Ruby - Saw a little smoke, sigh left hand cover

Ruby - Saw a little smoke, sigh 

 

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Geez, where to start....  I was muckin' with my jumper battery and I forget why, a memory is a terrible thing to loose, sigh...  and I crossed the red / black and drew an arc.....  

Well, I started noticing my headlight wasn't coming on so I jerry rigged a momentary 12V push button to light it and of course, it stays lit then, it's latched on....

Well, I decided to swap Regulator / Rectifier's so the other one would turn on the headlight, and it worked!  Months later was on a group ride in Mt Home, Id and someone said my headlight was out..... sigh... Oh well, back to the push button!

Well a few months later I was headed to a PGR event and the battery sounded low..  and I took off and in a few minutes after I tried to figger out just where I wanted to get stranded in the middle of now where, and the sun was going down...  and turned around, back home I went.   Put a meter across the battery, and no charge.  Took Ruby in to my wrench and he said both stators were shorted and at least one of the R/R was bad, I said $)%!#$%)* with it and ordered 2 each.  Wasn't bad, think I got parts and labor for @$400 bucks....    

Was visiting friends last Friday and started Ruby and while standing there, the little gap back / Left of the motor is an access hole for cables going into the left side motor cover.  Well, Ya know, how a cigarette smokes with a wisp of  smoke rising up ever so slow?????   Yeah, that is what I saw!!!!

Just had my regulator/regulators and stators replaced and was afraid that was where it was coming from and had to take a look...  sigh....

Well step one was to fix that #$(*_%#$_%( left side cover so I did not have to take the shifters off and drop the floor board to get the side cover off!!!  J.P. showed me how in a site link and I got my jigsaw out!!!  I was afraid it was steel, not, pot metal and the steel blade went right thru it!!!

Enough of that damn ring around the shift shaft!!!!

Looked on the inside to see if I was missing something..... nope!

Never again!!!! I later had to take more off as it was hitting the front shifter....  made almost level across.  Still have to loosen the foot board, but MUCH better!!!

So now all I have to take off is my heel shifter and loosen floor board!!!!

150 $*%)#$)%_!#$%(* miles and burned in 1/2!!!!   Yeah, the tech was in a hurry and the cables were stretched and something did not make good contact and the "fuse effect"!!!   Burned like a hot dawg!!!  #$*%!#$%#$)!#$*)  

Next step is cut the plugs off and meter to make sure I still have a working stator!!!  It's the inner, of course, sigh...   I know the outer works, the headlight comes on, so I'm OK for a while 'til I can get to it...    I'll check charging at the battery, direct connect the inner wires, unplug the outer plug and check the charge at the battery to make sure all is good, then reconnect outer stator...   

All checked good for the stator meter checks so off for the "fix".   Burned that sucka right in 1/2 and only a few crispy wires left!!!  Had to cut the wires from the stator plug to the R/R back to get some "uncooked" wire for soldering.  Working in that area is just a "tiny" bit cramped, but onward!!!   

I have some good wire left!!!   I didn't have to release the holding tang on the wires and back 'um out of the plug and start over!

Good copper!

I just don't want to tell Ya, the stator did NOT give me much to work on and error was out!!!  I opted to put in a 1' jumper as I needed wire and I figgured why not go large!!  It was gonna be hard connected and needed room for other cables.

First thing I had to do is unplug 'um all and dress the cables so they were comfortable and I wasn't creating a trap with my hard wires.   

Wrap, solder and shrink!  Stator end.

Cable end.  I was gonna leave it open for a while, but dressed the cables, cable tied it and put my cover on...  That's when I learned I had to cut the cover back further and loosen the floor board.   

I checked both stators at the battery for output and good to go!!!!  Now all I need is longer and warmer daze!!!!   On the Road again, just can't wait to get on the road again....  Sing it Willy!!!!!!   GBG