Hello all!
I was hoping to get some advice on where to start troubleshooting my 1977 T3's charging system. The other day I was driving home from my parents, and just near the end of the ride (after ~180 miles) the bike died and would not crank. I got a jumpstart from a passing motorist but the bike would not run. No problem, I figured, my three year old lawn tractor battery must have crapped out from the long ride and heat of the day, so in goes a new battery, and the bike runs fine, but now in the twilight I notice my alternator light is on even while the bike is running (haddn't noticed it in the bright sunlight; glad it was the alternator light I couldn't see and not the oil light!!).
I looked for any wires the might have jiggled loose and did not find anything obvious; I pulled off the front cover and noticed that there is a bit of soot on the cover as if I've been arcing from the big 3 wire plastic plug (which had some chips out of it exposing the connections and was so brittle it disintegrated when I touched it). Many of the wires under the cover are extremely hard, not supple as I expected wires to be. I noticed that my T3 does not have the plastic spacer between the case and the front cover that my dad's convert has.
Any advice on what to look for and how to test things would be greatly appreciated!!
Jon
I was hoping to get some advice on where to start troubleshooting my 1977 T3's charging system. The other day I was driving home from my parents, and just near the end of the ride (after ~180 miles) the bike died and would not crank. I got a jumpstart from a passing motorist but the bike would not run. No problem, I figured, my three year old lawn tractor battery must have crapped out from the long ride and heat of the day, so in goes a new battery, and the bike runs fine, but now in the twilight I notice my alternator light is on even while the bike is running (haddn't noticed it in the bright sunlight; glad it was the alternator light I couldn't see and not the oil light!!).
I looked for any wires the might have jiggled loose and did not find anything obvious; I pulled off the front cover and noticed that there is a bit of soot on the cover as if I've been arcing from the big 3 wire plastic plug (which had some chips out of it exposing the connections and was so brittle it disintegrated when I touched it). Many of the wires under the cover are extremely hard, not supple as I expected wires to be. I noticed that my T3 does not have the plastic spacer between the case and the front cover that my dad's convert has.
Any advice on what to look for and how to test things would be greatly appreciated!!
Jon