Hope you can Help.

I have just bought my wife a 1980 Ironhead and all was well till we went for a good ride out.

Everything is fine at cruising speed and then when you go over 3000 revs or 60mph the ignition light comes on and she dies in a backfiring, powerless heap, with rough knockingnoises from the cases.

My thoughts were that the Reg/Rectifier is up the creak?? or the generator has had it??? but a supposed know all said it could be that the increase in speed has caused the clutch basket to hit the stator and create said problem???

She is a standard ish 1000cc xlh with 40" drags and a Dellorto pmh 40mm.
I think the genny is duff as it has had charging probs since we bought her (flat battery even after home charge).

I was considering a Cycle Electrics Genny and Rectifier, Any opinions would be good.

Sorry for the long list but i hope you can help.

 

The generator is on the exterior of the motor, in front. There's nothing electrical behind the clutch basket. That change to an alternator behind the clutch was made in mid '84. What do you mean by "ignition light"? Do you mean the GEN light? It sounds like something's loose in the generator, or something's making the timing go haywire, like a shorting coil. Hard to say without hearing the noise.

 

I thought i was right, cause why would it have a generator aswell??? Like I said info froma supposed know all.

Sorry, byignition lightI mean gen light which goes out when engine is running.

Its got a new accel coil and 8.8 leads too which seems to be working fine.

Its just odd that at speeds below 60mph are fine and then all hell breaks lose.

Its her first Harley and first realbig bike so i dont want her to be put off.

 

I'm not sure when they switched from a generator to an alternator system. Look at the round thing at the front of the crankcase and see if it is a generator (will have 2 wires attached) or an oil filter. If it's a generator, find the heavier of the 2 wires and make sure it's connected to the terminal marked GEN, A or ARM and the skinny wire is connected to the FLD or F terminal. If so, try connecting a length of wire to the + side of the battery and 'flash' the other end on the fat wire terminal on the generator to polarize it.

If you hve aan oil filter up there, chances are good that one or more of the diodes in the rectifier is breaking down when the alternator voltage reaches a high enough level. Also, make sure the battery is in good enough condition to take a full charge. A bad battery with an open circuit or sulfated cells can cause the voltage to rise high enough to freak out the entire system.

 

Thanks Oldtimer,

have checked the batt and all seems well, flashed the genny and that seems ok too, but its still ackting the same above 60mph???

Will be stripping out the clutch as thats dragging and has gone very heavy so at the same time i think i will strip the genny to check alls well.

Wish me luck, im going in.

 

Do you have mechanical or electronic(solid state) regulator ?? Some mechanical regulators do that when they vibrate, some don't. My previous bike had "speed limiter" after 70mph gen-light went on... but it went off at 85mph
I changed different type mechanical regulator, but installing some rubber grommet between frame and regulator might help. If you do so remeber ground regulator.

 

Will it only break up and die when on the road? Or will it do pretty much the same thing in neutral and revving the motor? I've had 'em mess up when the mechanical advance on both point and early electronic ignitions wold wear out. The flyweights would start moving outward, then hit the backing plate and not fully advance. The engine would start breaking up and sometimes quit.

 

Sorry Sepixlh, Just seen your post,

Its Mechanical and i think your right.

Hi Pococj,

Yes it only seems to do itwhen riden, and not whilst on the stand.

What would you suggest??? New Genny??Reg/Rectifier???

It miss fires like mad as well as backfiring and the clattering noise from the genny endwhen she is doing it is loud.

Dont want todo any terminal damage and iwould like to sort with quality and recomended upgrades.

Not really tooconcerned aboutperiod items as long as they work.

Thanks
Lee

 

It sounds like the mechanical advance weights are screwed up (springs get weak or break). Before I replaced my ignition system with a Crane Hi 4 I had simular problems. I would relace the advance flyweights and after seveal months it would start having problem again. The electronic advance was a really good move for me. It cured my simular issue for good. Just remove the ignition cover and you should be able to see if there is a problem there.

Aubrey