Rectifier/ Regulator Relocation

[Anonymous]

I am finally getting my bike all put back together and need some advice. I am going to put my R/R on the downtubes, by the horn. There is a crossmember there with bolt holes already in it. I have already made a bracket. My problem is making the circuit.

I am going to use 10 gauge wire for the ground and run it back to the battery. Then I need to splice in some wire to the stator wires to make them reach. There isn't a problem with that because I just cut the wires off of my old R/R. The problem comes in with the red wire. I have some 8 gauge wire that I was going to solder to the red wire coming from the R/R.

I have seen in past threads that some of you run the red wire direct to the battery and it works fine. My question is do I need to put a fuse in this line somewhere, and do ya'll think 8 gauge is overkill.

Thanks for any answers and advice,

Moonshine550t

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't run the ground all they way back to the battery. Tie it into the frame as close as possible.

[Anonymous]

Sorry, about that I forgot to put that I plan on connecting the ground direct from the R/R to the frame. The 10 gauge to the battery will be kind of a back up just to make sure I'am getting a good ground.

[Anonymous]

The 10 gauge to the battery will be kind of a back up just to make sure I'am getting a good ground.

If you already have a good ground, you don't need the wire. It has no function.

[argonsagas]

I am going to disagree with Swanny this time, and suggest you go with the back-up ground wire direct to the battery. It is cheap insurance. Make certain all your connections are electrically sound, and secure.

Remember that you do not have a whole lot of output from the stator, so having heavy gauge wires is not a necessity. 8 and 10 gauge wire is a bit of overkill, as almost all the original wires on your bike are 18 or 16 gauge.

There would be less voltage loss with the heavy wire, but the real-life difference would not be significant, except in very low temperatures.

Having said that, do not use less than 16 AWG stranded wire, and for your red wire use 14 or even 12AWG to ensure the fullest transfer of power to your battery.

Re-check and solder ALL connections, as poor connections is unquestionably where you will experience the greatest losses.

[Anonymous]

argonsagas,

Thank you for the info. that is exactly what I wanted to know.

Moonshine550t

[Billy Ricks]

The one thing I'd be worried about in mounting it to the front downtubes is the connections getting soaking wet in rainy weather and arcing.

[argonsagas]

The one thing I'd be worried about in mounting it to the front downtubes is the connections getting soaking wet in rainy weather and arcing.

Good points, Billy.

Here I go giving credit to Jay B again.

ALL connections must be soldered. After that, use a liberal coating of a product called Liquid Electrical Tape, by Starbrite. It works very well to prevent any moisture or arcing. The product is available at Walmart. Remember to shake it well before opening.

I would put a shrink tubing on the wire, solder and "tape" the connection, then shrink the tubing to ensure no bruising of the connection from air forcing the wires against the frame. Tie the wires in place securely to further reduce friction.

For additional water concerns, you could put a coating of the "tape" on the R/R where the wires exit the housing.

[focus frenzy]

Yes, install a 15 amp fuse inline at the connection at the battery.

[Jay B]

Ron thanks for that. One other thing that I did was to double ground all wires where possible. By that I mean that about 3 inches from the end of the ground I spliced in another wire and ground that somewhere close to where the original ground would be. I know thats overkill as well but I havent had any (knock on Scottys head) problems.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for all the info. everybody.

All my conections should be under the tank, so that should add a little protection from the rain and moisture. I always over insulate all my connections so I shouldn't have to worry about moisture anyway. As for moisture getting into the R/R housing I was thinking about puting some silicone around the wires were they exit.

Again thanks for the info.

Moonshine550t

[focus frenzy]

Hurry up and get that bike going so you can join the fall hill country ride!!

[Anonymous]

focus frenzy I would love to join all of ya'll on the hill country ride, but there are a few matters of riding legality and gaining experience that I have to go through first. For now when I get it running it will be for short trips to the store and stuff just to gain some experience on the road. Maybe next year if I have everything squared away, I can join the ride.