Testing a Regulator/Rectifier: Need urgent help

[sidecar steve]

Howdy all.

I have faithfully followed the testing diagrams on the stator papers and concluded my old R/R was faulty.

When I put the red multimeter lead to the red r/r wire and the black multimeter lead to every yellow r/r wire was "O.L" which apparently means no reading or reverse flow.

I got the same reading when I hooked the Black multimeter lead to the neg r/r wire and the red multimeter lead to any of the yellow r/r wires

The other 2 tests were ok.

So, a secondhand SH232-12 arrived in the post today and I get the same readings.

Am I doing something wrong or have I got another dud R/R. I need some advice before I ring the supplier and hurl abuse at him!

Cheers

(a frustrated) Steve

[Boondocks]

Steve,

Not to worry. Yours tests show normal expected results. The instructions indicate that you must have a reading of 1.5 V or higher, but this is a function of the type of tester used. Some will show a 3, some will show a 1, but the results mean the same as the O.L. that you get with your tester. The instructions fail to explain that the 1.5 simply means overrange, in other words an open circuit. In fact if you download the PDF file ElectroSport's Fault Finding Chart from which this site's instructions were derived, you will find that the "OL" indication is an expected result. These instructions are better than the ones on this site although they are not Suzuki specific.

The tests that you mentioned should return an open circuit, and if the other tests returned about .5 V then the diodes are O.K.. So you can save your abuse to hurl at someone else.

[sidecar steve]

Awwwwww

And I was sooo psyched up to vent at the supplier

Thanks for that, I sort of suspected that that might be the case but the wicked ways of Suzuki wiring have made me the gibbering wreck that I am.

I hope who ever designed and/or spec'd the charging circuit on Suzukis languishes in the lower pit of his/her preferred deity's afterlife!

Cheers

Steve
GS1100GK/sidecar

[Boondocks]

You replied before I could finish my edit to give you a download of better test instructions. As indicated, "O.L." is an expected result.

[SqDancerLynn1]

The only true test is on a running bike

[Boondocks]

SqDancerLynn1 is correct. The disconnected R/R can only be tested for open or shorted diodes, which is the rectifier function. The proof of the pudding is on a running bike, when the zener diodes, thyristors, and transistors come into play to regulate the voltage.

[sidecar steve]

Eureka it works!!

Thanks all. The Electrex flow chart covers my readings. I've reassembled the bike and it is now charging exactly within expected parameters.

I loaded my daughter into the sidecar for ballast and went for a blast down the freeway, came home and rechecked all the bits again and it is all as it should be.

I gotta admit to being hesitant at fitting a non-standard part, but for $AU40 I'm back on the road and have saved $AU270!. Now to convince the wife that the savings should be applied to a new helmet


Cheers

Steve
GS1100G/sidecar

[duaneage]

THose honda regs are a godsend, Solves a big problem with an otherwise excellent motorcycle.