what' s your choice :Lucas ,Sparx or Wassel

comnoz said:

L.A.B. said:

comnoz said:

I am sure you are correct but at least they have made in England stamped on them.

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Well, that "Made in England" stamp must make all the difference, although I would seriously doubt they are actually "Made" in England. :wink:

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Are you saying those Indians might have "Made in England" stamps? :shock:

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Some of those Indians could have been made in England so there might be a grain of truth...

I think the most truthful stamp anymore is going to say "Made on Earth"

No matter where it's made I still trust the Lucas labeled and possibly spec'ed unit more that the other one. Jim

Good one Jim

Phil

CNW said:

Hey,

Will be offering a new high output alternator kit. Now that Sparx are starting to have some issues with their production I wont be selling them any longer.

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What issues are Sparx having Matt? The 'Lucas' units are ridiculous money these days.

BA10BOON said:

CNW said:

Hey,

Will be offering a new high output alternator kit. Now that Sparx are starting to have some issues with their production I wont be selling them any longer.

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What issues are Sparx having Matt? The 'Lucas' units are ridiculous money these days.

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It appears that they have either changed the way they make the stator or maybe some other manufacturer is now making them. Regardless, the overall quality is definitely different and the potting material seems unlike what was used before. The bottom line is that we have seen far to many failures from this last batch to be offering them any longer. Whether its the stator shorting out or the regulator failing, the systems don't offer the reliability I am looking for. After talking at length about the cause of the 'meltdowns' of some stators, with people that know far more about the internal workings of these components than I do, this apparently is related to an internal short.

Now having said that, I and many others, have offered these for many years and they have worked great. In other words, the problems seem to be related to the last production batch.

Just completed and installed the first new kits this week, so I will run some miles on those to get a bit of feedback but will then offer the kit on the site.

Build quality is definitely better with on Lucas stator and the price wont be much higher than the Sparx system. Maybe 20.00 or so.

Thanks

Matt / Colorado Norton Works

http://www.coloradonortonworks.com

Good to know. It's been a little while since I sold a Sparx alternator kit...

Hi all
Just to add to this Sparx issue, I had this fitted to my Norton for less than 400 miles. No sign of mis alignment, I wrapped the stator with a piece of 10 thou "plasticard" to ensure gap when fitted and checked with feeler gauge when fitting and before removal. No rubbing contact when removed. In fairness it was replaced by Sparx after some argument (they wanted me to pay towards replacement) and the replacement seems to be ok (although Sparx said they would not consider any further claim on the replacement) Have one fitted on my Triumph and that has been perfectly ok.
I should also add it was charging normally with no sign of reduced output.







JohnT

I don't quite understand what the pictures are showing at all? Are the first two "after" a meltdown and is it a Sparx rotor and stator? Is the last picture the replacement unit from Sparx?

batrider said:

I don't quite understand what the pictures are showing at all? Are the first two "after" a meltdown and is it a Sparx rotor and stator? Is the last picture the replacement unit from Sparx?

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Hi
all three pictures are of the first Sparx Alternator that shows signs of over heating melting potting material. The first two are of the reverse side and the third one of the front.
I do hope this helps batrider!
cheers
JohnT

JohnTy said:

Hi all
Just to add to this Sparx issue, I had this fitted to my Norton for less than 400 miles. No sign of mis alignment, I wrapped the stator with a piece of 10 thou "plasticard" to ensure gap when fitted and checked with feeler gauge when fitting and before removal. No rubbing contact when removed. In fairness it was replaced by Sparx after some argument (they wanted me to pay towards replacement) and the replacement seems to be ok (although Sparx said they would not consider any further claim on the replacement) Have one fitted on my Triumph and that has been perfectly ok.
I should also add it was charging normally with no sign of reduced output.


JohnT

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John,
When the new alternator was installed did you install a new regulator also? Thanks,Jim

I bought the Sparx system from our friend at Rocky point cycle a couple years ago. Need to check the reciet. I bought the 200 watt kit & all I can say is that it's nice having lights instead of a dull yellow glow in front & a faint red dott out back. I have a 14ah batt and again I can't remember exactly the wattage but I am running a new much brighter headlamp from Candlepower.com & so far all is well and good. I did notice that even though I tried to minimize it, there seemed to be one slightly tight area when checking the clearance but not enough to worry me.. It's been used for only about 3,000 miles but has been ridden hard & up to 90 + for some time on the freakway & canyons with no sign of failing ( fingers crossed ) to me this is one of those "up grades" that is a good expendature of $$$ if the bik is going to be used in the modern world.. I have heard nothing but negative stuff about the Sparx E.I. Units but talk is talk & Im still running a Boyer that is likely 25 + years old!!!

comnoz said:

JohnTy said:

Hi all
Just to add to this Sparx issue, I had this fitted to my Norton for less than 400 miles. No sign of mis alignment, I wrapped the stator with a piece of 10 thou "plasticard" to ensure gap when fitted and checked with feeler gauge when fitting and before removal. No rubbing contact when removed. In fairness it was replaced by Sparx after some argument (they wanted me to pay towards replacement) and the replacement seems to be ok (although Sparx said they would not consider any further claim on the replacement) Have one fitted on my Triumph and that has been perfectly ok.
I should also add it was charging normally with no sign of reduced output.


