Regualtor/Rectifer needs replacing

My CBR1000F needs a new regulator/rectifier. As its a common problem on
these I am not to keen to get a Honda one.

Does anybody know of any aftermarket options that have better cooling and/or
current rating?

Thanks

 

I heard something about the R1 being a replacement for the Blackbird ones
when they go south, maybe some googling on that will help.

Also a few electrically minded have posted pics of how they use a CPU cooler
fan and rigged that to the 12v source to keep it cool... they swear by it.

Hope that helps
JasonBW - Wollongong

 

I've also heard of people using R1 ones. Fireblade forums ought to
discuss it in detail.

I am amazed that after all these years of failing rectifiers, Honda
_still_ haven't improved their electrical system design. Fuckin' idiots.

(Yes I'm still bitter, 14 months on)

Jules

 

The Yamaha I had, the stator would fail regularly but the reg/rect kept on
trucking. The stator is much more of a pain to replace.

These designs are meant to last a little longer than the warranty.

 

Every time I've had a RR fail (Honda, Ducati, Yamaha), I've replaced
it with an Electrex unit and have never had to touch it again.

Here's their Honda page:

http://www.electrosport.com/electrosport_electrical_honda.html

Whatever brand you use, it wouldn't hurt to relocate the RR to
somewhere that gets more airflow, if you can.

 

I am amazed that after all these years of failing rectifiers, Honda

Yeah, that damn 76 Goldwing still won't give me a reason to **** with it and
install a Lucas or Delco or something.

 

Like this one?

http://www.universalrectifiers.com/A-series-A.JPG

 

I made one improvement. Replaced the failed selenium bridge with a
RadioShack 50 PIV, 25 Amp Silicon one on the 1971 CB100 back in 1980, still
works 25 years later. Regulator is by internal battery resistance, hasn't
failed yet.

 

I know that with Ducati, they keep changing the design and output of
their alternators, so they haven't been able to find a RR that works
and just stick with it. Over the last ten years or so, they've used
alternators rated all the way from 300W to 520W, in both two-and
three-phase designs.

My 1998 ST2 is an odd bird, even among Ducatis. It uses a
two-phase/450-watt alternator, and it's the only bike that they ever
used this particular alternator for. The other 1998 Ducatis used
different alternators, as did the ST itself after 1998.

 

Not exotic looking enough.

You might want to try a mercury arc rectifier.
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/electricstuff/mercarc.html

They give off a nice blue arc while in operation. So not only will it
convert the three phase AC current of your alternator into DC but it
will also up the 'Bling' factor of your ride.

--
Bobbie the Triple Killer

My website:
http://members.shaw.ca/bobbie4/index.htm

Check out:
http://www.iuoe882.com/

[Bob@S01060050046f293e Desktop]$ emacs signature

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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

 

Is that an excited field alternator (brush type or brushless) or is it
a permanent magnet alternator?

EF alternators use a transistor to turn the excitation current off when
voltage rises to a certain level and the PM alternators shunt excess
current to ground through a silicon control rectifier when voltage
rises too high

Electrex USA improved their shunt type regulators by adding a second
silicon control rectifier. One SCR is enough to cut alternator output
current in half, two SCR's sounds like wearing suspenders and a belt
because they would shunt the output of two of the three phases to
ground, and that would effectively prevent all stator output, since the
stators conduct current from phase to phase to phase with a normally
unground neutral.

But Honda seems to have been making a practice of running a voltage
sensing wire to some remote point in the system (like the ignition bus
that is controlled by the ignition switch) in order to maintain around
14.5 volts on the ignition bus. Gawd only knows *why* Honda thinks it's
more important to supply certain components with a specific voltage
instead of sensing *charging* voltage off the battery directly.

Those regulators will have six wires going to/coming from them, instead
of the usual five wires.

So Honda owners have been tracing out that sensing wire and eliminating
as many poor connections as possible. One VFR rider said that he found
no less than *seven* connection in the sensing wire that could drop the
voltage so low the voltage regulator wouldn't work right.

So he cut the poor connection off and soldered the wires directly
together.

Another rider reported that he just ran his sensor wire direct to the
battery.

 

Those are all pygmies compared to the forty 18-foot tall mercury arc
valves at the Sylmar, California perverter station. The perverter
station is in that giant Faraday cage near where you see the water from
the Owens Valley zigzagging down the hill into the Van Norman
Reservoir.

