pigford]

Thats why I decided to cut the wires at that point, and leave the shellac stuff well alone

[PJones]

Hi pigford,

you have a definate echo problem.

[Pigford]

It still keeps going to a Critical Error message, so I re-submit each time

[RALPHARAMA]

The new stator came with the wire in a braided covering so I decided to enlarge the hole in the grommet and pass the whole jolly lot through with loadsa RTV. The only real risk was that I had to ride the bike home from my mates before the RTV had cured properly. All is fine, though I wouldn't want to put any cable joints any where on the cable run between the alternator and the junction under the sidepanel as all manner of shite and corruption gets around that area which is which the cabling in sheathed in that fancy braided stuff. If I were you Mark I would make the connection for the three phases from the alternator in one of those uber water proof multi block connector blocks from VWP (http://wwww.vehicle-wiring-products.co.uk/VWPweb2000/multicon/multicon.html code SWP3) The last thing you want is sogginess getting into that lot!

[Rich]

They winding readings may be correct if you are just talking about not going to earth but if the lacquer has broken down inside and the wires are touching then you will not get the power out due to internal shorts reducing the number of coils available.