Fix possible for broken insulation of wires at the alternator?

Jdub

Jdub

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Picture below of what I am dealing with. The wires themselves appear unbroken, but as you can see the insulation has cracked and separated. Searched the forum but could not find a fix for this - can a careful reconstruction using heat shrink wrap, dab of non-conductive sealant, or similar (plus careful handling) do the trick? In this vein I was looking over an NOC post here: https://www.nortonownersclub.org/node/3114.

Fix possible for broken insulation of wires at the alternator?
 
I have a couple of those in a box , same problem . Heat cooks the outer wrap , wires at tip and it falls apart . Stators themselves are perfectly fine . In the past I just cleaned with acetone and globbed silicone over the area . Let's see what others recommend .
 
Fix possible for broken insulation of wires at the alternator?

I used a die grinder to remove the bulk of the old epoxy. Then went in with a utility knife and cleaned the area up. It is still very easy to catch the coils and accidentally scrape off the coating on the copper wires. I put some shrink tubing on the ends of the wire at the solder joint and painted with liquid tape. Then I will probably fill it back up with potting if I ever decide to reuse it. Shrink tube will not hold up to the hot oil in the primary so you will need another type of sleeve
At least you can see what needs to be removed to get to the coil connections.
 
I dug out the potting compound & soldered new wires directly onto the coil windings donkeys years ago & its still as good as gold. I applied an epoxy adhesive, Araldite in the UK to seal it all in. I aso took the oportunity to make the leads long enough to go direct to the rectifier to eliminate the intermediate connections.
 
Damage like that can be repaired using the aforementioned stuff, apart from the use of heat shink sleeving. Heat shrink sleeving doesn't like the hot oil environment of the primary case, it reverts back to a bagging rubber like mess. Use butyl self amalgamating tape to cover the bear wires and then PVC sleeving to cover them. dig the potting compound out to allow access and then epoxy back.
 
Ha! Now there is an unexpected combination - LAB and JBWELD! Winner, winner - chicken dinner for simplicity and fix & forget. But that said, I need that special butyl tape for my shop - does this looks correct?
 
Bobolink said:
I dug out the potting compound & soldered new wires directly onto the coil windings donkeys years ago & its still as good as gold. I applied an epoxy adhesive, Araldite in the UK to seal it all in. I aso took the oportunity to make the leads long enough to go direct to the rectifier to eliminate the intermediate connections.
Click to expand...
I did the same thing when mine melted the wire coating and the wire broke just on the outside but had to dig into the ALT to solder the wires back on and fill with Araldite, that was over 15 years ago and still using it today as for the new wire I used rubber insulation on the leads not heat shrink.

Ashley
 
Last edited:
I used something called Glyptyl or Glytol back in the 1960's. You painted it on and it insulated the wire. It would withstand 125 VAC. Dunno if it is still available.

Slick
 
I have done a few of these in the past. It is a fiddly exercise, but much cheaper than buying new.
You will usually end up with a wire that doesn't like to bend so get the exit angle correct with your bonding material.
 
Self-amalgamating tape can also be found in marine supply stores, usually in white for over $20 a roll, or for $5 a roll in black in your local hardware store sold as Plumbers Tape. You can thank me later.
 
All good suggestions. In the early 70's I broke a layer of alternator wingdings while removing the flywheel on a Suzuki dirt bike. Put the wires back together and covered the bare sections with 3M weather strip adhesive, at the time I had never heard of the products mentioned above.
 
NickZ said:
Is this what is used to wrap the original wiring harnesses? If not, does anyone know where to source that?
Click to expand...

That's non-adhesive PVC harness tape.
www.britishwiring.com

Harness Tape, 3/4'' Wide - Black

BritshWiring is your complete source for wiring harnesses, components and accessories for your classic car restoration project.
www.britishwiring.com

Cable Accessories > Tape - PVC Harness Tape - Auto Electric Supplies Website

Non adhesive PVC tape used for wrapping wiring looms to protect against abrasion, etc. Flame retarde...
www.autoelectricsupplies.co.uk www.autoelectricsupplies.co.uk
 
I did same as bobolink , a Sunday afternoon had everything back together and running/charging …. Sold bike along with new never used stator I had purchased from Walridge … I suggest go for repair ….
 
L.A.B. said:
A temporary JB Weld repair I did some (10?) years ago and it still has that 'temporary' repair. :)
Fix possible for broken insulation of wires at the alternator?
Click to expand...
Nice repair..
With a properly prepped surface, it's rather remarkable what can be done with JB Weld..
The heat tolerance is far higher than any stator will give.
 
Do the JB Weld fix.

When the bike has turned into a pile of rust in 100 years, the only identifiable part will be that JB Weld repair. ;)
 
L.A.B. said:
That's non-adhesive PVC harness tape.
www.britishwiring.com

Harness Tape, 3/4'' Wide - Black

BritshWiring is your complete source for wiring harnesses, components and accessories for your classic car restoration project.
www.britishwiring.com

Cable Accessories > Tape - PVC Harness Tape - Auto Electric Supplies Website

Non adhesive PVC tape used for wrapping wiring looms to protect against abrasion, etc. Flame retarde...
www.autoelectricsupplies.co.uk www.autoelectricsupplies.co.uk
Click to expand...
and then wrap END only of each section with self- amalg., so you keep harness tape in position, but can unwind it if required in the future. Tip courtesy of Al Osborn, NOC electrical expert.
 
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