[janhsmn]

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Am slowly working out my bikes electrical system. I have 1984 1200 aspencade. Have checked the alternator and that is okay. Have replaced the dreaded 3 yellow wires using the solder system. So far so good.

Can someone now provide me with the following info. Thanks

What is the easiest way to test the rectifier.

It gets very hot very quickly and as it is located in the false tank it cannot cool down. It is normal to get so hot you can hardly touch it. :baffled:

What should my bike voltmeter be showing at what revs.

I really appreciate all the help from you guys it is enabling us to tackle this ourselves.

Cheers




Janet and Gary

 

[ccsailor]

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Having a reg that hot is telling you that it is working way to hard I installed a computer fan blowing on mine as I noticed as the amient temp went up and down so did my charging voltage. BUT it never got to hot to touch Have a good look at your battery

 

[exavid]

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janhsmn wrote:

hat should my bike voltmeter be showing at what revs.
Janet and Gary

If you have pretty much stock lights and not a lot of extra stuff on your bike it should be around 14V at 3500 rpm. The most likely cause of overheating if you don't have a bunch of lights is the battery. Check it out to make sure it holds a full charge and doesn't have a bad cell. Since the rectifier gets hot it's likely your stator is putting out plenty of power. If the battery checks out the next step is the rectifier/regulator itself. They do get pretty hot in normal use though.

 

[twisty]

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janhsmn wrote:

Am slowly working out my bikes electrical system. I have 1984 1200 aspencade. Have checked the alternator and that is okay. Have replaced the dreaded 3 yellow wires using the solder system. So far so good.

Can someone now provide me with the following info. Thanks

What is the easiest way to test the rectifier.

It gets very hot very quickly and as it is located in the false tank it cannot cool down. It is normal to get so hot you can hardly touch it. :baffled:

What should my bike voltmeter be showing at what revs.

I really appreciate all the help from you guys it is enabling us to tackle this ourselves.

Cheers

Janet & Jerry, that regulator is supposed to get hot, that's why it has cooling fins on it..

On the 1200 GoldWings the generator's output ISN'T controlled by the regulator.. That generator has a permanent magnet rotor so the output is basically controlled by the windings in the generator, the magnet size, & the speed at which the magnet spins.

What basically happens is the generator is sized about correctly for all the demands of the bike with everything on & running down the road at a decent engine RPM. There is still enough extra designed in to charge the battery & run a few (very few) extras.

Now the voltage still has to be regulated but since the regulator has NO WAY to tell the generator to slow down & charge less like in a automobile it just shorts the excess to ground through big resistors,problem is; resistance breeds heat- (there's that heat you are seeing).

If you want less heat in the regulator just use more of what the generator provides.

Cooling fan OFF, Hi beam Off, fully charged battery, brake lights OFF, Radio OFF, all mean the regulator has more current to hand off through it's resistors to ground (therefore HEAT).

Probably the easiest way to test the regulator is to install a voltmeter across the battery posts & watch it while you ride.. If you are running down the road at 3000-4000 RPM's you should be between 14 & 15 volts.. If low, you either have a generator problem, too much extra electrical load, or high resistance in the wiring (or possible a shorted regulator).. If high, then suspect the regulator (or it's chassis ground connection).. The voltage can drop as far back as the low 12 volt range at idle depending on the electrical load & engine idle speed. Remembercharging output at base idle is about negative 3 amps to about 0 amps..


Twisty

 

[gaswing]

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Twisty explains it well. Many motorcycles work like this, ie they just dump the excess output.

 

[Goldwings 4 ever]

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janhsmn wrote:

Am slowly working out my bikes electrical system. I have 1984 1200 aspencade. Have checked the alternator and that is okay. Have replaced the dreaded 3 yellow wires using the solder system. So far so good.

Can someone now provide me with the following info. Thanks

What is the easiest way to test the rectifier.

It gets very hot very quickly and as it is located in the false tank it cannot cool down. It is normal to get so hot you can hardly touch it. :baffled:

What should my bike voltmeter be showing at what revs.

I really appreciate all the help from you guys it is enabling us to tackle this ourselves.

Cheers




Janet and Gary

My rectifier got extremely hot in my '85 1200 Aspy. I could not put my left leg against the false tank. I installed the EC electrical harness (another story) and my rectifier is noticably cooler, plus all of my radio and headset static has dissappeared. I believe that taking the rectifier grounds directly to the battery negative is a great improvement.

Goldwings 4 ever.:clapper:

 

[janhsmn]

imported post

thanks for all your replies so far.



:clapper::clapper::clapper:

 

[oldbiker]

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Hi every body i am new to the web site and i just want to say i think its GREAT!I have a 1984 aspencade and its not charging the batery .I have cut the stater wires and checked the voltage comming out @3000 rpm and i get 70 to 80 voltes on all three lags.I have replaced the rectafire and when i put the volt metter on the battery and start the bike i am not charging the volts go to 11.05 and then yhe battery goes to 10.89 volts and the bike shut down i need HEIP!Sturges is comming up in augest and the riding season is starting and iam down.can someone please Help me.
Rick

 

[GoWing]

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Is the charging wire to the batery solidly connected?

BTW, welcome to the forum oldbiker.

 

[oldbiker]

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what is an ec harness and how did you take your gronds to the battery?
Rick

 

[Goldwings 4 ever]

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Rick, check out this link.



http://electricalconnection.com/wire-harnesses/hrns_gl1200_charge.htm



Rick, the regulator dumps the excess current to ground. That ground is connected to the frame through a plug next to your regulator. If this connection becomes corroded and causes resistance, then your regulator and the connection will get very hot. By reducing the resistance in this circuit you can keep your regulator a little cooler and that translates to longer life for the regulator. One way is to make sure the connection is clean. In my experience with autos over the years, FRAME GROUNDS CORRODE. You could also take this connection and wire it directly to the battery -ve terminal. The battery terminals are a lot easier to get at than the frame ground for the regulator.

 

[oldbiker]

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thanks bob