Compufire

[mustangflyr]

Compufire latest episode

Talked to Compufire on the phone today and they said the unit will get warm like that and to mount it where there is airflow over the unit to cool it. They stated that it was designed for the Harley Davidson to have it on the front of the engine for that purpose. So maybe under a side cover is not such a "hot" idea. Otherwise things fine charging system wise now.

[Darin Jordan]

Talked to Compufire on the phone today and they said the unit will get warm like that and to mount it where there is airflow over the unit to cool it. They stated that it was designed for the Harley Davidson to have it on the front of the engine for that purpose. So maybe under a side cover is not such a "hot" idea. Otherwise things fine charging system wise now.

Perhaps a simple CPU fan setup or ??? could be easily mounted under the cover over the unit??

I add these to my ESCs for my R/C Boats all the time and they add a considerable amount of cooling.

[mustangflyr]

Perhaps a simple CPU fan setup or ??? could be easily mounted under the cover over the unit??

I add these to my ESCs for my R/C Boats all the time and they add a considerable amount of cooling.

An interesting thought. Off to research the possibilities. Thanks

[Darin Jordan]

An interesting thought. Off to research the possibilities. Thanks

Might check at a local PC Recycler style shop. Power supply fans work great too. You can get them in 12V power ranges, and they are made to run continuously with very little amp-draw.

[mustangflyr]

Compufire/rick's

Perhaps a simple CPU fan setup or ??? could be easily mounted under the cover over the unit??

I add these to my ESCs for my R/C Boats all the time and they add a considerable amount of cooling.

Alright, mounted a CPU fan on the Compufire and had a noticeable temp drop, when measured it had dropped average 21 degrees. And the voltages are still testing above the quick test results with a max being 14.6 volts. It fits under the stock side cover with no problem.

[OldVet66]

FYI, I've run the CompuFire since posplayr first introduced them, On a '78 GS1000E year round and in plenty of 90-100 degree weather in a lot of traffic jams, under the side cover with no additional ventelation, with absolutely no problems, so they are a lot tougher than you might think. With the problems that you have had, I can see you being a little worried. They are solid units, given time, I think you will learn to trust in them.

[mustangflyr]

Compufire

FYI, I've run the CompuFire since posplayr first introduced them, On a '78 GS1000E year round and in plenty of 90-100 degree weather in a lot of traffic jams, under the side cover with no additional ventelation, with absolutely no problems, so they are a lot tougher than you might think. With the problems that you have had, I can see you being a little worried. They are solid units, given time, I think you will learn to trust in them.

Thanks for that info, can't get enough input on this.

[mustangflyr]

Compufire latest episode

Just returned from a ninety mile ride and all systems seem to be working as intended. Voltages are well within spec low, 12.6 at idle and 14.6 max. I have a digital voltage meter mounted on the pad below the gauges for the moment. The CPU fan brought the temps on the R/R down to a max I could find of 106 degrees with an infrared thermometer under the side cover. Thanks to all for help on this and I hope it's all of use to fellow GSR's.

[Darin Jordan]

Hey Guys... I'm finally getting around to installing my Compufire R/R and a new Rick's Stator on my 1980 GS850G... I've been reading, and hopefully learning what I need to do, but just to clarify a few things before I start:

1) I have Basscliff's instructions on replacing the R/R and the Stator, including the bit on how to get rid of the extra loop up through the headlight area. Are these instructions sufficient for what I'm installing? I've glanced through conversations on Series vs. parallel R/R installations, and frankly became a little confused. Just want the bike to work, so is there anything "special" I need to do outside of the normal "making sure all the connections are solid, clean, etc." that I need to do??

2) I was planning on attempting to mount the R/R in the stock location on this bike, since the areas under the side covers are pretty crowded already. Anyone have any advice or pictures showing mounting of this larger R/R on this particular bike?? I've seen references to other bikes (750E, 1150's, etc.), but haven't (perhaps I missed it??) seen anyone do it on a '80 GS??

Hopefully I won't have to make a career out of this and can get the bike back up and running by this coming weekend!

Thanks!

[seano]

As luck would have it, I recently found a few extra bucks and ordered a Compufire r/r for my 1980 GS850g as well Darin. I'll be keeping tabs on this thread to soak up any and all help that may come our way. Thanks for the post!

