GS850 regulator SMOKING!!!???

[Anonymous]

ok so ive got an issue with a 79 Gs850, a new battery was hooked up to the bike yesterday and when the key was turned the rectifier/regulator started smoking!!?!?!?! what could the cause of this be...? bad stator, battery issue, wiring, fuses? im puzzled... the R/R was disconnected and the bike would start up and ran smoothly (has been sitting for over 6months), no smoking engine is not missing, so we are quite happy over this...


PLEASE Help out...

Your Average rookie biker

[Anonymous]

bump

[dgeorge]

Don't know for sure but if you read the stator papers and run the tests you should be able to figure it out. http://www.thegsresources.com/garage/gs_statorfacts.htm

[Redman]

I dont have complete answer for you but I can tell you this:
- Clymers manual has perrty good trouble shooting guide for charging system. Need volt meter (with ohm resistance metering also).
- The Stator section of this web site is good if you can understand it.
- If the R/R was smoking it must have been drawing a lot of current, for what ever reason. So besides what ever was the cause of the problem, you may also have some wires with burnt insulation now (no fuses between the stator that produces the power and the R/R). Notice how wires are stuffed up inside of a plastic boot. Pull them out and inspect, especailly the portion that doesnt come with the new R/R.
- Most electronics dont work after you let out the smoke, and there is no way to get the smoke back inside.

[Redman]

I dont have much personall first hand experience with exactly this symptom that you mentioned (anybody else?) .. but have investigated charging problem with both of my GSs, so, looking at schematic lets see what we can trouble shoot.
- New battery backwards, wrong polarity? Nope, dont think so. Battery is connected directly to R/R (thru fuse), would have fried immeadatly when connected, not when switch turned like you said. Pluss you siad it ran with R/R disconnected so it must have turned right way, and ignition must work.
- Problem with stator? Nope dont think so. Stator would not put out any power untill motor turning. And stator is connected directly to R/R and R/R connected directly to battery, so it would have fried immeadatly on connecting not when you turnned key.
- So biggest clue you have given is that you said it happened when you turned key (and presumably before starting). So thinking of that, lets see ... when you turn key to on, then you are connecting more circuits to the battery, so it must have something to do with something about those circuits, but yet most all of those circuits have fuses (you didn say anything about fusing blowing), so I might suggest you look for someplace where the wiring harness up by the ignition switch or where it goes under the tank before it get to fuse box to see if has worn way the insullation and is shorting out to ground.
Again, this is just me quessing from your description and me looking at schematic, not from having seen this exact thing, maybe someone else has seen this exact thing. Or maybe someone can correct me if I have missread the schematic.

[Anonymous]

- Most electronics dont work after you let out the smoke, and there is no way to get the smoke back inside.

hehe, i would have tried to put the smoke back in but it was outside and it would take hurs to get all the smoke back in one place...

anyone have a spare time machine sitting around...

[SqDancerLynn1]

It sounds like You could have put the battery in backwards. I think it would still run/ 79 still has points. The reg/rec is definitely toast and would fry itself if the battery was hooked up backwards

[Redman]

hum... suggestion about battery backwards (or more likley new battery has + / - terminals on different side)... lets consider that again. Yup 79 850s (not sure about other engines) had points rather than soloid state pickups, so it has been suggested that ignition might still work if battery wrong polarity (but fry R/R). I would think the engine would not start if battery polarity wrong because starter motor would then turn backwards, and I dont know if the starter clutch mechanisim would allow that, and/or if the engine would run if it could be turned over backwards. Maybe post a seperate question about that. (seldom get anymore responces after a couple of days.)
Yah find anything yet?

[Anonymous]

My father put a battery into a Topaz backwards one -40 day morning (had to keep it inside at night so it would work the next day 8O ). We got the car to run about 30 km like that before we had it checked out. Cost a few hundred bucks to fix whatever it was that got fried.

Charging the battery in the bike with a car charger will do this to an RR too. When I bought my 400 it started to smoke, turns out the owner had done this before I came by.

Steve

[focus frenzy]

bad rectifiers in the reg/rect. the rectifiers allow power to flow only one way (from the stator to the battery) converting the ac output of the stator to dc for charging and running the bikes system.
when rectifiers fail they will allow battery power to pass back down to the stator witch makes a good ground, the circuitry in the regulator is unable to cope with a direct short so it heats up and you get lots of smoke.
some late model ford alternators are known to catch fire and melt down when they fail!! it happens so much that new alternators come with a new harness pigtail to replace the old melted down one, I have seen it happen twice, and it is a great light show, flames shooting out all around it.