Oh James............. (Page 1 of 2)

Tape?

Hiya Clancy,

After I had posted (and thought about it bit) I started thinking about the liquid electrical tape route also.  I'm just wondering if the stuff will stand up to the heat.  I wonder if high temp RTV might be a way to go.  Maybe just lay down a line of the stuff on the inside wall of the housing, imbed the wire in it, and then cover with some more.

When I first did the disassembly I didn't even notice the insulation break because it was so small.  However, when I did notice it, I touched it just to take a closer look and the insulation at that spot crumbled.  That leaves the break you see in the picture.

Anthony:  I don't think tape will stand up to the mixture of heat, dirt, chemicals, and moving parts found inside a generator.

Last edited by Bookwus (2008-07-31 13:18:49)

I have took my alternator apart because one of my wiring were burnt to crisp so i got a new one and i solder it together and it works like new.

Hiya Anthony,

Thanks for the offer.  I'll be sure to keep that in mind.

I've pretty much determined that I'm going to try this approach...........  I'll lay down a track of high temp RTV under the path of the wire and let it cure up a bit.  Then I'll gently press the wire into the RTV and let the RTV completely cure.  After that I'll topcoat with another layer of RTV.  That ought to seal, insulate, and cushion the wire.  I'll try to post up pictures of the job.

And Anthony, if I screw up (which would not be the first time) I may come a callin' on you for that generator.

Looks good! How did you get it so clean in there? What else is cleanable/serviceable in there?

jim

Hiya James,

I cleaned the inside of the generator housing with a toothbrush and water soluble grease cutter.  Then I hosed it out and let it sit in the sun for the afternoon.  Insofar as cleaning goes, that was the routine for all the parts with the exception of the armature and the front bearings.  The armature I polished up and got it all nice and shiny - same with the fields on the inside of the housing.  And, of course, the brushes are replaceable.

Sean:  Yeah, I've done the "turn the generator into an electric motor" thing to test 'em before.  But, you know, it seems to me that the instructions for doing that little procedure are wrong.  As I recall one is supposed to hook the gound to one of the terminals.  I couldn't get it to work that way.  But when I used the housing as a ground contact, that little puppy started doing revolutions like you wouldn't believe.

Last edited by Bookwus (2008-08-01 09:23:50)

Hiya All,

Well, my little generator experiment went south.

Actually the repair I made to the wire was fine.  No problem there.  However, when I went to test the generator (the electric motor test mentioned above) it came out a dud.  I pulled a known good generator off the shelf and it spun like crazy.  So I switched the armatures just to check.  That was the bad boy.  The armature in the one in the pictures above was shot.  When put into the test it wanted to spin but could not even with a little help.  And the armature from the known good generator spun merrily along in the housing I repaired.

So, I'm off to buy a new generator.  New generator, you ask?  I could use the working set-up I have above BUT the good armature also sounds like it has its bearings going out.  Pretty rattly.  I really don't want to tear into the shroud and tinwork anytime soon again.

Truth be told, I pulled the engine when I did because I was having charging problems.  I figured since was going to rebuild the engine, I might as well pull the works and it would be easier to work on the generator.  I thought my brushes were giving up the ghost (they were not in very good shape) but it turns out to be a bit more serious.

Live and learn.  And I'm getting darn good at disassembling and reassembling generators!

Last edited by Bookwus (2008-08-01 15:41:13)