JohnT

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John,
When the new alternator was installed did you install a new regulator also? Thanks,Jim

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Hi Jim
yes I bought the whole thing new stator, rotor and the electronic regulator.
JohnT

JohnT[/quote]

John,
When the new alternator was installed did you install a new regulator also? Thanks,Jim[/quote]
Hi Jim
yes I bought the whole thing new stator, rotor and the electronic regulator.
JohnT[/quote]

I was wondering if you replaced the regulator again after the stator burned up. Jim

comnoz said:

JohnT

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John,
When the new alternator was installed did you install a new regulator also? Thanks,Jim[/quote]
Hi Jim
yes I bought the whole thing new stator, rotor and the electronic regulator.
JohnT[/quote]

I was wondering if you replaced the regulator again after the stator burned up. Jim[/quote]
Hi Jim
I sent all three items back for checking and inspection (to Sparx(Tri-cor) in the uk, I received back the original rotor a new stator and a regulator, I have no way of knowing if it was the same regulator or not (perhaps a bit slow on my part not to mark it in some way)
I was told that they had been on test for a day and all were working correctly, unfortunately when I spoke to Andy Gregory he was not the most charming person, but eventually he had agreed to replace it.
when I received it on return he had added that it had been replaced on the basis that no further warranty claims could be made, this was not mentioned/discussed during the telephone call?
I still have copies of the emails which I will pm to you if you wish, although I have no wish to post them on the forum.
Cheers
JohnT

gtsun said:

I bought the Sparx system from our friend at Rocky point cycle a couple years ago. Need to check the reciet. I bought the 200 watt kit & all I can say is that it's nice having lights instead of a dull yellow glow in front & a faint red dott out back. I have a 14ah batt and again I can't remember exactly the wattage but I am running a new much brighter headlamp from Candlepower.com & so far all is well and good. I did notice that even though I tried to minimize it, there seemed to be one slightly tight area when checking the clearance but not enough to worry me.. It's been used for only about 3,000 miles but has been ridden hard & up to 90 + for some time on the freakway & canyons with no sign of failing ( fingers crossed ) to me this is one of those "up grades" that is a good expendature of $$$ if the bik is going to be used in the modern world.. I have heard nothing but negative stuff about the Sparx E.I. Units but talk is talk & Im still running a Boyer that is likely 25 + years old!!!

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Hi gtsun
I now have two of these working fine (I would not have purchased a second one if I was not 100% happy with the first one fitted to my Triumph) although I had problems with the second one as stated.
This is not about knocking a product, it is more about defining if a batch of sub standard ones had been produced as per previous posts.
JohnT

PS. I also run the Sparx E.I. unit on my Triumph and have suffered one failure of the pickup plate which was replaced with out question free of charge and out of the warranty period. Very good customer service.

from the first post to the second post you have contradicted yourself. the first one he reluctantly replaced it and refuses to offer any more warranty. than you are happy with the service on the cheaper EI pickup plate??? :roll:

JohnTy said:

agreed to replace it.
when I received it on return he had added that it had been replaced on the basis that no further warranty claims could be made, this was not mentioned/discussed during the telephone call?
I still have copies of the emails which I will pm to you if you wish, although I have no wish to post them on the forum.
Cheers
JohnT

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JohnTy said:

PS. I also run the Sparx E.I. unit on my Triumph and have suffered one failure of the pickup plate which was replaced with out question free of charge and out of the warranty period. Very good customer service.

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Hi Bill
If you read my posts you will note the first quote you copied refers to an alternator issue. The second quote the PS refers to a Electronic ignition fault.
In fairness to Sparx the issues were chalk and cheese in customer service ( how not to, and how to do it)
Why would I not be happy with good customer service Bill?
JohnT

I installed a couple sparks EI units when they first came out on two different bikes. Both failed- the second unit before I even got out of the shop. I never tried them again although I got the first one covered under warranty and I didn't hear of any more problems with it.

I have installed several Sparks alternators with no problems. [other than the poor fitting rotor] The sparks alternator that was on my bike for several years worked fine except for a regulator failure. It suddenly started overcharging and I replaced the regulator with a Podtronics unit. I eventually had to cut into the potting and solder new wires into the stator after the insulation on the old wires fell apart. Teflon wires cured that.

I was asking about the regulator because there was some talk about a regulator problem causing the stator to overheat and fail. I don't see how that could be the case. Jim

It sure is chalk and cheese when you look at his cost on the warranty items also. also from what I have seen as Jim that the sparks EI is IMHO not worth the box it came in but the alt is OK and I to have had rotor fitting issues. If you are happy with being told to stuff it on further warranty on a more expensive item than your idea of good customer service is MUCH different than mine.

JohnTy said:

Hi Bill

In fairness to Sparx the issues were chalk and cheese in customer service ( how not to, and how to do it)
Why would I not be happy with good customer service Bill?
JohnT

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bill said:

also from what I have seen as Jim that the sparks EI is IMHO not worth the box it came in but the alt is OK

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I'd agree with that. Historically, the alternators have been ok, hence interesting to hear Matt's comments about the 'current batch', and him reverting to 'Lucas'.