After 6 years my Capo Broke Down!!!!!!

[BigSteve]

I suppose after 6 years of my Capo never letting me down on the road it was gonna happen sooner or later?!!

Won't go into 2 much waffle however my Capo wouldn't start after my 50 mile commute accross Salisbury Plain the other evening,
managed to get a jump start home.

Now after a days fault finding and reading loads of past threads, I have discovered that my Rectifier has stopped supplying the DC
needed to keep the battery at 12.6 to 14.00v that it needs. My bike is only reading 12.10v to 12.60v with the lights Off!!!

I have previously checked the suspect brown & White connectors and mine were all soldered. What I did notice today was that the Yellow
wires either side of the Brown connector by the Rectifier were very hot. After continuity / resistance readings using the multimeter
it looks as if the diodes in the rectifier have given up the ghost as the rectifier is not pumping out any DC volts.

Tonight I have just purchased a 2nd hand Goldwing GL1200 Rectifier of e-bay for £35 inc P&P (Even comes with a 1 week warranty,
which is not usual on used electrical goods!!!).

I have made myself familiar with how to connect the extra black sensor wire as per Stu_O's previous thread.

So guys, just got to sit back and wait for the Honda part to arrive!!! Can always clean my bike i guess?!

Here is a photo of my bike in Hospital!! also on the 2nd photo I have taken a shot showing the Brown connector underneath the tank,
another Italian Bodge!! The yellow wires on the Alternator side are almost half the size of the Rectifiers!! But as the connector is not showing
any signs of burning/melting I plan to leave this connector in situ, my fingers are too big to get in there to re-terminate them!!
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Will Keep you posted on when I get the Capo back on the road, until then I will be on the good old ZZ-Rburnout

[SteveTalaga]

Welcome to the fold. Now you have earned your stripes - Until you have had problems, you haven't really experienced the bike's true nature .

If the yellow wires either side of the connector were hot I would definately check that connector. The heat is normally caused by a high resitance connection and a bit more heat could be the difference between hot wires and a full melt down.

I replaced my lower brown connector a few months ago. It looked OK from the outside but inside it was already starting to melt:

[moto-abruzzo]

6 years eh? Can't complain about that I recon ...... and certainly looks like your on top of the solution, nice one Steve.

Hope it sorts you problem and look forward to any feedback (niggles etc) that you encounter while doing the job.

[BigSteve]

If the yellow wires either side of the connector were hot I would definately check that connector. The heat is normally caused by a high resitance connection and a bit more heat could be the difference between hot wires and a full melt down.

Steve I too thought that, however I opened the Brown Connector under the tank and it was good, not like your one. I have removed the Brown & White Connectors by the Rectifier, just incase, but it was good also.

To back up the continuity checks that I did I also measured the AC output of each phase at the Yellow wires prior to the input of the Rectifier, all readings were as the manual i.e 60v AC @ 4,000rpm.

I think the reason my yellow wires were getting hot was due to the Rectifier not producing the DC output, thus the power had to be reflected down the yellow wires and disipated heat as well as through the Rectifier Heatsink/Fins.

With regards to the lower Brown Connector has anyone pulled the cable over to the Alternator side of the bike? I may try that and run a new cable up to the Rectifier via the rear of the tank above the rear sproket, this would enable me to get my big digits in to re-solder new spade connectors as well as making a better cooler inviroment for the cable to be in. Any thoughts?!!

[Leanit]

Good work diagnosing the problem. Sounds like you've got it nailed. Some of those wires run pretty hot even in the best of conditions.

I had my forward connector go pretty severely, and it compromised the wires enough that I couldn't make them reach any more. I put in heavier wires and ran them under the seat and down the LH side of the engine to the alternator. Maybe it's better -- dunno. I was forced to rewire that section, so I put it in a cooler, more accessible routing.

- Matt

[BigSteve]

Good work diagnosing the problem. Sounds like you've got it nailed. Some of those wires run pretty hot even in the best of conditions.

I had my forward connector go pretty severely, and it compromised the wires enough that I couldn't make them reach any more. I put in heavier wires and ran them under the seat and down the LH side of the engine to the alternator. Maybe it's better -- dunno. I was forced to rewire that section, so I put it in a cooler, more accessible routing.

- Matt

Yes, I was thinking that, so I shall do it that way as well.

Great minds think alike!!

[BigSteve]

Well Guys my bike is now back on the road fitted with a second hand 1985Honda Goldwing 1200 Rectifier!!

Thanks to previous threads by Stu_O I had no drama's with fitting the Honda unit, however I did have to slightly modify the top cooling fin with a junior hacksaw as it was resting quite close to the plastic side panel and I didn't want that to melt!!! It is also presently only secured with one bolt as the Caponord's mounting holes are a slightly different to that of the Honda, I will rectify that over the winter as I plan to strip the old girl right down and get the rear subframe powder coated as there are sign's of corrosion setting in.

I have attached some photo's so you can see how similar the two rectifiers are.

You will notice that on the output from the rectifier I have removed the Brown & White connectors, and I have joined/soldered both Green wires together as well as both Red/White wires together.


As per Stu_O's instructions, I have connected the extra Black wire that the Goldwing rectifier has to the 12v reference: see Stu_O's original link: http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2732...61780441qJuPoa

Last Picture show's both my bikes ready for action, do I wan't speed or comfort?!!........or BOTH!!

[img][/img]

Finally I'm a happy Chap, Capo is running well again

[SteveTalaga]

Good news, glad you have the old girl back up and running again.

Nice looking stable - Many would envy the decision you have to make each morning before you set off for work

[GRUMPYGIT]

Nice one Steve, never looked back since i did mine about 5 months ago. Just wondered what mirrors you have on your Capo and do thos touratech handguard extensions make much of a difference (i'm presuming those are BMW guards) Steve.

[BigSteve]

Nice one Steve, never looked back since i did mine about 5 months ago. Just wondered what mirrors you have on your Capo and do thos touratech handguard extensions make much of a difference (i'm presuming those are BMW guards) Steve.

Mirrors are original Kawasaki Z1000 (2003-2006 model) They are the originals (another e-bay purchase £28 for the pair, original new ones are approx £60 each), don't waste your money on ones from the far east that are coppies (These just fold back on themselves when you go over 70mph!!!!! & buzz so much you can't see anything behind you).

To be honest the Handguard extensions are more for looks than actual performance!!!!They came with a set of BMW GS1150 on e-bay (Paid £25 for the guards & extensions) but they were scuffed, hence the reason I sprayed them blue to match my bike.