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After running the recommended tests, it appeared that the R/R was bad on my 1980 GS1100ET. I bought a Honda SH541-12 on eBay for a replacement. This is one of the regulator rectifiers that has two red, two green, and a black sense wire in addition to the three yellow stator wires. The bolt holes match, but it is a little larger than the stock unit. This would have required grinding about 1/32" from the side adjoining the fuse box if left in the stock location. That's OK, as I purposely wanted a heavy duty unit and the extra size of the fins would allow it to run cooler. Before I did this slight mod, I decided to give the stock regulator one last try after refurbishing the wiring by removing the overheated terminals, rejoining them while eliminating the stator connection to the headlight (which is on all of the time anyway). Wouldn't you know, this seemingly resuscitated the stock unit, which then produced 14.3 V at 5,000 RPM (was 13.3 V before). This is entirely adequate for charging the battery, so I decided to leave it "as is" and keep the Honda unit for a spare.
This is just background, but now I come to the reason for this post. While preparing to install the Honda R/R with "extra" wires, I noticed that on a number of occasions those that had wired this type had chosen to connect one red wire to the original wiring harness red wire and connect the other red wire directly to the battery. The dual green ground wires and dual red wires coming from the R/R are internally connected just as if they were a single wire each.
Be advised, that on my bike and probably all others, the only part of the "hot" 12V wires that are not fused for caution and safety are the connections to the starter solenoid and thence to the starter. There is a "hot" connection from the starter solenoid to the fuse box Main (15A) which is the source for all of the other fuses in the box (except Accessories) through the ignition switch.
To get to the point, if you have wired one of your two red wires directly to the battery and the other to the normal connection, I propose that you have effectively eliminated the function of the Main fuse. 8O Even if the Main fuse were blown or removed, the side serviced by the fuse would still be hot because of the red wire battery connection. It is effectively the same wire as that connected to the wiring harness, which normally is fused by the 15A Main. The battery connection eliminates the fuse from the circuit.
Furthermore, I wouldn't recommend that those with a single red wire R/R hookup make this connection directly to the battery. I would keep the standard wiring with the red wire being fused to prevent damage or a breakdown due to a short. That's what fuses are all about, to warn of a problem before it becomes a major issue. Just recently, my Main fuse was blowing with the ignition off. I traced the problem to the wiring harness under the tank. One of the wire routing straps had worn its sharp edge through the harness and was shorting out the ignition switch wire which is always hot through the Main fuse. It was a dead short, and without the fuse it would have probably fried the harness at the very least. If I had used the two red wire hookup to the battery and wiring harness recommended by some, it could have caused a severe problem, maybe even a fire.
Those that have already made this type of two red wire hookup (one to battery, one to red harness wire) may want to verify this theory that I have presented. Remove the Main fuse from your fuse box, and confirm that this removal has no effect on the electrics. 8O
If this is so, hopefully you will correct this before you have a problem.
This is just background, but now I come to the reason for this post. While preparing to install the Honda R/R with "extra" wires, I noticed that on a number of occasions those that had wired this type had chosen to connect one red wire to the original wiring harness red wire and connect the other red wire directly to the battery. The dual green ground wires and dual red wires coming from the R/R are internally connected just as if they were a single wire each.
Be advised, that on my bike and probably all others, the only part of the "hot" 12V wires that are not fused for caution and safety are the connections to the starter solenoid and thence to the starter. There is a "hot" connection from the starter solenoid to the fuse box Main (15A) which is the source for all of the other fuses in the box (except Accessories) through the ignition switch.
To get to the point, if you have wired one of your two red wires directly to the battery and the other to the normal connection, I propose that you have effectively eliminated the function of the Main fuse. 8O Even if the Main fuse were blown or removed, the side serviced by the fuse would still be hot because of the red wire battery connection. It is effectively the same wire as that connected to the wiring harness, which normally is fused by the 15A Main. The battery connection eliminates the fuse from the circuit.
Furthermore, I wouldn't recommend that those with a single red wire R/R hookup make this connection directly to the battery. I would keep the standard wiring with the red wire being fused to prevent damage or a breakdown due to a short. That's what fuses are all about, to warn of a problem before it becomes a major issue. Just recently, my Main fuse was blowing with the ignition off. I traced the problem to the wiring harness under the tank. One of the wire routing straps had worn its sharp edge through the harness and was shorting out the ignition switch wire which is always hot through the Main fuse. It was a dead short, and without the fuse it would have probably fried the harness at the very least. If I had used the two red wire hookup to the battery and wiring harness recommended by some, it could have caused a severe problem, maybe even a fire.
Those that have already made this type of two red wire hookup (one to battery, one to red harness wire) may want to verify this theory that I have presented. Remove the Main fuse from your fuse box, and confirm that this removal has no effect on the electrics. 8O
If this is so, hopefully you will correct this before you have a problem.
. I like the idea and security of having the a red wire directly connected to the battery so after some thought I decided to just install an 15A in-line fuse on that wire. Thanks for info, this could have definitely caused some major grief.
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