Regulator Rectifier

daveo wrote:

Nessism wrote: Put one probe of the voltmeter on the + battery post and the other on the + output wire from your R/R and check voltage. If you are getting more than .25 volts you have losses in your harness. Repeat the same process on the negative side as well.

Should this test be performed while the key is off? Please explain the "negative side" test, where to connect the probes.

I'm not sure if it matters but I did the test with the bike running and charging. Polarity doesn't really matter as long as your meter goes into negative numbers. The idea being that 0 volts is a perfect level. That means no voltage drop in that wire.

While performing this test on my bike I found .5 volts in the positive run feeding the battery. Found a spade terminal for the fuse block was corroded. Cleaned it really well and reduced the loss down to something like .15 volt.

Well, seeing as how I'm kind of a suspicious guy I'm not willing to commit just yet & say it's fixed.
I bypassed all the bullet connectors I had & straight wired all 6 wires. To be safe I installed a piece of fusible link in lieu of the factory wire. As it's been idling for 1/2 hr or so, while the module is hot the wires are not.
I'm idling at about 13.4. At 5k it's just barely tipping over 15V (15.05).
Unless anyone has any other suggestions I'm going to put it back together & keep an eye on it.
Although it seems an R/R may be needed in the not too distant future, I'd like to see if I could finish out the season.
I'll try & post back after the weekend to update the status of the repair. (If it'll make it that long)

FNGCOC wrote: Well, seeing as how I'm kind of a suspicious guy I'm not willing to commit just yet & say it's fixed.
I bypassed all the bullet connectors I had & straight wired all 6 wires. To be safe I installed a piece of fusible link in lieu of the factory wire. As it's been idling for 1/2 hr or so, while the module is hot the wires are not.
I'm idling at about 13.4. At 5k it's just barely tipping over 15V (15.05).
Unless anyone has any other suggestions I'm going to put it back together & keep an eye on it.
Although it seems an R/R may be needed in the not too distant future, I'd like to see if I could finish out the season.
I'll try & post back after the weekend to update the status of the repair. (If it'll make it that long)

Wow! I hope you have an industrial fan blowing on the bike's motor. Otherwise it may have already overheated. They are air cooled and won't stay at a reasonable temperature without air blowing across the fins. Ed

That and 15.5 volts will boil the battery.
Steve

Yes, that higher voltage is why I believe it's not long before an R/R is in order.
Of course money is always tight, especially when there are children to consider. If it happens that I have to sit the rest of the season out, so be it. No matter how much I enjoy riding it's family needs first.
I'll get it back together & go for a nice long ride then recheck voltage. I'll post my findings.

If the reg/rec has a brown wire, measure the voltage difference on the brown wire directly. Do this by connecting the black meter lead to the brown wire at the reg/rec, and the red meter lead directly to the battery's positive terminal. That tells you directly, what the drop difference is. Also, measure the voltage on the brown wire using the reg/rec's black wire as ground for the meter. This will tell you if the detection circuit is working properly.

If the brown wire still has 15v or higher, relative to the reg/rec ground, then the reg/rec is bad. Better to replace it sooner than later.
If the brown has 14.0 to 14.5, then it is probably ok. You would then look at the voltage drop on the harness, and try to correct that.

Thanks loudhvx. That sounds like a good test. Now it looks like I may not have time to do anything more with it until the weekend.
And yes, I understand & agree that replacement sooner than later is important. I accept that I just may not be able to ride for a few weeks.
i

Keep up on the water.
If you are blowing lights, then you know. Might be a faulty ground or connection.
Steve

No water, battery is sealed glass matt. No lights being blown, original symptom was hot to touch ground wire & a B+ feed that was just about to melt off it's own insulation. Those seem to be resolved since I re-ran the ground & placed a fusible link in lieu of the B+.

Once I get time to put it back together I'll take it out for a spin & re-check my V. The last readings I had were a bit too close for comfort.
I'll also check on those 2 circuits & make sure they're not heating up.

I'd like to put an R/R in just for the piece of mind. Even if it's not failing now, who's to say it won't fail next week.

From what I've seen an SH775 can be bought for $80 including shipping. It's the harness I need to figure out. Nessism posted a helpful link. I'll need to verify that indeed Triumph link lead kit T2500676 can really plug into the SH775 & be had for only $10. That would be too good to be true.

FNGCOC wrote: From what I've seen an SH775 can be bought for $80 including shipping. It's the harness I need to figure out. Nessism posted a helpful link. I'll need to verify that indeed Triumph link lead kit T2500676 can really plug into the SH775 & be had for only $10. That would be too good to be true.

The SH-775 is a superior unit. You don't specifically need the harness. Make up some space terminals, stick them on the matching spades on the R/R and then fill in the cavity with RTV. This is a common method in the aerospace industry to "pott" the terminals. Could be a hassle if you need to remove the terminals later is all.

Thanks for the tip on that technique Nessism. I ordered one that morning. I'll let you know how it turns out.

When going the mosfet route, I would go ahead & do a stock type of installation.
Eastern Beaver has mosfet connectors --- I think they're waterproof. Or you can get used pigtails or a wire harness on eebbaayy.