Help identify this part and where it's SUPPOSED to 'live' on my bike.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

It's time for me to pick your brains,

As I posted a while back I bought a used 2002 Kawasaki Mean Streak. I
decided to go back to the factory exhaust system because the pipes on the
bike basically had No Cat and were super short. They stopped at the rear
foot peg.
Today, while installing the catalytic converter, I found a 'box' made of
some aluminum alloy mounted vertically to the frame in the area where the
cat was supposed to go. I thought maybe it was something that belonged
there. However, after further inspection I found that it was actually held
in place with plastic zip ties. The cat would not go on with the 'box'
there. so I have temporarily moved it out of the way.

The unit is made completely of some aluminum alloy and has fins molded
into the cover. It has a group of 5 or 6 wires coming out if it. They are
covered in thin flexible black plastic tubing. I am not sure where this box
belongs. I'm guessing it's part of the ignition system.

If my digital camera was working I'd post a picture of it. I cannot ride
my bike until I figure out what this unit is and where it needs to go.

Please HELP!
-=Deven Knight=-

 

Sounds like it might be your rectifier / regulator module.
It needs to be on your motorcycle.

What do I win?


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Bobbie the Triple Killer

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The ideal engineer is a composite ... He is not a scientist, he is not a
mathematician, he is not a sociologist or a writer; but he may use the
knowledge and techniques of any or all of these disciplines in solving
engineering problems.
N. W. Dougherty, 1955

 

Does the bike have a chain oiler installed? That could be the control
module for it.

pierce

 

Some bikes come with a cat and since he want to put it back to stock....

pierce

 

<chuckle> We're just not used to seeing catalytic converters on motorcycles
in Texas.. They've been requiring them California for a long time. They are
going to become a more common sight, though..

Bill Walker

 

Go to www.partsfish.com and register so you can look at the parts
diagrams. Look at the electrical diagrams and you'll probably see that
you are describing the rectifier regulator unit.

Does the aluminum gizmo have two holes in it, on the long axis? My
Kawasaki uses only ONE screw, the other screw has pin on the metal
plate it attaches to occupying the other hole.

The rectifier regulator unit is supposed to be attached to a metal
plate so it can get rid of the EXCESS HEAT it generates. If the
aluminum gizmo didn't get HOT, it wouldn't have FINS on it.

There are six diodes and a silicon control rectifier in there that work
by getting HOT. The heat has to go somewhere, that's why it's bolted it
a plate. You will even see some
rectifier regulators installed with white heat sink compound to help
get rid of heat.

You can probably get heat sink compound at Radio Shack when you decide
install the rectifier regulator properly.

 

If brains were cotton, you couldn't tampon a termite.

Nyah nyah.

 

It might not be a bad idea to cut the guy a little slack. If his
experience is limited then so be it but that is no reason to insult him
for his ignorance. Ignorance is easy remedied.

pierce

 

We used to remove cats so we could run cheaper leaded gas, but since that is
no longer available in the US, removing the cat serves no purpose.

 

Brian,

Just a couple of questions.

Why do most plumbers work on plumbing and never touch electrical items?

Let's say the guy is a reasonable mechanic and never worked on a motorcycle
before. Would you make the same assertion that he not install his exhaust
system on a motorcycle even if he asked "what the hell is that box for and
where is it supposed to go"?

If he has zero experience working on a motorcycle, just what would you have
him do to gain that experience?

As for your comments regarding "the trashy fuckheads from rec.moto" who you
say are "fucking sissies", well I certainly hope you are referring to a
subset of those that post to the newsgroup. There certainly are a few
jerks in every newsgroup and there are even some mentally unstable persons
in some newsgroups as well, but describing them in such a crude manner
invites and entices them.

pierce