What next! Did my Alt fail?

[IpswichST]

I had to do just what Sirepair suggested.. I had to cut the plugs and put insulated connectors on. First pic is BOTH (ya, I had 2 red plugs that were melted)


This next pic is how I fixed the 3 wire smaller plug. I labeled each plug (male and female) with a number so if they needed to be separated whoever pulls them apart knows where they go. The 4 wire plug I cut the female side of the plug off and fit connectors. The connectors luckily fit into the relay. I ran out of time and couldnt clean it all up and install the battery. Tomorrow....

 

[sirepair]

Ya gotta do what ya gotta do!

Put a dab of dieletric grease on each connector to prevent future corrosion.

 

[IpswichST]

Put a dab of dieletric grease on each connector to prevent future corrosion.

Does the dielectric grease also waterproof it at all? I dont see myself riding in the rain much .. but, when it rains and your bike is not snug in bed.... "you gotta do what you gotta do". Maybe where these wires are all hidden behind the plastic .. it is pretty weather proof already?

Looking good! Your first repair!

Ahh Karen... I wish it was the first repair! As you may recall:

+ recovered my seat when the snow was flying.
+ foot brake went to the floor.. had to figure that out... she stops now
+ ABS issues (I couldnt figure that out yet so I just ride with the light on)
+ some kind of engine stumble so I:
- cleaned the gas cap doing that disassemble repair hoping it was a vent issue
- pulled the fuel pump to inspect the in-tank filter, and checked the flow
- pulled and cleaned the fuel filter (I have one of those glass filters... works well)
- ultimately pulling the carbs to clean everything (found some gunk which I think was the problem... no problems since!)
- sync'd the carbs with my home made manometer

Im not afraid to try things... my success record I think over the years is good. I can BS my wife and dazzle her with fancy part names to the point where she says.. "ok ok... does it work now?".

I like tinkering with the bike (and boat, jetskis, cars)... but I have to admit, I had hoped I wouldnt have to fiddle with this toy. Just wanted to ride. But the tinkering leaves me at ease knowing that these areas of the bike are more familiar and now work. And happily the troubles all happened close to home! When you buy a used vehicle you are usually buying someone elses problems. I dont think the PO was unloading it cause it was trouble.. but it seams that I now have a bike that was due for some TLC and Im happy to give it some.

2 known issues I want to address....ABS (eventually) and some hard shifting... clunking. Ive pre-loaded the shift and tried other methods. Im going to pull the lower plastic and inspect the clutch slave and see what's going on there.

 

[st1300r]

Where dielectric grease is, moisture isn't.
Moisture from rain, humidity, condensation aids corrosion

 

[IpswichST]

Put it all back together tonight. Bought some dielectric grease and greased all my connections up! Even the guy at NAPA said to apply it liberally... you cant use too much! She started right up... I checked to see if it the ALT was charging.. 14.7 volts.. looks good! Test ride went without a hitch. Overall a pain in the *** but an easy fix.

Still curious why my connectors melted. Hopefully they were just old and corroded and this fix will last a good long time. Thanks for everyone's help

 

[Brant]

Yep, that's your problem. Did it to me on a trip in Arkansas. Common ST11 problem. I just made myself my own connector in the gas station parking lot and carried on.

Only a common issue if tupperware are not pulled and ALL connectors are not checked and re-sealed with dielectic grease. These ARE common issues with ALL older bikes, not just the ST.

 

[Brant]

Put it all back together tonight. Bought some dielectric grease and greased all my connections up! Even the guy at NAPA said to apply it liberally... you cant use too much! She started right up... I checked to see if it the ALT was charging.. 14.7 volts.. looks good! Test ride went without a hitch. Overall a pain in the *** but an easy fix.

Still curious why my connectors melted. Hopefully they were just old and corroded and this fix will last a good long time. Thanks for everyone's help

Slightly corroded connection transfers into resistance which transfers to heat= melted plug-ins. Easy to overlook for a l-o-n-g time on these being always covered with tupperware.

 

[mwdaug]

Howe,
Is your VRR still covered? It looks like you have the model with heat fins. I would keep that uncovered if possible. I am navigating similar territory myself, but it looks like it is the alternator on my 93.
Mike D
LA, CA

 

[ST1100Y]

VRR with heat sink was only issued on police spec bikes (which run up to 145W accessories); this seems to be the standard one (hidden behind that fuse panel), which heat sink is the footrest plate. I usually give that area a smear of heat conductive paste (the white stuff for installing CPU coolers in computers) to improve the heat transfer onto the aluminum cast footrest plate. I'd also give the VRR connector a good visual inspection and a squirt of dielectric grease (protecting the electrical connectors with that stuff should be an annual SOP...)