Solid State Reg/Rec

Does anyone have any experience with Solid State Reg/Rec? I am thinking of switching to it to help solve my battery charging issues.

 

you have a SS reg/rec now. there's no vacuum tubes in there, honest

 

this link gives tips on trouble shooting charging system
The Ultimate Relay, Switch, Sensor, and Diodes Guide

first post and then bottom of the page

 

lol thanks, i was reading something about upgrading your charging unit and heard SS reg/rc was the way to go. Thought maybe that was a more modern version with higher output.

 

Thanks for the link, i checked the stator and the core over the weekend and both were in spec. I bought a used regulator off ebay that i plan on swapping in. For $25 i said what the hell.

I was hoping there was a way to modernize it.

 

Unless the RR actually fails, there's really not much to improve in there. There are several problems:

1. If you want more current, you need more windings in you rotor/stator. This generates a larger EM field for the same RPM and voltage across the rotor.
2. If you get red wire melt, you need to reduce resistance between switched power (brown wire RR reads voltage from) and battery power (red wire RR actually charges). Read the voltage between these two wires while running/charging
3. Another improvement is to replace all the connector spade terminals involved in charging, to both expose clean copper wires and re-do crimping

The RR itself just rectifies the 3 phase AC current, and regulates the DC current by duty cycling the voltage across the rotor. You really have to attack everything outside of this to improve your charging system.

 

I think those aftermarket ones are for the guy who buys a bike in a box and there's not one in the box.

 

I came across this at work today, thought it might be appropriate for some perspective in this thread. (As long as the pic upload works)
This is what an older generation regulator looks like, 2 contactors and 3 wire wound resistors on the underside. Circa 1970 and still in use (some Cessna aircraft)

 

One technique we use on aircraft is to do an "electrical load analysis" where we can measure the actual current consumption of our system and compare that to available power generation, gives us a number for planning installs or mods.

If you just want to make sure your system is as robust as possible, ManBot13's advice is solid. Corrosion is your enemy, and old wires can corrode well back into the insulation.

 

Talk about old school... Thanks for sharing the image.

The bike was completely rewired. Everything new except the oem wires coming from the stator, reg/rec, TCI, side stand switch and rear brake. All they got were new copper and connectors.

I had this problem before the rewire. I went through 3 batteries so i am leaning towards the rec/reg

 

Sybe, have you taken measurements of the system in operation? What voltage do things get up to at idle, and at speed? (I think about 5k rpm is where you are supposed to look at it) what type of battery are you using?

 

I was only talking about "upgrading" your charging system. If everything else has been replaced, certainly your RR could be bad and a new one might work.

Use this guide to diagnose: https://www.electrosport.com/media/pdf/fault-finding-diagram.pdf

 

Those were used earlier than that. I've worked on tractors from the 50's that have those mechanical voltage regulators.

 

I put a new aftermarket RR on my bike and have had no issues. I admit, I did that before I found this site. I still have the OEM one which is probably still fine. Actually I still have a lot of OEM parts that are probably still good. Lol. This winter I plan on cleaning and rebuilding the ones I have. Petcock, MC, calipers, a complete rack of carbs.