Is Suzuki retarded?? or is there reason....

[igotcenter]

I'm sure most of you are familliar with the GS wiring diagrams, Stator, R/R wiring ect. In all wiring diagrams i have looked at for GS bikes the Green/White wire from the Stator is fed into the harness only to be looped back in the form of a Red/White wire into the R/R. could there be any reason for this? resistance? idunno i'm grasping at straws trying to understand this. Why on earth would suzuki want to run 5-6 ft of extra wire through the harness?

maybe the kids in the sweat shop thought it would be funny????


any ideas please

thanks,

Gary.

[txironhead]

On bikes equipped with a headlight on/off switch, the wiring was routed through that circuit. The "excess" voltage from a faulty regulator got sent off into your headlight. Now you have a bike that's losing voltage and no headlight! After they discontinued that switch (and kept the crappy regulator) they must have left the extra wiring there to keep from having to change it up.

Since I've done the Honda regulator conversion, I've bypassed that entire circuit.

[igotcenter]

Do you think you could give me some specs on your honda charge system swap? did you manage to find a honda stator that would fit? or just a R/R i cut the circut out of my system as well, i just want to put together a bike that isn't gonna need charge system parts every spring. any info you could spare would be greatly apreciated

[Billy Ricks]

Look for a late model CBR1000RR regulator/rectifier. They have the same number of wires as the GS part and is a much more robust unit. I got one off Ebay for about $35 shipped. You just have to be patient. Here is a link to the type I used. No need to pay that much though.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/HONDA-CBR1000RR-CBR-REGULATOR-RECTIFIER-06-p_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ35594QQihZ017QQitemZ270100518247QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWD1V

[igotcenter]

what is it that makes honda's R/R better? i thought that it was suzuki's stator that was the major problem? or is it just a crappy stock R/R?
i would really like to know what the most faulty part of this charge system is, is it the R/R getting fried and sending power back to the stator and frying the stator or is the stator crappy and it cooks the R/R i guess my main question is how does a person make this problem disapear FOREVER!... is the honda Regulator/Rectifier the awnser? or is it just putting a bandaid on a bullet wound?

thanks again guys?

Gary.

P.S. This is by far the best bike site on line, i thought that vstar1100.com was a great site but this one puts it to shame.

[txironhead]

The only way to get rid of the problem forever is to quit riding bikes. They're mechanical beasts, and they break down occasionally.

That being said, there was a guy posted here that he had 100k miles on his bike after doing the regulator swap and never had another problem with the charging system. I've only seen a handful of bikes that were still on the road after 100k, much less with the same charging system.

The fault in the charging system is threefold:

1. These are old bikes, and probably haven't been garage kept much. Exposed circuits corrode. All of the connectors, even the ones you can't see, need to be cleaned. Case in point - do you know what the circuit board behind your fusebox looks like?

2. The factory regulator is crap. Bad design, bad application and sucks at reliability. About the only thing that is reliable about it is that if it goes out, you're probably gonna have to buy a new stator and replace some wiring.

3. Not enough grounds. The factory regulator is grounded to the battery box. The only problem is, the battery box is insulated with rubber grommets, and rubber does not conduct electricity. When you do the Honda conversion, run a ground wire from one of the bolts holding the regulator to the battery box to the negative battery terminal. Also, make sure that the main ground from the negative to the engine case is in good shape with clean terminals. Remember, too many grounds won't hurt anything, but too few will.

There are several step-by-step posts with pictures on doing the Honda conversion. Just do a search for "Honda regulator" and get ready to read for a while. There are people that also use newer Kawasaki and even GSXR regulators. You want a three-phase Shindingen regulator with the correct number/configuration of wires. You can even get a "universal three phase regulator" from Rick's Motorsports or Dennis Kirk brand new. I got mine used and guaranteed off Ebay for $10, and it even bolted up in the factory location with the factory bolts. Side cover fits and everything.

[gert du prez]

Indeed I have to agree with the honda regulator conversion.
My bike has got 153,000 km of road behind it (could as well be some other soil) and started experiencing loading problems a long time ago. Being a electrical dumbo I suffered a long time with a faulty bike, and in fact only last week changed (thanks to the online GS support) the faulty regulator with a Shindengen SH-232 12V...and boy, everything is fine, again...

a steady 13.8V at idle, 14.85V at 5,000 rpm...

the wiring is easy to do yourself. One thing I've learned: remove the battery box when installing the R/R, it will save you a lot of time (and scratched nuckles). Also replace the Philips headscrews of the standard Suzuki R/R with some new bolts (socket).

If necessary, put some new connectors to the RR wires before the battery box is installed again with the new RR. It is far more easy to work with these items disconnected from the bike...(believe me, it is a last week's experience)

no panic...even I pulled it off successfully...

good luck,

Gert

[Hap Call]

I put over 250,000 miles on the stock regulator and stator. The difference was that I removed the airbox shortly after I purchased the bike in '81 and that allowed more cooling air to reach the R/R thus extending its' life well beyond the normal for the Suzuki R/R.

Moral to the story: Place the R/R in a place where cooling air can reach it.

Hap

[txironhead]

One thing I've learned: remove the battery box when installing the R/R, it will save you a lot of time (and scratched nuckles). Also replace the Philips headscrews of the standard Suzuki R/R with some new bolts (socket).

Wow, your setup must be a lot different from mine. My regulator was easy to get to with the side cover removed. I forgot about the philips screws, I have been systematically replacing them with allen head. The people at the local bolt store know me by name now.

[gert du prez]

Hi Txironhead,

I'm Belgian (and lack some technical translation knowledge...) what's 'allen head' ?

[txironhead]

It's simply a bolt that accepts an Allen wrench, also known as a hex key wrench.

[beby99]

Hey Gary.....after you get it all sorted out....get one of these for piece of mind:

http://www.casporttouring.com/store/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=14124&Category_Code=Electronics