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While I was in Newfoundland I met an older couple (older than me, anyway) that were very kind to me. The wife is dying with a lung disease and had difficulty breathing even while on oxygen. She use to ride with him on his 1986 Suzuki Cavalcade 1400cc LD but cannot anymore. The bike has been sitting in his garage for a few months because he cannot get a part he needs for it. Knowing the joy he got from riding his bike, and knowing that she has a limited amount of time left, she asked me if I would help him find the part "back in the states" that he needs. He has been her caretaker for the past three years and she really wants him to be able to get out and ride his bike again once in a while - but he can't without the part.

This is exactly what he told me needs.

An OK Monitor (to regulate lights, battery, oil) for a 1986 Suzuki Cavalcade 1400 cc LD.

He can work on the bike himself, but he needs this part. If anyone has any idea where I can find that part, I would greatlly appreciate your help. Thanks.

Dunno for sure. I'm (perhaps) the worst "wrench" on the board. But there is a suzukicavalcade.com site that might be a good place to ask.

Or here:

http://groups.msn.com/SuzukiCavalcadePartsGroup

Good luck. I know the open road can help in many ways.

Kristi
Keep an eye on ebay. Lots of cavalcade parts advertised. Maybe one of the guys selling them has the OK monitor but not advertised as yet? Worth asking them anyway.

I haven't used them, but I have looked for parts here.

http://www.oldbikebarn.com/

Might want to send them an email, see if they can help.

I looked at a couple of places already and have done a search on the OK Monitor and have not come up with anything yet.

Maybe, there is a general term for this part. I don't know what that general term would be, but if I knew it it might help me locate it. He called it an OK Monitor and he wrote down these words: "to regulate lights, battery, oil". If OK Monitor is the specific name Suzuki gave this part, what would the general term be? Is it possible that there might be a universal part that would work instead? I need to know what this thing is, so I can start looking in other directions.

Thanks for any help. I'd like to find this part before I leave for Alaska next week, so please write if you have any clue how I can find this. I'm going to go by a Suzuki dealership tomorrow and see what help they can give me. I just hate going in there without knowing exactly what I am looking for.

Thanks.

Sounds like it's an (LCD?) indicator that cycles through "lights, battery, oil" on startup, then indicates "OK" if everything's working properly.

So what should I call it? I posted a request for the OK Monitor at the sight that Bill gave me (the Cavalcade Parts site) and I searched the site that Darcym sent, but am not sure what I'm looking for. Would it be under the "electrical" category? Unless it blatantly says "OK Monitor", I'm not educated enough in this stuff to know what I'm looking for. Thanks for the tips so far.

Damned if I can find out what it is. Asked a guy on ebay who is breaking one and he doesn't know what it is.

This site has links to various sites which might help including a parts supplier.
http://www.sccuk.f9.co.uk/page7a.html

I've been checking the links you guys are sending. Nothing yet. Thank you so much for helping me try to make this happen for this couple. I thought I would post a picture of them just so you would see who I'm trying to help. They were complete strangers to me, but they were very kind and I just want to do whatever I can to help them now. So thanks again for helping me to help them.

Found this on EBay...
It was called... (Drumroll, please...)
An "Ok Monitor!"
Price, $65.00

(I'd give you the direct link, but it's no longer there.)

Also, this paragraph in SuzukiCavalcade.com...

I have come across a problem with the taillights on my '86 LX. The brake lights work fine, but the running lights do not come on at all (the bulbs are 100% good). I took a meter to the feeds and found the voltage to the running lights to be only 7.0V when everybody knows it should be running around 12V. I checked the wires all the way back to the OK Monitor Control Unit with no breaks. Per the wiring diagram, all 12V feeds to the OK Monitor Control Unit are indeed reading 12V. The only strange voltage out of the unit is to the running taillights at 7.0V. The monitor itself seems to be working; i.e., LED indicator for the tail light bulb works correctly when a bulb is blown. I have just this strange voltage out to the running taillights. Has anyone else ever experienced something like this before? Is it merely replacing the OK Monitor Control Unit? Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks ahead of time! ~ Jerry G. (Error! Bookmark not defined.) '86 LX in Colorado Springs

So that IS what it is called and the paragraph describes what it does!!!!

But......what do you mean it is no longer there? It sold? I just checked ebay this morning and didn't see it, so it wasn't me who bought it.

I'm heading to the Suzuki dealer in about 20 min. to see what they can do now. And also calling another dealer about 150 miles from here. Thanks again.

Kristi wrote:

So that IS what it is called and the paragraph describes what it does!!!!

But......what do you mean it is no longer there? It sold? I just checked ebay this morning and didn't see it, so it wasn't me who bought it.

I'm heading to the Suzuki dealer in about 20 min. to see what they can do now. And also calling another dealer about 150 miles from here. Thanks again.

You are a very generous, and considerate person, to be doing this for this couple. I, for one, would like to thank you for that. You do riders of all stripes credit with your deeds. I know that this comes across as extremely sappy, but hell I figure I'm allowed right now.

UPDATE:

I took the picture that NoRRmad posted and the info he gave and went to the Suzuki dealer. At the Parts counter, the GIRL (yes, I said Girl) looked at the picture and said, "Oh, that's a Rectifier. It's not called an OK Monitor anymore. Some people call it a Regulator." Pretty sharp girl. I was impressed. (There is hope for me afterall.)

Suzuki is very proud of their Rectifiers and charge accordingly. So, since Cletus assumed I was going to have to find a used part anyway, I'm going to look for a used Rectifier for a 1986 Cavalcade now and see what I can come up with.

So..........anyone want to help? First one to find it wins.

Thanks again. I'm sure they are going to be very happy when I can send this to them.

Kristi
On ebay this guy is breaking and slowly selling an entire 86 cavalcade. Ask him if he still has the rectifier!

Link to his items for sale

http://motors.search.ebay.com/_W0QQfgtp ... Zalipford1

Done. Now just waiting on a reply.

Here's an aftermarket equivalent -- (they say...) $125.

http://secure.billydump.com/store/index ... oductId=22

For the record, in case you ever need to buy an OK Monitor (not likely - but it could happen), it is not the same thing as a rectifier or regulator.

However, after joining a plethora of Suzuki message boards, I finally had someone respond saying they had a 1986 Cavalcade OK Monitor and is willing to sell it to me. I'm in the negotiating stage with him now.

Well done Kristi! Still amazes me how much it's possible to do using the net that would have been impossible or taken months before. Hope you get it sorted finally and if I ever need an OK Monitor (what the hell does it mean??!) I'll know where to start looking!

You're a neat lady, Kristi... what a sweet and wonderful thing for you to make this effort. I nominate you for "sweetheart of the forum"!

The deal is DONE!. The part will arrive in 5-6 days and I will have it shipped to the couple in Newfoundland when I get home at the end of the month.

Chris: I found out that the OK Monitor is a part located somewhere behind the fairing by the left side of the headlamp which lights up a screen on the dash which tells you if everything (oil, lights, etc) is OK. Makes sense now. But apparently they only made this model and this part for a few short years (maybe 4-5?) so it is hard to find.

r1150rider wrote:You're a neat lady, Kristi... what a sweet and wonderful thing for you to make this effort. I nominate you for "sweetheart of the forum"!

Thank you, Ed. However, I think probably 90% of the people on this message board would do the same thing and probably have done something similar but we just don't hear about it because they probably didn't need the help I needed in finding a part. I think I am only imitating what I've already seen exhibited by the masters of generosity that live among us on the R1150R board. "Thank you" to all of them!