During daytime and on weekends, excess power from hydroelectric plants
in the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia is rectified into DC by
the mercury arc valves at another perverter station in The Dalles,
Oregon and sent down an 800 mile long DC transmission line that
operates at 800,000 volts.

The DC line has less losses than an AC line, since AC current prefers
to flow
in the outermost conductors, even of stranded wire, even though the
stranded wire is twisted to make the AC current transform voltage back
into itself

When it gets to the perverter station in Sylmar, the
computer-controlled mercury arc valves fire in sequence to make
60-cycle AC current which is then transformed to the working voltage of
the power grid.

If the South Coast Air Quality Management District says it's OK, the
diesel fuel burning steam plants are fired up at night, and the AC
power is perverted into DC and sent back up the DC transmission line to
the Northwest.

Of course, the PNW doesn't *need* the power late at night, when
everybody's asleep, but it's a typical government boondoggle.

Each mercury arc valve contains a pool of about 40 gallons over
mercury. The valves are only about 200 yards from the Van Norman
Reservoir.

During the 1971 Sylmar earthquake, the mercury arc valves were knocked
over and they were laying in disarray in the concrete lined pit that
they sit in.

The people of Los Angeles would shit a brick if they knew how much
toxic mercury was in those forty valves, only 200 yards from the city's
water supply!

 

I had rectifier tubes like those in one of my cinemas in the 1960's or
70's to run the carbon arc lamps. They'd been running for about
thirty years at that time, and had never been replaced. Very reliable
and had steady output up to about 100 amps from memory. Used them to
run Peerless Magnarcs. Great light output through Ernemann fives with
drum shutters. Had Ashcraft arc lamps behind Walturdaw fives at
another location, with similar tube rectifiers, which also gave very
steady output at around 80 amps. Bit large for a jap bike tho. Could
try em on a Harley eh ?

--<KeroseneCowboy>--

 

Lucas??? Lucas??? Old prince of darkness himself... I'd stick with OEM


JasonBW

 

I have CBR1000FL - had to replace RR 4 months ago.

I am electrical engineer and researched rebuilding the Honda RR (because of
the special plug connection and I wanted to save money). I gave up as
internal parts are not available.

I reseached all sites refered to by other posters - beware of opinions and
not facts!

Pablos in Melb had the most specific knowledge and experience (not opinion)
with replacment with a Kawasaki RR.

Secondhand RR would cost $90.

In the end I decided on a new unit from Redwing Honda. All is now OK.

Martin.
========================================================================

 

Well you could use an industrial rectifier if you can source the
requirements re phase current and voltage .
even build one if you are keen .

 

Once could design his own, but when new aftermarket item costs $120 US
and salary rate is $30+ US, 4 hours salary doesn't make sense to design,
unless one does out of desire for personal accomplishment. But then one
would want to use MIL rated components, hate to be stranded because unit
overheated on a hot day with high road temps. IMHO, expense, hassle not
worth it.

 

I accept the sentiment of what you say but I was only going to "rebuild" the
old RR. The parts were less than US$30 - a new unit US$150.
=============================================================

 

I have a Honda CBR 600 and had the same problem. My Honda dealer fitted
an aftermarket unit to my bike because he said Honda's
regulator/rectifiers dont last. He said the aftermarket unit would last
forever. It is bigger and apparently just fits in. Sorry dont know
brand. Cost about $230.
Phil

 

I knew a broke biker once, he was living on a shoestring after the
gubbmint
learned that he'd bought a brand new Suzuki while collecting SSDI. They
cut off his SSDI for years, and SSDI was only paying about $150 a
month, so you can guess how long that guy was running on empty...

Whe he started having the GS electrical nightmares, he couldn't afford
a new regulator, he tried to rebuild the old one, but when he dug out
all the epoxy he couldn't find *anything* that looked like an
electronic component.

So I gave him a schematic with component values and even gave him
components, like power diodes. He built about two prototypes, but he
really didn't understand the circuit design and why he didn't need 10
watt wire wound resistors in the zener diode voltage sensing circuit
and why he didn't want diodes with the lowest possible reverse voltage.

He tried rewinding the stator a few times and he told me he felt like
he was
"beating the system" by making his own parts. But the stator burned out
a few times and the home brewed regulator didn't seem to help, so he
mounted a trickle charger on the motorbike and kept it plugged into the
wall when he wasn't riding...