Regulator/Rectifier close call

[JoeKanuck]

For the most part, at anything above idle, my stock voltage gauge reads 14ish. Lately, it's been getting up there but it seemed a bit random. Tonight, I checked the wires leading to the R/R and man...did I ever get there just in time.

 

One of the wires from the 3 prong plug had gotten so hot, it not only melted the plug, it heated up the connector enough to slide out of the crimp. One slight tug and it came completely free.

 

I have been going over my bike and re-seating and greasing plugs as I come to them...I was planning on doing this anyway but damn...there was some serious puckering happening when I saw that bare wire.

 

I pulled all the connectors out of the burned and melted plug, cleaned them up and plugged the wires together, without the plug, and insulating them.

 

A quick startup showed the volts at around 14...right off of idle and steady as a rock no matter the load.

 

Moral of the story; check those plugs. If you catch them in time, you may save yourself the time and effort of getting stranded and buying a new R/R.

[DragonRider]

That is one of the weak links in the 1st Gens. I had the same thing happen while riding, Muffinman to the rescue, he cut of the burned plugs and soldered them together, never a problem again, when I replaced the tranny in my 83, I bought new snap together plugs and used those instead. Voltmeter shows full charging at 14 volts all the time. Good catch on your part.

 

 

For the most part, at anything above idle, my stock voltage gauge reads 14ish. Lately, it's been getting up there but it seemed a bit random. Tonight, I checked the wires leading to the R/R and man...did I ever get there just in time.

 

One of the wires from the 3 prong plug had gotten so hot, it not only melted the plug, it heated up the connector enough to slide out of the crimp. One slight tug and it came completely free.

 

I have been going over my bike and re-seating and greasing plugs as I come to them...I was planning on doing this anyway but damn...there was some serious puckering happening when I saw that bare wire.

 

I pulled all the connectors out of the burned and melted plug, cleaned them up and plugged the wires together, without the plug, and insulating them.

 

A quick startup showed the volts at around 14...right off of idle and steady as a rock no matter the load.

 

Moral of the story; check those plugs. If you catch them in time, you may save yourself the time and effort of getting stranded and buying a new R/R.

[reddevilmedic]

nice catch. when i got mine, i didnt know about that issue yet. hence, burned up stator. i eventually ended up with a Shindigen, and took it completely out of the wiring harness.

[JoeKanuck]

The only hot spot was the 3 connector plug...and only one of the connectors. That's a real problem with old style, unsealed plugs. Eventually, the contacts will corrode and you'll get higher resistance across the connector, which makes heat and corrosion which finally fries the wires, connector or both.

 

It is a really good idea to re-seat any connector you come across and put a bunch of grease in the female side. I've never worried about using dielectric grease. I've used and tested regular grease in very high voltage situations and it has zero conductivity.

 

Bad connectors are not only a source of burned wiring and components, but just having erratic signal caused by intermittent contact can fry electronics or just be a pain in the butt.

 

Basically, clean them when you see them...but I wouldn't wait too long....