SUCCESS !! Rotor replaced, charging as normal !!

[R65LS]

This is the Success Story (Part 3) to fixing the alternator.

Part 2 is here, with a link to Part 1:
http://www.bmwr65.org/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1331164895

SO .... a couple of days ago the replacement rotor showed up (Thank You, Monte !!).  Then in this morning's mail I received the rotor removal tool and new brushes, received from Rick at Motorrad Electrik.

Disconnect the 6 wires connected to the stator.  The proverbial piece of cake to very very gently remove the stator.  More cake to remove the bad rotor.  Some Anti-Sieze onto the shaft and install the new rotor.

One of the Forum members told me to solder small connectors onto the pigtail ends of the new brush leads.  Done, a fantastic tip to make re-assembly a breeze.  Install the brushes into the holder.

Install the stator, gently tap-tap-tapping into position, tighten the screws.  Using a continuity tester, I connected across the 2 brushes, the light lights !!!!!   This means the brushes-to-rotor connections are working !!!!  (during troubleshooting, this did not not happen.  thus, an early indicator of a successful fix).

Connect the 6 wires.  

Take a deep breath:  turn on the key ..... the GEN light lights up !!!!!  (it did not do this before).  Start the engine, rev it up, the GEN light goes out !!!!!   Let the engine idle way down, the GEN light comes on.  Rev it up, light goes out !!!!

Turn off the engine.

Get out the voltmeter.  Voltage across the battery:  12 Volts.  Start & rev the engine, voltage across the battery:  13.5 Volts !!!!!!!

SUCCESS !!!!!!!

Thanks Much to everyone who posted tech assistance in Parts 1 & 2 of this saga.  It made the whole repair go much more smoothly, only took about 75 minutes from start to ready-to-ride.

Cheers,

Carl

[nhmaf]

Good for you!  Nothing is more satisfying that taking on a repair job - that may seem daunting at first- and completing it with success!   Many of our efforts are "team projects", even if there is only 1 player in the field at a time.

[tvrla]

I'll second that! And your pleasure from fixing it is ours also.

The rotor is considered the most common charging system failure.

[Bob_Roller]

Great to hear to have the problem solved and in the process, you learned a bit more about your bike !!!

Have a beer or two in celebration !!!!

[R65LS]

Electrical is the absolute worst, so I'm glad the fix was so simple.  All the knowledge, then the pieces and parts, all of it came together so nicely.  I'm an older guy and remember the days of no internet, where you just started disassembling things and hoped for the best.

Rather than beer, I dove instead into a superb Galleano Sherry:
http://www.galleanowinery.com/products-page/dessert-wines/mt-baldy-cream-sherry/

Cheers,

Carl

[tvrla]

Electrical is the absolute worst...

That's been my observation as well - due to my experience over the years. Not only was it the most difficult area for me to comprehend (and I'm still learning), but in all the used vehicles I've worked on and owned, it's guaranteed the electrical system will have modifications requiring attention. I've come to expect it.