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Regulator/rectifier for GS1000EC

  • Thread starter Thread starter noobie
  • Start date Start date
N

noobie

Guest
Hi!

I have a question. Almost done restoring the bike, just the damn wiring is causing a problem.

We have the regulator, but seem to be missing the rectifier (http://www.bikebandit.com/suzuki-motorcycle-gs1000ec-1978/o/m5982, go to ELECTRICAL, item #14). What is confusing me even more that when I check the net rectifiers and regulators are marked as one and the same thing (http://www.shopwiki.com/_Voltage+Regulator+Rectifier+GS1000+80-81) and also the photo was only of the regulator...

And IF these two ARE two different things, since I read many bad things about OEM rectifiers, which aftermarket rectifiers would you recommend?

Please help!

noobie

EDIT: btw., English is only my tertiary language so I hope you can understand my confusion regarding regulator/rectifier thing.

Also, this lack of rectifier would also explain huge additional amounts of wiring and two additional fuses (the ones mounted directly on the wire in long, black cylinders). I hate it when things get more complicated than strictly necessary. And that right at the end... I want to ride the thing already!
 
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Someone may have already replaced your two-piece setup with a one-piece unit.

Post some photos, and the GSR Hive Mind will explain all. If you can find a sticker on the mystery device, tell us what it says.

Most importantly, does it work? With a good battery installed, does it charge the battery?


Sorry, you don't get to claim to be bad at English when you can use words like "tertiary" properly. :D
 
Oh yeah, a pic, I forgot *rolls eyes* Blame it on the late hour... Oh, hell, I don't really have anything to blame it on.

As for the English :D Hehe, nobody said I'm bad at it, there are just words I don't know their meaning yet and, well, this rectifier thing threw me :p

Anyway, here's the photo. Sorry the regulator is not the center-piece, but this photo is from the series I made when we took the bike apart and I made pics for when we put it back together. And it's now too late (almost 1 am) to go the 3 miles to the workshop to take the photo. Hopefully someone will know from the mere photo if it's the one-piece unit. That's just leaves the question why additional wiring... hopefully the electrics-guy will be able to tell us when he comes check our work.

As for does it charge the battery... who knows... the bike worked when we bought it, even though it took a couple of tries to start it the first time we started it (stood for a long while)... but since it wasn't registered for road use I couldn't have taken a ride long enough to know if it charges. We had it run for only a couple of minutes per session (about 5 or 6 sessions) at best before taking the entire bike apart.
 
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Hi Mr. noobie,

I can't be sure what that part is, but it looks like a "normal" 5 wire regulator/rectifier unit. In a perfect world, the red wire goes into your wiring harness, through the fusebox, to the (+) terminal of the battery. This is your charging voltage. The black wire goes to ground (a good, clean frame ground or perhaps the (-) terminal of the battery). The three yellow wires connect to the wires going to the stator. The stator provides unfiltered AC voltage which the r/r unit rectifies and converts to DC to charge the battery.

Check your wiring connections and report back. Are those three yellow wires going to the stator or to a rectifier? What year is your bike? Have you read the Stator Papers?


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff
 
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Thanks for the reply!

BassCliff said:
Are those three yellow wires going to the stator or to a rectifier?
Click to expand...

The answer is easy, one I've already given. I have no rectifier... it's MIA. Just additional wiring (that splits in two from where it connects on the regulator's red wire) with two additional fuses (the ones in black cylinders directly on wires). Where on the wiring does the rectifier even connect? Right now I'd like to do some serious bodily damage to the guy who messed up this whole thing. I just hope this bike is worth it, that once we fix it it'll perform satisfactorily, considering how much it's cost us (in money and nerves/patience).

BassCliff said:
What year is your bike?
Click to expand...

As written in the title of the thread, it's a EC aka 1978
 
That looks like an aftermarket regulator/rectifier -- both functions in one unit. The yellow wires connect to the wires from the stator, the red wire is +12VDC to power the bike, and the black is (surprise) ground. Easy-peasy.
 
bwringer said:
That looks like an aftermarket regulator/rectifier -- both functions in one unit. The yellow wires connect to the wires from the stator, the red wire is +12VDC to power the bike, and the black is (surprise) ground. Easy-peasy.
Click to expand...

Whew, thank god and thank you, bwringer, for identifying it. At least one worry less. Well, two worries: no fear of having problems with it later if it was an OEM and no fear of the rectifier missing and having to buy a new one.

Well, gotta hand it to whoever had the bike previously. Even though they did strange (or stupid) things to the wiring, making it longer for no known reason (I think they even installed the 12V plug-in cigarette-lighter that can also charge other things), etc., at least they replaced some electrics. The ignition is a Dyna S, this regulator seems to be aftermarket, they also put in a Volt-meter, only the coils remain original (unmarked, white or beige or something like that).
 
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Does anyone know why two wires that go from the headlight-switch on the left handlebar would go alongside each other through the entire wiring, come out of the main harness near the regulator-wires only to connect to each other through connectors?
 
noobie said:
Does anyone know why two wires that go from the headlight-switch on the left handlebar would go alongside each other through the entire wiring, come out of the main harness near the regulator-wires only to connect to each other through connectors?
Click to expand...


From the factory, many GS models passed the wire from one leg of the stator up to the headlight and back. I think the original reasons had to do with bleeding off extra current through the headlight to avoid straining the very marginal regulator. Or something like that. The loop remained in later models even though it didn't do anything at all.

Anyway, the former owner of your bike has already bypassed this extraneous loop of wire. The ends were plugged together just for the sake of neatness (I usually clip them off and hide the wire ends.). Don't worry about it.


Is your bike actually having problems or are you just puzzled at some of the wiring modifications? It sounds like some pretty standard wiring upgrades were done. Without looking at the work closely, I can't say if they were done well, but so far everything makes sense.
 
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bwringer said:
From the factory, many GS models passed the wire from one leg of the stator up to the headlight and back. I think the original reasons had to do with bleeding off extra current through the headlight to avoid straining the very marginal regulator.
Click to expand...

Well, both wires start in the headlight switch, not one at the stator. Hoping that's what you meant.

Thanks for the explanation! Well, I can't really remember anymore if the headlight worked correctly (I think it did, though), but I do remember there was a problem with the rear light... the stop light continued to come on at irregular intervals even when it wasn't in use. But that was probably because of rusted contacts/wires and because the old brake pads were rusted into place. Now that we fixed that I think/hope it'll work as it should.

Therefore, as you presumed, I'm more puzzled at the wiring modifications. This is the third vintage bike me and my father are restoring (a Goldwing and a CB250 before that, one bike each year) and frankly, I've never seen such a mess of wiring.

Thanks!
 
I would clean the orings on the black wires as they appear to be your ground wires. And check the end of the 1 that goes to the battery and make sure its clean also. Good luck
 
lucabond said:
I would clean the orings on the black wires as they appear to be your ground wires. And check the end of the 1 that goes to the battery and make sure its clean also. Good luck
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip, but they are clean. This photo was taken before the bike was taken apart, more than 7 months ago. The bike has in the meantime been almost completely restored (the only things left to do is to finish installing the electrics, repaint the tank and the tail and to install the new exhausts, and some other small things), so the ground wires are now clean.
 
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