FOAK: Alternators/oil

Am I right in thinking that there shouldn't be a quantity of engine oil in
the alternator cover of a GS550?

 

No! There *ought* to be oil in there! It's effectively oil-cooled as it's a
'wet' alternator. You run low on oil, you fry the windings.
HTH.
JB.

 

Wot JB sez. All the older GS series had oil cooled alternators. The
lovely hot oil cooked the insulation over time and that, of course,
combined with the shitey thin wire, led to early demise.

 

Cool, I couldn't remember from 12 years back which is when I last owned one
of these and was taken by suprise by the oil that came out. For a horrible
moment I thought the crankshaft oil seal had gone. Thanks.

 

A contributing factor in those bikes that were wired that way, I'll
agree. Happened in plenty of others that weren't wired that way too.

What's not an alternator? Something that produces AC?

See above.

True; any decent rewound stator uses slightly thicker grade.

 

A useful link, thanks

Fortunatley the alternator on my sig. bike is fine. I was stripping a bike
that I got for parts and was removing the polished cases before lifting the
engine out to avoid them getting damaged.

 

You're using the word generator wrongly. A generator is simply a device
which generates electricity. Dynamos and alternators are both
generators.

An alternator is a sub-species of generator; whether it happens to have
permanent magnets or field coil magnets is immaterial, its name derives
from the fact of it producing alternating current.

I've got a box of eggs here, would you like to teach me how to suck
them?

 

Have you ever seen the power output of,,, let's say, a 1MW alternator at
less than its rated revolutions? Funny thing, that uses field coils.

Which is an.... alternator.... yep, that's right.

Now go and patronise somebody else, you plank. And come back when you
know a bit more of what you're talking about.

 

Ooh, got under you skin a bit. Delicate flower like you shouldn't stick
their nose round the door.

Door, arse, etc.

 

He does have a point you know..

 

Opinions are like feet. Some people only have one.

 

Imagine away.