electrical - Foolish, pointless question of the day

Okay, I pulled my alternator cover and checked my brushes and they probably could use replacement. So I look and find some on the partsnmore website:

https://www.partsnmore.com/cat_index.ph ... electrical

and see that they have them for $5.00 each, part number 24-2050, fits XJ650 (mine is an '82 XJ650 Maxim). Now, granted---I don't have these brushes in my hand yet, but......

1) is my alternator a "3-phase" alternator?

2) On the brushes that are currently in this bike...which I can only assume are original, the bike only has 11K miles on it.....the wire that comes off of each brush has the end of the wire stripped, and then soldered to the (aluminum?) "u-bracket" unit. The u-bracket is then screwed down to the large plastic terminal plate behind a ring terminal for the brown or the green lead wires (that go back to the bike's wiring harness).

Now, of course, my question is this: why would the wire off the brush be soldered to the u-bracket rather than running all the way to the hold-down screw, and either be wrapped around the screw or have a small ring-terminal on the end (which would then go under the screw and be in "direct" contact with the green or brown lead wire)?

Is there something I am missing here? Or is this just a....what?.....lazy factory way of doing things? Did saving the .01 cents per brush/lead wire unit really justify, what seems to me, a really half-baked way of doing things?

Please enlighten me!!

 

I'd measure again. An 11,000 Mile bike shouldn't need Alternator Brushes yet. Look for some "Lines" on the brushes ... Like "Wear bars" on tires.

I can't imagine why a bike with 11,000 Miles needs alternator brushes. Unless your battery is so weak it is incapable of being charged ... so, you've been basically powering everything right off the old alternator all the time ... never really topping-off the battery.

Did you do a Voltage test to see what was going on, there?

 

Well, it's a long, silly story.........

The brushes on the bike are actually just fine....plenty of tread left on the brushes.

But, I have been in the process of "blacking" the engine and came across an alternator cover off a midnight special or a SECA that is black, and want to use that one.

I actually already painted the stock 650J alt. cover black, but the black paint runs every time it gets the slightest amount of gas on it. I know, I shouldn't spill gas on it. But when I remove the tank to do some upgrades it's almost impossible to not spill a bit.

Yeah, I should put some rags over the cover to prevent gas spills. But sometimes I'm forgetful and impatient.

And the black paint on the factory covers is oil and gas-resistant, so I just want to swap covers.

Yeah, I could just swap the whole terminal plate/brushes/etc. between the two covers and be done with it.

But for $10, while I'm in there, it seems like a cheap thing to do, even if it's really not necessary.

So why don't the brush leads go all the way to the terminal bracket hold-down screw?

P.S. if anyone has a (factory) black shifter cover I'd be interested in purchasing that. The 650 SECA shifter cover, while the same physical size and shape, has the shifter peg in a different location so it won't work. I guess it has to be off a midnight maxim.

BTW, I have a very nice 650 SECA shifter cover that's for sale..........

Oh, also, I did all the voltage tests that the book and the XJ Electrical page FAQ recommends, and I get funny results. A the battery terminals, I seem to be getting full charging (14.8V at 2000+ rpms), good 9+V while cranking, but the resistance readings on the brown/green/triple white wires is way out of spec:

http://www.xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=2412.html


Haven't gotten around to taking the bike apart to get at the ignition switch or the headlight connector plugs (bike has a big fairing on it currently) so I've never really "solved" the electrical "problems". Bike starts and runs fine, holds a charge, 13.3V at the bat terminals even after sitting for a day or two, no electrical problems at all, besides the curious readings on the ohmeter(s).