My new Alton Alternator disintegrated...

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mike996

mike996

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Took the Commando with the newly installed Estart out today. Went to a restaurant about 10 miles away. On the way back the charge warning light illuminated. Got home, did some checks, no obvious problems (broken connections,etc). I pulled the chain case cover - pieces of rotor magnet all over the place. The outer portion of the rotor, with the magnets, had disintegrated. I have sent a message to Norvil re this, asking them to resolve it - a new sprag/rotor and stator, obviously, but I'd wonder what would make a new one less likely to do the same thing.

:(
 
Mike, please keep us informed regarding this problem. I purchased a kit from Norvil this last month and plan to install it this winter. . This news is disconcerting,and I would like to know the cause and planned resolution before I install the kit. Thanks, Craig
 
Nag-dabbit ,many times seen the rotor - stator atom bomb of smoke arising out of the primary upon cover removal/lack o' elecrical power. ( other riders , knock on wood) .Messy/expensive/depressing being so very stranded too. Uneven clearance usually the cause. Rubbing = heat . You're supposed to pull the support studs then bend in the desired direction. There's got to be a better way.
 
I certainly will keep the board informed. I sent a message to Alton as well. In looking at the rotor, the magnets on the outer edge of the rotor, are held in place by a very thin sheet metal retainer. There is no epoxy or other method to firmly "attach' the magnets to the rotor. It seems clear in looking at it that the rotation of the rotor caused the magnets to simply break open the sheet-metal retainer. Clearance was VERY CAREFULLY checked multiple times and locked in place per instructions.

Attached are two pics - one (cropped) of the rotor after installation, the second after pulling the chaincase cover this afternoon. note the retainer in the first pic vs the "burst" retainer in the second pic (also cropped, stator removed) which released the magnets to fly throughout the chain case. I haven't disassembled everything so don't know what damage to the chains/sprockets they may have caused.

My new Alton Alternator disintegrated...



My new Alton Alternator disintegrated...
 
We assume you checked the rotor clearance?

And you bought from Norvil? This ought to be interesting.
 
Yes, fron Norvil; checked clearance very carefully several times myself and had my friend check it as well.
 
I am really surprised that the magnets were not glued onto the rotor.

I used to work manufacturing small wind turbines and we use both epoxy and a stainless band to hold the magnets onto the rotor.
those turbine alternators never came close to the rpms of a Norton engine and therefore were not subjected to near the centrifugal forces as your new rotor.

Manufacturing issues do happen, I just hope that they make it right for you.
 
Seems hard to comprehend the lack of care with not-gluing in the rotor magnets .Can we see the complete photos uncropped ? Clearance might be tight at the top and more towards bottom just from initial view. 4 clearance checks ,did the friend do the final ? The grief ,oh the grief...obviously others should check for magnets retention issues before installation ?
 
Ugh, also check crank end run out which might be some the issue as you seem 1st to report of a fatal weakness.
 
Clearance was the same all the way around using the multiple shims provided by Alton for that purpose. Essentially, it's impossible to get it wrong because you end up with shims inserted in multiple locations around the rotor between it and the stator and then lock the stator down. After locking down/removing the shims we rechecked clearance all the way around at every coil with a brass feeler gauge. We then turned the engine over by hand several times and again rechecked clearance. The stator screws were tight when I removed it this afternoon - it had not shifted.
 
checking crank run out seems like a pretty good idea (just to be sure).

Maybe.... you just got a bum rotor, one that was not supposed to be packed and shipped.
You did say that it came without a timing mark on it too, am I correct?

2 issues with the same rotor........
 
Well then if shimmed evenly on fitting then pretty much an't a crank wobble issue, which puts fault back in the production side. Hope the sprocket teeth are still good to go.
 
Mark said:
You did say that it came without a timing mark on it too, am I correct?

2 issues with the same rotor........
Click to expand...

Alton rotors don't have any timing mark.
 
Here's a good sign...

After sending a message to Norvil, where I bought the kit, I decided to send a message direct to Alton and did so about an hour ago. I have already received a message from Beverely at Alton saying they'll do whatever they need to to make it right. Have to admit that's comforting. Don't they sleep at night in France?
 
France be the cats meow. If you get any chance to hit France for any reason ( alton good enough) then do not hesitate. The French are wonderfull ,helpfull people who care about your well being(and your alt. setup). Fom the wino.
 
i've hung out in Paris and discussed the color green with artist over wine and played a Canne's film festive on a yacht plus drove all night at 135 mph in a hot Renault, but also got mobbed by locals in the Burlesque area and lost a valuable camera to french servants and seen bed bugs on spoiled sheets in cheap rentals to avoid. I tend to hold with Mark Twain's opinion after the glamor wore off.
 
Hobot ,mighty impressed by that statement. Paris dislikes the influx of transients now sucking the generousitys. Here in Canuckland we have brand new laws about a transient scammers group. Did you know that China owns the only source of rare magnet material in the world ? Us Norton -Alton souls need such material. Rare magnets. Hyper-increased magnetism. The world didn't end. (Maya). Silly white people. Rare earth magnetism ,keep yer head up.
 
Here's a pic of the magnets and debris in the outer chain case after I picked the magnets off of the various ferrous metal components. They were stuck to the chains, the sprockets, the clutch basket, etc. They "found" each other as I tossed them into the outer cover laying on the floor. Each magnet is about 1/16" thick and approx 5/16"" by 3/8" (that's a guess, I didn't measure them.) I have not been able to disassemble the chaincase components because my friend, in whose shop I did the work, is out of town for two weeks and I don't have a socket to fit the Alton rotor nut (larger than oem rotor nut) here in San Miguel. We are leaving town tomorrow and I won't be back here until at least mid-late Jan so it will probably be at least a month before any resolution/repair.

My new Alton Alternator disintegrated...
 
I hope they make it right. This is very disappointing and I'm sure that there are more people than just me who are seriously interested in an electric starter for their Commando. If you get the "run around" I would be willing to send an email to Norvil or Alton asking about the "apparent" issues with the electric starter kit.

Just say the word.

Dave
 
Torontonian said:
.......... Did you know that China owns the only source of rare magnet material in the world ?
Click to expand...

I recently found this out when My 8 year old son went on a field trip with his cub scout troop to a small company that recycles computers. The guide through the work shop floor stopped and the station that takes the hard drives out. he handed us a couple of small magnets that were next to inpossible to pull apart, had to slide them apart. Really amazing just how much pull those magnets have.
 
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