Should I buy a Regulator Rectifier?

[whodatpat]

I have a 1980 GS850G with about 63,000 miles on it. I put a new batery in it this summer and drove it daily sence. Over the past fer weeks it was getting weaker and weakrer at startup. WHen running the bike runs like a champ. Eventually, I had to push start it to get it home. I stalled it out in traffic and had to push start it uphill! The embarrasment gave me the stringth I needed, but I'd rather not repeat that.
After a night on the trickle charger, it startet up nicely and then slowly got weaker over the next week untill I had to push it again.
The batery is good, full of liquid, holds a charge when sitting, and has not needed any attention otherwise.
Would you buy one of these first? http://www.electrexusa.com/SHOPPING_RRs/Prod_RR_10.html
Or, should I be looking at somthing elce first?
Patrick

[Anonymous]

If I had a good ohm meter, I would at least check the stator for the correct resistance first. Would be in the stator troubleshooting section. You almost certainly have lost one or the other, or both.

[Boozy Creek Beast]

I would do a stator check out before I went through the cost of ordering a R/R to find that it not the problem.

The Beast

[Sandy]

Yes, do the stator check first. Whether or not the stator checks out OK, do the following things anyway. Make sure all ground points are good and run a wire from the the negative battery terminal to the regulator mounting bolt (ground) just to be safe. Check all charging system related connections and maybe put some dielectric grease on the connections while you're at it. One wire (green/white) from the stator is probably routed to the headlight switch. Simply unhook that wire and put it direct into the R/R (white/red). Those wire colours are from my 79 GS1000, yours should be the same. Check your wiring diagram first though. Bad connections as well as the wire to the headlight switch are common known issues with these older Suzukis and should be checked regardless. If you have time it wouldn't hurt to check all other connections as well. If the stator has the proper 80VAC@5,000RPM and the R/R is good you should be charging at 14.6 to 14.9VDC at around 5,000RPM. Anything outside of this range and you probably have a bad R/R. Before doing these checks make sure you have a fully charged battery.

If it is the R/R, many people are using a used Honda R/R with great results. Do a search for "my regulator modification" and make sure you narrow the search by clicking on the "Search for all terms" radio button. You'll find good information in those posts and maybe save a bunch of money.

[whodatpat]

Ok the stator checket out ok. When I was pulling the boot back for the check I noticed that all the little wire plugs from the Stator to the R/R were all sort of melted together. They get pretty hot, and I am sure that they could have been arching under there. Anyway I taped them all up and placed a bid on a Honda R/R We will see if it goes for what I am willing to pay. However, since then, no problem. Maybe the electrical tape fixed it. The battery has stayed juiced up. Did I fix the problem or the symptom. Do these wires get hot normally?
Patrick

[Sandy]

As mentioned a lot of problems originate with bad connections and that causes connections to fry like you found and sometimes the stator and R/R too . You might be lucky and not have suffered permanent damage to the components. That is however unlikely. For instance, two weeks after I replaced my fried stator and cleaned up the wiring the R/R blew. So order the R/R if the price is right and keep it handy. It's probably a good idea to actually replace the connectors that got over heated when you get a chance. As for the stator if it checks good now and the wiring is fixed chances are it will continue to work fine.

[Anonymous]

Ok the stator checket out ok. When I was pulling the boot back for the check I noticed that all the little wire plugs from the Stator to the R/R were all sort of melted together. They get pretty hot, and I am sure that they could have been arching under there. Anyway I taped them all up and placed a bid on a Honda R/R We will see if it goes for what I am willing to pay. However, since then, no problem. Maybe the electrical tape fixed it. The battery has stayed juiced up. Did I fix the problem or the symptom. Do these wires get hot normally?
Patrick

Dirty connectors are more likely to heat up than clean ones. It would probably be worthwhile to disconnect them and clean them out with contact cleaner or rubbing alcohol. I've used WD-40 in a pinch. Taping them wouldn't clean them, but moving them around in the process of taping them might have caused them to make slightly better contact.

Taping connectors can allow moisture to be trapped inside and cause corrosion. Unless the insulator is damaged (cracked, chipped, or melted through) it should have sufficient protection without taping. If it is damaged, consider tape a temporary fix until you can replace the connector.

No connector should get hot enough to melt its insulation in normal operation. Either the connector is overheating because it's dirty, or some other problem is causing it to carry too much current. Try cleaning the connector and see if it still gets as hot. If it does, there are other problems to deal with. (But cleaning connectors is its own reward.)

Dave

[whodatpat]

Bike is 24 years old and has 62k on it. I'd say they were a little dirty. I disconected them and reconected them as was part of the prescribes Stator check. This action may have given me a better conituity throught the conectors. The insilators around the conecters was melted together. There was bare conector showing through the side of at least one. I taped up the conector, but did not seal off the end where the wire plugs in. I will replace the conectors all together this weekend. Hopefully the R/R is really not needed.
Patrick

[Anonymous]

Bike is 24 years old and has 62k on it. I'd say they were a little dirty. I disconected them and reconected them as was part of the prescribes Stator check. This action may have given me a better conituity throught the conectors.

Very likely. I know I'd be pretty stiff and inflexible after 24 years of dirt, water, and vibration. A common problem with connectors of all types is oxygen getting in between the touching metal surfaces and causing oxidation. That increases the resistance, which causes heat, which makes the oxidation go faster. Sometimes plugging and un-plugging a connector a couple of times will wipe away the oxide if it hasn't gone too far.

The insilators around the conecters was melted together. There was bare conector showing through the side of at least one. I taped up the conector, but did not seal off the end where the wire plugs in. I will replace the conectors all together this weekend.

A good idea. You might want to run through your electrical system checks afterward, to make sure everything eles is up to par. If the battery holds up, you probably won't need a new R/R.

Dave

[Anonymous]

22 Volt output

I just got through cleaning all my wire connections and replaced all connections that I thought needed replacement. My battery was dead so I jump started using my cars battery. Once it started, I disconnected the battery jumper cables. Bike was idling fine, lights were all working. I guess that tells me that the charging system is doing its job. WRONG!!! All of a sudden, my headlight and taillight got really bright and then the headlight bulb blew up. I checked the regulator rectifier output and it was putting out 22 Volts. Way too much. I immediately turned off the bike. I think that I didn't have proper ground for the R/R. Tomorrow, I'll ground the R/R with a wire directty to ground terminal on battery. Hope that works.