Regulator and Rectifier Replace

While I had the bike apart doing the air box mod and the new exhaust upgrade, I also upgraded the regulator and rectifier. This is the FH020AA regulator from Roadster Cycle. Installation was a breeze. I took the time to consolidate some of the wiring for a neat installation. See pics below.

 

nice looking work. good choice on r/r and connectors
my r/r lasted 20k and stator lasted 25k on 5th gen

my 1st bike and only new bike ever was a 71 SL-70 in red

 

Niiice ! I like the tidiness of the wiring. Wanna do mine ?

Did you just crimp the stator wires or solder, or both ? And the original harness, where did you tuck it away?

 

The stator wires are actually stainless steel - so i could not solder them. I had to use crimps only (not my preference). By the original harness, do you mean connectors? I removed all the original connectors so that there are only the new connectors going into the regulator/rectifier.

Edit - the wires are indeed copper as everyone tried to tell me (not stainless steel). And I eventually soldered the connections. Just needed to clean the stator wires very well in order to get the solder to flow properly

 

I soldered my Stator wires direct to the RR wires without an issue on my 2000......

 

Very clean job :thumbsup:

 

Hey Mike...nice to see another NC guy on here. I'm in Raleigh....throw up a hand, I think I'm the only yellow VFR around now. There was one other years ago but.......

 

Give me a clue here - why are we replacing stators and regulators on our fifth-gens? For better lighting performance, or for some other reason? Being a new VFR guy, I'm curious to figure out why my EFI sometimes runs smooth and at other times makes my mirrors buzz at 3500 - 4400 RPM. Hence, looking at threads about regulators.

 

Mainly because the stock RR's are prone to failure as well as the sock connectors that are in the wiring harness. Change it with a newer Mosfet RR kit from say roadstercycle.com and enjoy the bike with confidence, hehe.

 

Hm, steel has much more resistance than both copper and aluminum, so I really doubt it is used as a conductor ....... anywhere

 

Hmm...maybe the wires are aluminum? They definitely are not copper. They don't look like copper or solder like copper.

 

They are aluminum and they solder just fine.....

 

You sure that the ends aren't just coated? I have never ran into this problem.

 

Aluminum wiring is terrible - it conducts electricity great, but heats up way too much. I'm no electrical engineer, and I don't know what the exact wires are if they are not copper, but I'd be amazed if the wires from your stator were aluminum.

If I had to guess - I'd say its tinned copper wiring.

Any chance that a previous owner did work on system, and maybe he had to add a length or change out some wire, so the wire you are seeing and thinking is aluminum is not original?

 

It definitely is a mystery. I am sure it was not tinned copper. I tried scraping back the metal to see if it was tinned and looked at it using a magnified glass. Sliver color is consistent through the entire strand. I tried soldering several times - but would end up with a very poor solder joint every time. I finally gave up and just used a crimp connector. Someone earlier mentions that the wires were aluminum and that you can solder aluminum to copper - but all my research says this is not possible under normal conditions with regular electronic rosin core solder. I have a section of this wire from the old connector - maybe I will snap a picture and post to see what other think. I have done a lot of automotive soldering in my time - this is a new one for me. Mike

 

I just bought a 2002 VTEC ABS and love it. Amazing machine after being on a cruiser for many years.
On the way home last week I noticed I had one headlamp driving light out so replaced it.
The battery died within a day of riding and I replaced it. That died too on the way home last night.
I undid that one headlamp socket and bump started the bike, and made it home.
Once home I see the battery has charge somewhat and I am able to start and idle the bike without it shutting down on me.
I'm going to load test the new battery this evening and check the connectors to the Rectifier. If the battery turns out good can I ask if anyone here can point me in the right direction for a fix??
I see rectifiers are an issue with 5th gens... The bike has 60k on it and the rectifier has never been an issue according to the previous owner.
Help... before I start throwing money at it.
Thanks for your time.

 

Congrats on your new ride, oops.

The 2002 to 2005? 06? model also had a recall done on a wiring harness up front. Not sure how it works in Canada, but here in the states, you can call Honda or go to any dealer and they can run the VIN to tell you if the recall was done. They would also make some sort of a hole punch/mark in the VIN tag showing it was done.

As for your R/R, its great that there were/are 60,00okm on it, but it might still be time to replace.

You need get you battery fully charged (overnight) and then load tested. You'll need to check your voltage, too, at off, idle, and 5k rpm. Check it out and get back to us with your findings.

 

oops - this sounds ominously familiar.

The early vtecs had a history of RR and stator, and poor wiring connector issues. A headlight bulb blowing can be a warning the system volts are running too high. This could be down to the RR or even the stator may be failing. Rather than throw money at replacing potentially the wrong components the best thing is to round up a digital meter and work methodically through the drill -

http://vfrworld.com/forums/5th-gene...how-fix-common-regulator-stator-failures.html

If the wiring looks in good shape move on to test the battery is fully charged and will hold the charge. If that is OK then use the multi-meter to check the diodes on the RR and then check the stator AC output across all three pairings of the yellow wires. The stator check needs to be done first with the bike cold and again after its warm - so after a 30 minute plus run - the point being the stator may be charging OK when cold but as the windings heat up the winding insulation can break down and any cross circuiting can start to rapidly drain your battery. If you are not sure what results are OK/bad just write down what you find, and post up here.

Good luck - let us know how you get on.

 

Thanks

I'll test and post...Thanks much.

 

Took the fairing panel off and found burned plug from stator and black pin on rectifier plug. Cut solder done! Right on...