[Darin Jordan]

OK guys... quick question... I'll follow this up with some installation pics, etc., because I think this has gone pretty well thus far.

ONE question, however....

I have installed the Rick's Stator, and ran the three wires directly to the three stator wires on the Compufire. Remaining are two wires... One marked "Ground", and the other marked "Positive"...

The ground is obvious... straight to the neg term on the battery.

However, the Positive wire confuses me a tad. Based on Basscliff's information on replacing the R/R, the "Postitive" wire should connect to the red wire in the wiring harness... Is that right?? If so... is THIS the line that all of the power goes through??? HOW does the power get distributed around the bike? Is it through this one wire??

I ask, because the R/R has a HUGE wire gauge for this... but the bike is DINKY! 14 or 16 awg at best.... Is this where ALL the power feeds through the system??

[Steve]

Do you not have a wiring diagram for your bike? There is a GORGEOUS one on BassCliff's site.
Look in the right-side column, you will see a listing for '80 850G (color). When you open it, you will see this:



The regulator is at the bottom, just right of center. If you follow the RED wire, you can easily see where it goes. It disappears into the main harness, where it splits. One leg goes back to the battery, the other leg goes forward to the ignition switch. From the ignition switch, power comes back on an ORANGE wire to power the other three fuses, then on to the rest of the bike.

As to the size of thet wire, it's not much of a problem. Each coil draws about 4 amps (total of 8), the headlight draws about 5, so there is a relatively constant 13 amps going through that wire, until you add brake lights, turn signals or horn. Over the short distances within our wiring harnesses, a 16 gauge wire will easily handle 15 amps, and it is only the red and orange wires that will need to handle that much, because after the fuse box it is only the individual circuits, with much smaller loads, not the total for the bike.

While this diagram is specifically for the 850, it is similar enough to most of the rest of the bikes, it is a great reference.

.

[Darin Jordan]

Steve, thanks... I do have that diagram, as well as almost everything else Basscliff has on his site all printed out and well read. The reason for my question is because the R/R (Compufire) has HUGE wire on it... looks to be at least 10-awg... It also has a 40-Amp fuse in this line as well. Looks a little odd tieing into a 16-awg wire...

Guess I'll just complete the connections in the morning. I did start it and run it tonight, and everything looked good. I'll meter everything once it's all buttoned up.

Found a supply of the GM style weatherhead connectors to mate up to the weatherhead connector on the R/R, so it's all looking pretty clean and should have solid connections, as well as waterproof ones.

I'll post some pics of the adapter plate I made for the R/R here tomorrow.... Pretty simple, and very clean install into the stock location.

[Darin Jordan]

The heavy gauge Red Wire with it's fuse or circuit breaker goes directly to the battery. Installed the unit in my 82 and 83 GS1100E and my neighbor has installed the Compufire as well on his '80 GS850. 3 wires from stator to the 3 wire bundle on Compufire, black to ground / neg battery terminal, RED to positive. In all 3 installations, R/R is always cool to the touch as well.

I have the 3 wires from the stator going to the 3 wire bundle, and I have the black going to the neg battery terminal.... If I connect the "Positive" wire to the Pos battery terminal, what do I do with the red wire in the harness that the old Red wire from the original R/R used to hook to?

[Darin Jordan]

Just leave the wire in the harness disconnected. I taped the wire off and made a "note" just in case a "back to factory" install was ever contemplated. No reason. The Compufire is The Upgrade. Period.

Used a Delphi 3 pin connector on one installation. Plugs in and is weather tight. Another installation is soldered and heat shrink, the other crimped connectors / heat shrink........all good.

Thanks for the follow-up. That's exactly what I did... put heat-shrink over the two "loop" wires and the single red wire and bundled it all up.

Ran the Positive wire to the pos battery terminal, with the supplied 40A fuse holder in line, and the ground to the negative battery.

Ran it for a bit and all looked good. I need to get a volt meter on everything to verify proper values, but I can tell you that this is the first time in 7,000 miles or so that the headlight didn't dim and brighten with RPM level.

Thanks for all the information, guys. This resource is invaluable.

I'll post some pics as soon as I get everything buttoned up.