Another R/R question...

OK, I replaced the R/R on my '92 750F just about a month ago. I bought an aftermarket regulator for 100 bucks and popped it on. Charging volts came back up, not quite to 13-14 volts but damn close to 13 and the bike ran fine for about 3 1/2 weeks. The other day coming down a hill, the bike dies and won't restart. The battery is dead. Retest the charging system and everything points to a bad R/R. Ohms across all the stator yellow wires right around .5 ohms, and between all the yellows and ground is a high number of like 2.8 mega ohms. I think the stator is ok, but after blowing a brand new R/R in a month and being out 100 bucks for that one plus another 100 for a new one because they won't warranty it, I'm a little nervous about just buying another R/R. Do I have another problem here or was it just a crappy aftermarket R/R dying on me??? Help!!

 

Did you buy the r/r used or new? If you did not get above 14v at 5000 rpm when you put it on, either it is bad or there is another problem, possibly the wiring harness. You can bypass the harness by running three 12 ga yellow wires to the stator harness, a 10 or 12 ga wire to the positive battery post, and a 10ga wire to the negative battery post. I got a replacement r/r which was a little larger than the one it replaced and had huge cooling fins from ricks motorsports electrics. I also got a stator from them. The stator should put out a steadily increasing voltage (AC), as the rpms increase, to its limit of about 75 volts AC. If the voltage stops increasing or drops off then the stator may be bad. I also got a stator from Ricks. The r/r cost about $120 and the stato was about the same I think.

 

Aftermarket??? Who? The one I bought from ElectroSport has a 1 year warranty. The Honda had 0 warranty as in NONE!!! I have a 91 and had no problems. Check threads for voltmeters as I have one on my bike. Not going to get caught again

 

Vman, this sounds like good stuff. I too had a problem with an aftermarket R/R and reinstalled my stock one onto my '98, and added the Radio Shack 12v fan.
My question is this...do you think I need to also change the wires and stator as you suggested?
I got stuck two months ago out in the boondocks and luckily had a friend on a '96 VFR give me a ride back home where eventually I was able to rent a trailer and retrieve the bike.
"Prepare for the unexpected"

 

Check the battery to make sure it is still good. Then go from there...recheck the r/r, then the stator. But you might consider bypassing th e harness as I did. That could be part of the issue. The wires from the r/r to the stator kept melting and burning on mine, so I just went around the harness as that part of it was suspect to me as to its condition where I could not view the wires themselves due to the OEM tapeing.

 

Thanks for all the post and by all means keep them coming!! I just bought a new R/R from Dennis Kirk which is the only one that I can find anywhere, including Honda, that comes with a warranty! I am going to relocate it to the front somewhere I believe and also rewire the harness from the stator to the R/R as everyone has been suggesting. The stator I believe is OK as it puts out about 25 volts at idle and keeps climbing as RPM's increase to about 70 volts or so. Only question remaining is, cut the R/R connector a few inches back and reuse the terminals and the connector and just replace the main section of wiring or re-pin the connector as well?? The pins and the connector have not burnt as some others have been having. They appear to be OK. Also, as far as wiring in a little volt meter/gauge. Where is the best place to find one?

 

I just had something very similar happen on my '96. The R/R was only 3500 miles young and less than 11 months old when it pooped out. I plan on upgrading the R/R wiring as VMan suggested. I have also considered making some sort of duct work to direct outside air to it while in motion. I'll let you all know how that turns out...

 

So I just got my new regulator from Dennis Kirk which I had spent 40 bucks to have overnighted to me. Open the box and unwrap the regulator.....It's a used regulator. The thing has already been installed and popped. So now I have to ship the thing back to them and get another one. While it was out however I triple checked all my wiring. Everything checks out! If it wasn't for bad luck with these stupid R/R's I wouldn't have any luck at all.....

 

What brand?

Hater,
What brand was the one that died? I just replaced one with an aftermarket one and am hoping you say yours was another brand! Thanks, eleman

 

It is an electrosport. The first one I bought I think was bad from the beginning because I really couldn't get more than 13 volts at 5,000 RPM's. The idiot that I bought it from locally wouldn't warranty it for me. Now I ordered one from Dennis Kirk and got sent what must be a warranty return because it is worse than the one I started with. All that said I just got my replacement from Dennis Kirk and it's working perfect. 14 volt charing at 2,000 RPM. Works good for now. The one nice thing about this electrosport is that it comes with a 12 month warranty. Not even Honda can match that with their "tail light" guarantee, for twice the price. To make a long story short I am now going to have a back up R/R that I am going to keep under the seat, I'm not getting stranded again due to these stupid R/R's!!!!

