My R/R cooling system & re-wire

Here are a couple of pictures of my Pentium 3 CPU fan and heat sink mod. I did this becuase the company I bought the R/R from sent me a non-finned unit. I also re-wired the charging system with 12 gauge HD wiring. The entire wiring harness has been re-wrapped to look OEM. Let me know what you think!

 

Very cool (no pun intended)! What did you use to transfer heat between the R/R and the heat sink, thermal compound (Artic Silver, etc.) or permanent thermal adhesive?

 

Do you know how many RPM's the fan operates at and what the current draw is? Also, what is the CFM rating of the fan? I'm interested because I have some plans to do some things myself and I have been looking at specifications to determine the type of fans I will use. Nice Job, BTW!

 

Nice job ! Looks like it's built to last. Which circuit did you pick up the fan power from?

 

VeryFunRide - Yes, the goo that you see squeezing out the edges is the CPU heat transfer stuff that you buy at Radio Shack. Used the whole micro-syringe.:biggrin:

NorcalBoy - I have no idea how many RPM's the fan operates at - I DO know that it's a lot (I would guess at least 10k). As soon as you click on the ignition key, it sounds like you're firing up a server... ZZZZZZIINNNNNNGGG!!!! It moves some serious air for such a small unit. It just happened to be the fan that was attached to the burnt up P3 CPU my friend got for me...

kingsley - I used the license plate illumination circuit to power the fan (which is a 12V DC unit, BTW). Does not work like a Stomper(i.e. switch the battery, motor spins in reverse), the current can only flow in one direction. I chopped my rear fender, lamp removal was necessary due to fit issues, and I figured wouldn't need it anymore.

 

Very interesting, was curious to know what plug you used there where it plugs into the RR? Been thinking of doing this wire mod too, but the OEM plug won't take the wire size increase. and I see you have something else going on there.

 

would love to see a how to

 

looks awesome though , and a good idea ..kudos

 

That's cool VTViffer,

I had already deciphered the serial number off the back of the fan, LOL!

Here is the data based upon what I think is the fan you have:

Maker= NMB
Serial Number= 1606KL-04W-B50
Size= 1.57" x 1.57" x 0.59"
Size= 40mm x 40mm x 15mm
Voltage= 12v dc
Volt Range= 10.2 - 13.8
Power= 1.02 W
Current= 85 mA
Speed= 8,000 RPM
Noise= 34 dBA
Airflow= 8 cfm
Weight= 20 gm

Thought this info might be helpful to people looking to do something similar and need to know what type of fan would work for the application.

Thanks for responding....

 

I know this is probably going way too far into geekdome, but they sell CPU fan speed controllers (with the unit or separate). I have one on my PC for my Zalman CPU cooler. If you want an adjustable speed R/R cooler, that's the way to go IMO. :biggrin:

 

It is my opinion that you would want the highest amount of airflow possible, at the lowest current draw, with the most quiet operation. The rheostat to control the fan speed is a nifty gadget, yes, but I think you would want to be running the fan at maximum RPM to get the highest amount of airflow. I would be more concerned with having a locked rotor sensor to shut down the fan if it were to lock up, especially if the fan isn't fused............

 

True, but if you ever hear 'something funny' coming from your bike, you probably want to be able to minimize as much unnecessary noise as possible so you can locate the problem. Granted he can disconnect the fan power entirely, that'd also defeat the purpose of having one. Plus, you said you ideally you want minimal draw. At free way speeds I doubt that fan is any more effective than air current at directing air over the fins; wouldn't be much sense in having it full blast all the time, just going to shorten the life of the ball bearing/sleeve.

 

If the R/R received adequate airflow at most speeds the fan would now seem to be unnecessary.........Yes? I have been looking into the mag lev fans. If you can't hear the engine noise over the fan noise..............

 

If you look how the heatsink/fan is oriented compared to the fan blades and housing, any significant forward movement is going to direct air right over the intake end of the fan. The active cooling I see really as only being beneficial in low to no speed condition; but that's not reason enough not to have one IMO.

My CPU cooler is fairly audible, if I was trying to find an air leak on my bike that was situated on the same side as an R/R fan, the tiny hiss might blend in with the sound of the R/R cooler motor and turbulence.

In any event, I think we should get :focus:

 

Agreed! Thanks for your input, I'm always interested in what other folks are thinking about and it's hard to do in a couple of written sentences, thanks for playing along.

 

VT; Very clean installation,but I question why you didnt try to get an R/R with fins. Granted you pigybacked it,but dont you think you are loosing some heat transfer even if your using an arctic silver like product? Last summer I tried to run my RR wires in parallel the only thing was that I sorta rushed it so mine looks crude compared to yours. As I understand it yours is wired so the fan works full time,I have mine wired that way also but when one of the guys posted about the fan having the potential to lock up, I am not sure thats the best way to go , eddie

 

RVFR - Yeah, the stock Honda plug-in connector is GONE. It was melted belond repair. I cut the plastic up and salvaged the terminals from it, and soldered the new 12 ga. wiring onto them. Obviously, the stuff is shrink tubed for weather resistance. You will note the silver dots on the R/R housing and on the wires - this helps me keep wiring straight (in the absence of different wire colors). As a note, everything is still wired up the same OEM Honda way, no direct "parallel" wiring.

Hurst - as far as a write up is concerned, I just replaced the stock 20 gauge Stator to R/R wiring (and associated R/R wiring) with some 12 gauge. The CPU fan is wired to the stock license plate illumination circuit, fan and heat sink are held on to the R/R with black zip-ties, with heat sink gel between the two. The R/R bolts hold the zip-ties in place.

Norcalboy - The fan would be fused, technically, since it is in the license plate illumination circuit. If for some odd reasont he fan ceases to spin, I would hear it the first time I killed the bike. It's louder than 34 dBA, BTW, you can hear it as soon as the key is clicked to "ON". I would imagine that the draw on the circuit is about the same as before.

eddie cap - funny you should ask about not buying a finned R/R... Check out one of my previous posts:

http://vfrworld.com/forums/general-vfr-discussions/10295-regulatorrectifier-com.html

And BTW - I'm really not concerned about the fan locking up - granted - I am using a used unit with unknown hours on it - but CPU fans are pretty bulletproof IMHO. Plus, I would certainly take notice if it didn't come on for some reason.

 

Ok sounds easy enough I am always in big city's with lots of traffic so sounds like a good idea to me

 

Oh and vt viffer , nice bike I get to see that beautifull sight everytime I walk outside ...I hope my wife doesn't read this or i'll be living outside with it ,which would probably be ok with me lmao