Honda Voltage Rectifiers

[Morgz]

Hi guys, long time no post. I'm coming home for a break for the first time in 10 months and I'm hanging out for a spin on the XX..... Problem is the voltage rectifier has shat itself and needs to be fixed first. :cry: Does anyone have a suggestion for a better replacement? The Honda ones are notoriously flakey so I'm not shelling out for an OE part.

Has anyone replaced one themselves? What tools will I need? (i.e. is it a plug-in part or will I need the soldering iron etc?)

[Glenn]

Hey m8

Gavin Carlini (used to race up at Wanneroo and at Kwinana - not sure what he's doing these days) replaced the one on my girlfriends CBR 600F with a Kwaka one for the ZX9 - apparently best one around.

Check it out.

[Dejavu]

It is a plug in part and like on most Hondas its in a spot that dont get much cooling air and thus they burn out. easily replaced once you found where its hiding 8) ,
Kawaka ones r cheaper and better but that dont need to be said
So "Flakey" means crap eh - makes sense

[Anonymous]

Electrex make good replacements, as Ducati Reg/Recs are also unreliable.

https://www.electrexusa.com

[TRX]

the problem with the OE ones is that they overheat. if you get another hondas voltages regulator/rectifier go grab a heat sink from dick-smith's. So ive been told anyway

[Rob]

The Regulator/Rectifier is the worst bit on the VFR's.

http://www.ozvfr.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=815

This is an article about fitting one from an R1.

Cheers.


Rob

[Cbr1k]

If you are ok with electronics you can make one out of the power supplies that are in really old mainframes. A friend once made one for me from a old Concurrent system. Those old pwer supplies could handle 100A at 12V! Power supply cost $5 from an auction

If not that keen check the honda forums as I've seen lots of post of people using replacement ones by aftermarket suppliers.

A bigheatsink (with heat conduxting grease) and fan from a PC will keep the new one cool.

[Flakey]

So \"Flakey\" means crap eh - makes sense  

HEY!! I heard that!! :x

[Morgz]

Electrex make good replacements, as Ducati Reg/Recs are also unreliable.

www.electrexusa.com

Thanks... these guys have a good electrical fault finding chart on their website too:

http://www.electrexusa.com/Images/fault_finding.pdf

Very useful. I'm pretty sure the RR is at fault but I'd better get home and check it first. The battery is new so everything is pointing to the rectifier.

[Gordo]

I had my rectifer die on me a few months ago, ( VTR 1000 Firestorm)

It was located under the tail section above the rear brake master cylynder.It cost $220 minus PSB discount and took 5 minutes to change.You'll probably need a 10mm socket to undo the mounting bolts then unplug it ,plug in the newy re mount it and hey presto.

The new rectifier has some fins on it and looks like it would handle the heat better but as was said above a heatsink and or a fan wouldn't hurt too.

PM Wax on this forum as he has replaced his rectifier on his Blackbird recently and should be able to tell you where it's located.

[WAXX]

Gordons right, my rectifier,regulater went out at 34,000kms which is about it's life span due to the heat that it generates.
It is located behind the left side, side cover and is easy to get to, the factory one is rubber filled with no cooling fins, Honda knows they have a problem with them and have upgraded them now with a fully finned ally number that also comes with a heat sink.
It is just a plug in unit which takes about 15 minutes to do.
Mine cost $255 or you can use a R1 unit which is $185, but you have to do wiring changes.
What makes you think the rectifier is at fault? My gauges stoped working then a couple of minutes later the bike stalled and toasted my battery.
New rectifier and battery and I was going again with everthing back to normal.

[Morgz]

What makes you think the rectifier is at fault? My gauges stoped working then a couple of minutes later the bike stalled and toasted my battery.
New rectifier and battery and I was going again with everthing back to normal.

First my battery died with no warning (Jan 2003).... Everything was working fine, I parked and went to the shops, got back on and ... nothing - the battery is dead. I installed a new battery and everything was back to normal. I left the country the next day :-) Fast forward 8 months to August. I'm home on R&R. I did maybe 500km during the week with no problems. About four months later (Dec 2003) a friend home from Europe borrows the XX. It starts from cold just fine and he cruises to Fremantle and parks. The battery dies again and it won't turn over but push starts OK. Nearing home he notices that simply turning on the indicators causes the tacho to die. He rides it back to my house and parks it where it has been ever since. I've been told that this is a common set of events i.e. the battery and rectifier die at about the same time. The battery has maybe 1000km on it MAX.

[WAXX]

I'd say the rectifer is gone, get a multimeter on the battery terminals and you should have 14.5-15.7 volts at 5000 rpm, if not it's time to replace.

You could borrow my rectifier to check if you like, Also could be the stator windings but that is not that common of a problem with Honda's.

[stockman]

Honda

My Cousins father is a honda nut and literally had hundreds of these rectifiers laying around all apparently stuffed, hoda wanted some riduculous amount for an exchange one ie one for one swap plus money. Anyway to cut a long story short he took one into work, A biochemistry lab and concocted a solvent that "ate" the encapsilation to reveal the inner working to find that there was about 3 fuses in there. He did the rest over a weekend shorting out 2 of the redundant fuses and placing the third outside the mould before he resealed the lot. He sold them to his friends and kept about 10

[WAXX]

These days they have a few diods etc in there, they are way over priced for the $1 worth of parts that are in there.
But for us that is bikes, "bend over and take it up the arse" when we need anything.