Polaris R/R and stator winding/headlight switch wiring mods

[sealpup]

Greetings all,

I'll be going down the Polaris R/R path soon as a precautionary measure. I also want to do the stator winding/headlight switch wiring mod.

If I do the stator winding/headlight switch wiring mod first (taking all 3 phases of the stator direct to the rectifier), will it put any additional load on the OEM regulator (it's the pre '80 separate rectifier and regulator arrangement) or stator?
Or should I do the Polaris R/R mod first?
Or doesn't it matter?

I've got a decent grasp of electrics, but am still coming to terms with Suzuki's finest work!

Thanks in anticipation.

[JTGS850GL]

If you never turn your headlight off, then doing the wiring mod makes no difference to the R/R except for having a more dependable connection with less loss on one leg.

Go ahead and do the mod while you're waiting on delivery of the new R/R.

Some will say to solder/crimp the connections directly to the stator, but I personally don't. I upgrade the connections to better quality spade connectors instead of the OEM bullet connectors. They carry higher current but still allow you to disconnect the R/R from the stator if you have to. I just did a replacement starter clutch on my 1000 and needed to disconnect the stator in order to put in a new stator cover gasket. Much easier then having to cut and re-solder/crimp the two back together.

[tom203]

"If I do the stator winding/headlight switch wiring mod first (taking all 3 phases of the stator direct to the rectifier), will it put any additional load on the OEM regulator (it's the pre '80 separate rectifier and regulator arrangement) or stator?"

Probably won't matter, but if it ain't broke now, might as well wait to do SH-775 and wiring mod at same time.

[posplayr]

If you never turn your headlight off, then doing the wiring mod makes no difference to the R/R except for having a more dependable connection with less loss on one leg.

Go ahead and do the mod while you're waiting on delivery of the new R/R.

Some will say to solder/crimp the connections directly to the stator, but I personally don't. I upgrade the connections to better quality spade connectors instead of the OEM bullet connectors. They carry higher current but still allow you to disconnect the R/R from the stator if you have to. I just did a replacement starter clutch on my 1000 and needed to disconnect the stator in order to put in a new stator cover gasket. Much easier then having to cut and re-solder/crimp the two back together.

My compufire R/R came with a 3 pin weather pack connector for the stator; I left it in.

http://www.amazon.com/Keep-Clean-WPWC3-WeatherProof-Connector/dp/B003TVJ3IM/ref=sr_1_sc_1?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1433101307&sr=1-1-spell&keywords=weatehrpack+connectior

A couple years later I look and there had been heating and the wires were stiff. While I can not prove it, I suspect it was in the crimps and not the pins. Since then I cleaned and soldered the crimps and last I looked (a year later) there is no further evidence of heating.

The only way to get into the crimps is with a liquid cleaner of some type.

[JTGS850GL]

My compufire R/R came with a 3 pin weather pack connector for the stator; I left it in.

http://www.amazon.com/Keep-Clean-WPWC3-WeatherProof-Connector/dp/B003TVJ3IM/ref=sr_1_sc_1?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1433101307&sr=1-1-spell&keywords=weatehrpack+connectior

A couple years later I look and there had been heating and the wires were stiff. While I can not prove it, I suspect it was in the crimps and not the pins. Since then I cleaned and soldered the crimps and last I looked (a year later) there is no further evidence of heating.

The only way to get into the crimps is with a liquid cleaner of some type.

I've been using the crimped spade connectors for some time now. I will say that I use a commercial crimping tool and it does make a difference. If I didn't, I would tin the leads first then crimp and solder them on. The only real issues with soldering is the tendency to create a brittle hard connection that can break under high vibration if not soldered correctly.

[posplayr]

I've been using the crimped spade connectors for some time now. I will say that I use a commercial crimping tool and it does make a difference. If I didn't, I would tin the leads first then crimp and solder them on. The only real issues with soldering is the tendency to create a brittle hard connection that can break under high vibration if not soldered correctly.

Not sure what you mean by "commercial crimper, but the perfect crimper for the combination of wire, terminal and insulation is hard to achieve. I only solder at the wire end to bond it to the end without wicking past the insulation crimp.

I wrote a crip guide for the SSPB in case anybody wanted to crimp their own ends to the 10 pin MOLEX connector. For the SSPB I actually found the proper NOS crimper on ebay for the pins on the 10 pin molex. I also used the two other common crimpers from Vintage Connector. As it turned out the cheapest crimper was the best in terms of crimp distortion. The NOS Molex crimper actually distorted the pins the most. It could have been defective, but it is in large part due to the inherent design limitation of the "proper crimper".

A few weeks back I did about 200 crimps on pigtails for the current batch of SSPBs. I did them in a few hours and only used the cheap crimper that does insulation and crimp separately.

[JTGS850GL]

Too many auto parts store crimpers do a poor job at creating an air tight crimp. Crimpers I use in factory automation applications are designed to proved a proper crimp without damaging the wire strands. These are not cheap crimpers but are well worth it if you work in a commercial application like I did.

Soldering the ends and not allowing the solder to wick up into the insulation is key. That's why I crimp and then solder. Solder only at the terminal end and with the proper flux and heat application. After working in electronics for over 25 years I think I got it down pat.

[posplayr]

Too many auto parts store crimpers do a poor job at creating an air tight crimp. .

No body is talking about Autoparts crimpers

[sealpup]

"If you never turn your headlight off, then doing the wiring mod makes no difference to the R/R except for having a more dependable connection with less loss on one leg.

Go ahead and do the mod while you're waiting on delivery of the new R/R."

It looks like I'll have to put some context behind my question, and also hopefully avoid a discussion of merits of solder versus crimped joints.... - it's closer to say I will hardly ever turn my lights ON (my 1000S will almost never be ridden at night - it's more of a sunny weekend blaster).

So to ask my original question again, and with a twist,
"If I do the stator winding/headlight switch wiring mod first (taking all 3 phases of the stator direct to the rectifier), will it put any additional load on the OEM regulator (it's the pre '80 separate rectifier and regulator arrangement) or stator?
Or should I do the Polaris R/R mod first?
Or should I right with my lights on until the Polaris mod is done?"

Thanks.

[posplayr]

"If you never turn your headlight off, then doing the wiring mod makes no difference to the R/R except for having a more dependable connection with less loss on one leg.

Go ahead and do the mod while you're waiting on delivery of the new R/R."

It looks like I'll have to put some context behind my question, and also hopefully avoid a discussion of merits of solder versus crimped joints.... - it's closer to say I will hardly ever turn my lights ON (my 1000S will almost never be ridden at night - it's more of a sunny weekend blaster).

So to ask my original question again, and with a twist,
"If I do the stator winding/headlight switch wiring mod first (taking all 3 phases of the stator direct to the rectifier), will it put any additional load on the OEM regulator (it's the pre '80 separate rectifier and regulator arrangement) or stator?
Or should I do the Polaris R/R mod first?
Or should I right with my lights on until the Polaris mod is done?"

Thanks.

There are three answers to your three questions. They are not mutually exclusive as indicated by your OR conditionals.
Yes,Yes,Yes

[sealpup]

Thanks posplayr.