HES rebuild options

[SWB]

My bum leg may be well enough that I can take another shot at working on the bike (last left with the front wheel off for R&R bearings and seal, fairings stripped and tank off for R&R front shock, alternator belt, and HES, before I broke my ankle and leg June 2nd).

 

I originally intended to pull the HES and rewire it with aviation wire. My 2001 RT-P has 57K California miles on it, and I expect to see the HES in a degraded condition when I finally pull it.

 

Question is, should I replace the two sensors (Honeywell Part 2AV54) too? I'm kind of nuts about maintenance, kind of like "hmmm .. time for new spark plugs; heck, might as well replace the plug wires, ignition coil, starter, battery, and battery cables while I'm in there ...". The bike shut down once about 4K miles ago while riding down Pacific Coast Highway, no warning, riding about 25-35mph between 3K and 4K and "poof".. dead stick and rolling until gravity did it's thing. It started right back up. Have seen no other signs of imminent failure. I just think based on the experience of others that since I'm replacing the alternator belt (and getting that friggin alt. cover off the RT-P, maybe by cutting it into 25 pieces!), it's time to check the HES.

 

My gut tells me that electrical components don't last forever and that if heat is a primary factor in degradation of the HES wiring, then it's going to impact the lifespan of the electrical components. My head tells me that I'm nuts to replace perfectly good components, that if the wiring is degraded then rewiring it should be sufficient, because the main reason these sensors fail is probably short circuits of the HES wiring.

 

So, which way should I go, head or gut feeling?

 

Trump card is that I'm "down" until at least September before I can hope to be well enough to ride again, so I have the time to do the job "right".

 

Thanks .. Scott

[Martyn]

I can't help feeling Scott, that you won't be happy until you've done it all. If you don't, I suspect you'll always have that little niggling doubt that just won't go away.

As you have the time & knowledge/ability to get involved, do it !

[SWB]

Well.. the flip side of that argument is that I might finally have all the pieces and parts of my bike back together after 8 months, if I just get it rewired tomorrow.

 

Dilemma ... dilemma.

[smiller]

As you have read the real weakness is the insulation in the wiring harness and I think that the incidence of failure of an HES pickup itself is rather rare, in fact almost negligible. Given this, and the fact that they don't 'wear out', I don't know that replacing good pickups would really provide higher reliability. In fact one could argue the opposite since the current units are well past the infant mortality period when most electronics fail, if they're going to.

 

That said, if you're a "hmmm .. time for new spark plugs; heck, might as well replace the plug wires, ignition coil, starter, battery, and battery cables while I'm in there ..." kinda guy then you probably won't be happy unless they're replaced and there's probably no real risk in doing so, so knock yourself out. But FWIW replacing good components just because 'you're in there' does not necessarily make something more reliable.

[bmwmick]

Scott,

I've done it both ways and I've only seen ONE defective Hall device. Like your 'head' indicates, the insulation break-down is usually the only failure. Keep in mind if the insulation HAS failed at some point it may have caused excessive current to be pulled through the sensor(s) and weakened one or both sensors.

 

I'd just replace them and put in a teflon insulated harness.

I get my sensors here: http://www.onlinecomponents.com/ 2AV54 . Their price is a little better than NewarkInOne and they are closer too.

 

Mick

Tucson

[smiller]

Keep in mind if the insulation HAS failed at some point it may have caused excessive current to be pulled through the sensor(s) and weakened one or both sensors.

FWIW the inputs of the 2AV54 are both current-limited and protected against spikes and reverse polarity up to +/-80 volts so it's pretty unlikely any amount of shorting between leads will hurt the unit.

[bmwmick]

Keep in mind if the insulation HAS failed at some point it may have caused excessive current to be pulled through the sensor(s) and weakened one or both sensors.

FWIW the inputs of the 2AV54 are both current-limited and protected against spikes and reverse polarity up to +/-80 volts so it's pretty unlikely any amount of shorting between leads will hurt the unit.

 

I think you are mis-interpreting that data Seth. The absolute max current it can withstand on the Output is 0.5A for 15u sec . Normal is 40ma for 5 minutes max. That isn't much current.

 

If the supply voltage gets shorted to the output lead when the insulation on the harness craps out....you never know how much current could be drawn. Here is the datasheet.

http://sccatalog.honeywell.com/pdbdownload/images/2AV54.pdf

 

Mick

[smiller]

Well I got the information from (another) datasheet of course, although neither indicate what the current flow would be with a shorted supply. I would be very surprised though if a device like this was not designed to have sufficient current limiting so as to be able to withstand supply voltage on the output leads... in fact I probably hooked my old unit up wrong once or twice during testing with my mass of clip leads. Anyway, for only $12.35 we can know for sure...

[SWB]

I get my sensors here: http://www.onlinecomponents.com/ 2AV54 . Their price is a little better than NewarkInOne and they are closer too.

 

Yeah, but I don't rebuild 10 at a time for everybody and his brother. Minimum order at online components is $30, so NewarkInOne is cheaper.

[bmwmick]

Yeah, but I don't rebuild 10 at a time for everybody and his brother. Minimum order at online components is $30, so NewarkInOne is cheaper.

 

Hmmmmm,

I never noticed the minimum order. Thanks!! I usually only order 8 at a time.

 

Mick