 

I just put one in that I bought off ebay from mrstator (seller) or something like that. Mine was the original and didn't have the cooling fins. this one does and it cost me $91 with shipping. I will buy another one as a backup as soon as I am satisfied that it is OK. I hope it is because I couldn't believe what honda wanted.

 

I bought mine from a Honda dealer and here is he link.
http://www.electrosport.com/shopping_regulator_rectifiers/prod_esr580.html

It was brand new and has work perfect. I have heard both good and bad but at less than $100 with year warranty and Honda wants $200 with NO WARRANTY tell me which is the best deal. All my wiring looks like new so I am not sure when and if I am going to the added wiring. I am wondering if the damage is happening to systems taht are not being monitored for some length of time. My thought was to add the voltmeter and watch the system. If it starts to under or overcharge I have a warning and can rectify it (GET IT) before it causes other damage.

 

Can Anyone provide a detailed description of the R/R bypass that was discussed?

I had similar problems, and found my Wiring Harness and plug for the R/R brittle and FRIED tonite.
I need a replacement Plug & R/R. Might as well Bypass the harness while I'm in there too, seems the Honda wires in this area leave a lot to be desired.

Just need a step by step on how 2 do the bypass.

Is there anything else that would cause the plug to fry other than the typical already mentioned?

Thanks

 

I have to believe that since not every VFR has this burnt plug issue then it has to be something gone wrong that goes un-attended for just to long. If this was totally a design issue then every! VFR would have it.

Say the charging system goes on overcharge and unless you are watching the voltage it will start generating heat and to me brittle wires mean heat for some length of time especially if you do not smell that electrical burnt odor. If it is a fast, wire glowing issue you should smell it. I really think that monitoring the system all the time has to be part of the answer. If my system starts overcharging and I see it on day one I can stop and diagnose the issue and if not I am going to have burnt wires in a short period of time..

I just think any mods to the wires/plugs/rectifiers needs to have a voltmeter of some kind as part of the scenario. All that HD wiring may head of some issues but if the rectifiers are flaky you may avert the heated wires but still sitting on the side of the road with a dead battery due to an undercharging system. After all stranded is stranded. Don't think one should be done without the other.

My voltmeter still bugs me a bit due to the LED's but I sure feel good when I get 20 miles from home and I see that nice green glow that everything is working. I was really paranoid after towing it from 30 miles away one time and now if nothing else I have piece of mind. Then again if my system starts to overcharge I will not it the moment it happens and maybe save myself some charred electrical parts.

 

When my RR went out in May. I also purchased this 5 function meter and mounted in on my fusebox (86). It's great. Nice to see a steady 14 volts the farther I get from home. I will however say the night light is no where near as bright as the photo will suggest. The link is:
http://www.casporttouring.com/store...&Product_Code=14124&Category_Code=Electronics

 

I saw that one two but did not like the fact that with the small buttons I would have to look down and away from the road. I also was worried about the buttons with gloves on. Two many features confuse me to Here was my choice.

 

That's the beauty of this meter. You don't have to hit any of the buttons to know what the current time, voltage or temp is. The buttons are for a stop watch/lap timer and trip high and low temperature. For those who ride colder climates, it even has a black ice alarm for when the temps drop below freezing.

 

f the one you bought looks like the picture in pontiac banshee's post then it is the electrosport. Seeing as it appears that this is the first fully functional one that I received from them we will see how long it lasts. The one really good thing I can say about the electrosport company however is the customer service is fantastic. After getting nowhere with my local a$$hole that wouldn't warranty it for me, I called them up directly. They are sending me a replacement without even requiring the defective piece first. "Just send it to us in the next 30 days" she says!! As far as the wiring goes....I think I am going to leave that alone, as none of it is burnt. What I am going to do, considering it is summer time now and still going into the 90's around here, is relocate the R/R. I think I am simply going to cut the connector off leaving a pigtail on it, extend the stock harness with some new wire and relocate it to up front under the headlight or somewhere with some nice airflow. Having that R/R which we all know gets stupid hot under that plastic fairing is crazy. We will see....and I will post pictures when I do it.

Also I am definately putting a voltage gauge on the bike now. Currently I am shopping around to see which one I am going to purchase. Not finding much more than the LED one that banshee posted I was going to purchase that one. However after seeing the 5 function one for 10 bucks less I think I am going to get that one. And it even has a thermometer!!!

 

Hey Bob,

Did you get my PM on the 12V fan question I had?

Also, check your stator and how much volatge it is putting out. I replaced my RR back in May and had another issue in July. Checked my stator and is was partially fried. I did not know it at the time, but after some research a stator can be partially fried but work well enough to charge the system at highway RPM's. But when your in town it draws on the system and beats the RR up!

Because of what Vman said about Rick's Motorsports I bought one of their stators.

BZ