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Condensor insulation melted (twice )

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srankin
Posts: 1054
Joined: Fri Jul 14, 2017 8:45 pm
Location: Spencerport, NY USA
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Re: Condensor insulation melted (twice )

Post by srankin »

By now I would think you would have blown out the critters and their furniture.

I don't know about the condenser issues but I do know there have been issues of overheating the diode board under the front cover.

Stop and go or stopped traffic is one of the biggest pains we can face with our airheads, they just do not like no airflow. So, yes, I can imagine the temperature under the front cover may have gotten high enough to melt something.

Perhaps someone with electrical engineering can chime in and talk a bit about if hot wires are more resistant to current flow hence heating up from the resistance?

Heat with perhaps not the best part may just be the problem and now you are aware of it, you can avoid repeating the scene. St.
Owner of a 84, R80RT and 78, R100RS

Caferacer
Posts: 9
Joined: Fri May 06, 2022 4:22 pm

Re: Condensor insulation melted (twice )

Post by Caferacer »

if you replaced the condenser with a new one, and it solved the problem
the problem was a bad condenser,
testing a condenser is pointless, (pun intended)
they are disposable items, if it is bad, throw it away and get a new one
if it is suspect, replace it with a known good one
you can test it any way you like with an ohm meter
but nothing less than a capacitance meter is going to give useful information
and if you feel the need to test a condenser, THROW IT AWAY and replace it with a known good one

glad your bike is running again
and just because the condenser was bad, does not mean you do not have suspect wiring connections
that is a bit of a given on an old vehicle, loose connections, oxidized connections, it can be never ending

spo123
Posts: 58
Joined: Wed Sep 08, 2010 9:53 am

Re: Condensor insulation melted (twice )

Post by spo123 »

Since my first experiences with points, dating back to 1969 or so, I have ALWAYS been taught to NEVER replace the condenser when replacing the points. A condenser, for the most part.....and we are NOT playing semantics with minimal varations of specification.....is either GOOD or BAD.
With the implementation of chineesium crap, in the last 30 years or so, this becomes even more important.
YES, a weak, flawed condenser WILL cause premature wear of the points surface.
NO, Filing the actual POINTS contact surface, will NOT IMPROVE THE POINTS. Actually, this method WILL DAMAGE the actual point contact metal surface, as usually....QUALITY POINTS will have a thin coating (OR, if OLDER QUALITY) of Tungsten. This Tungsten surface, IF filed down, WILL enhance pitting and further degradation.
As to MY PERSONAL THOUGHTS and EXPERIENCE, with Original and QUALITY BMW POINTS, is that they can LAST ALMOST FOREVER!
My 1973 /5 is running VERY OLD, QUALITY POINTS. They have been in my engine, since purchased second hand. They MAY or MAY NOT be genuine BMW, NORRIS, points. Every couple of years, or so....I actually INSPECT and PROPERLY CLEAN THE POINT CONTACT SURFACES. The Cleaning involves a crisp dollar bill and 99% industrial rubbing alcohol, ONLY. I have SOME MINOR and NORMAL PITTING, however MINIMAL. ZERO FILING AWAY OF THE TUNGSTEN SURFACE! MOST of the wear on a QUALITY set of points will occur on the PLASTIC RUBBING BLOCK! Using a QUALITY grease (no longer have a tiny, small tube of Bosch Points Grease) between the rubbing block and the point CAM, ensures MINIMAL wear from friction. Also, important to grease is the riveted piece of fabric(?) material, which rubs the point cam.
MY motorcycle has had the SAME POINTS, running properly, for the last 104,000 miles.
YOU may have a different experience than I.
While I do enjoy electronic ignition in my R1100RT and MY Harley Davidson FXR, MY BMW /5, will continue with points.

EDIT> PLease be aware that BMW was selling FAULTY POINTS, IF I RECALL....of the NORRIS BRAND (possibly only as BMW points?) which either had a RUBBING BLOCK, which was either too tall....OR too short, I think....in addition to some FAULTY metal. These were sold through BMW motorcycle dealers in the late 1990's and through the first decade of this century.
I do have two pair, purchased brand new at MAX BMW, over the years, which I have yet to use. IF, looking on the interwebs, there has been some discussion....over the years, as to the actual dimensions of the "BAD" rubbing block(s).

Eventually, I will need to swap my VERY OLD POINTS with one of the new sets.....At that point, I will actually measure and compare the rubbing blocks on the 3 sets. :)

Lastly, as previously mentioned, HEAT....is caused by POOR/ DIRTY CONNECTORS. This MAY be a part of to OP's trouble.

RIDE FAST AND SAFE!
spo123 '73 LWB R75/5

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