another stupid r/r question

I have '98 VFR. it has a Shindengen SH689DA R/R. Has anybody had one of these fail? I am not having a problem, just looking into the future. also, the yellow wires coming from the stator are a smaller gauge than the ones going into the R/R after the dreaded plastic connector. it seems they should be of a larger gauge. is this normal?

 

Size of the wire doesn't seem to be the problem, the connector is the thing that always fails because it will start to corrode = bad connection = starting to arc = getting hot = eventually melting and the spade bits touch each other = taking out everything with it. Remedy is solder and heatshrink the yellow wires

 

If it's a '98 on the original r/r then you're probably a record breaker of some description!

 

I just bought the bike in March with about 32,000 miles. looks like the original R/R. is that a record? the wires and the connectors look great. I am planning a trip west to the mountains in about a month, looks like I should replace it now or at least bring a spare with. looks like the FH020AA is the way to go...cavman

 

Since I'm in the same boat...is this "FH020AA" the mosfet r/r that is recommended to 'upgrade' to?? I just bought this 2001 with 7500 miles and would like to avoid any future problems. So plan on switching it out and at the same time to solder the wires.

 

I have a barely used 1998 Honda VFR Regulator / Rectifier SH689DA for sale on ebay for $50 if anyone is interested...plug and play...

 

so, I installed the SH020AA regulator. 14.3 V, but what I'm wondering is how hot the wires from the stator should get. mine are warm, not too hot to the touch, but plenty warm.

 

Have you soldered and heatshrunk the wires? Wires will get warm, they work pretty hard

 

when I first installed mine, I used crimp connections - mistake! The wires go so hot at the connections, they burned. So next I soldered and insulated with heat shrink tubing, now the wires run very warm, but not melting hot.

I used the crimp connections originally because I had trouble soldering the wires. Actually thought maybe the stator wires were aluminum or stainless steel, but, i just needed to clean them very well and I was able to solder them. No problems after two years of riding. I did a write-up on my install some time back, you can search for it under my name.

 

How do you know which rectifier you have? My '99 has 79k, so I assume I have an upgraded model (or I am really Lucky!)

I am installing LED headlights, I want to ensure that I have a newer MOSFET R/R prior to installation.

Thanks

 

the R/R has the model number on it. I was not having any problems with mine, I just wanted to upgrade before my trip to Montana i a few weeks.

 

But have you soldered and heatshrunk the wires? Ignoring that is fatal to your charging system. One thing I'm not sure about with fitting an LED headlight is that it draws less power forcing the rec/reg to dump more power therefore it will get hotter

 

After reading all the threads on the R/R, i will be doing just that.. soldering the wires that is.. if I get the model number, should be easy to tell if its mosfet or not?

 

So I popped the rear cowl off to check the r/r.. connectors are in perfect shape. The only marking on the unit was "1011" stencilled on on side... any idea if this is a mosfet unit?

 

Just a guess Jan 2011 or Oct 2011. Remove the connector and solder the wires and you should be ok. Forget about how good the connector looks. I'm not convinced the brand of rec/reg is critical, the resistance build up in the connector seems to be what causes the failures