Hey everybody.
Fired up my bike after the long cold winter we had here in IL, USA. My bike ran like a champ (with a liberal amount of ether to start up) and now won't charge the battery. I am looking at regulator/rectifier options and have done a little research. I read the write-up here: https://onedrive.live.com/view.aspx?resid=F7B89D05DCC11CEB!153&cid=f7b89d05d cc11ceb&app=WordPdf&wdo=2
and have discovered that now rick's electrical offers more options than the one mentioned in the write-up.

Ricks Voltage Regulator Rectifier Honda CBR1000F 1993 1996 Rick'S | eBay

Does this look like a good deal? The one in the write-up appears to be exactly like stock, but all the ones from rick's electric that i found on ebay look to have a decent heatsink on them.

As stated in the title, i am an electrical neandrathol and vehicle wiring issues terrify me. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

-Archie

 

Note the small print that says that the pictures are generic and models will vary. Might be worth a call or email to Rick's directly to find out if it's still just a Honda unit or an upgrade.

Even if it comes with the heat sink, they claim the Rick's reg/rec still has the stock internals. The Electrosport looks to be available again, and they're supposed to have some over-charge protection built in. I bought an Electrex in the fall when the Electrosport wasn't available, and it has a hefty heat sink and slightly larger body than the original.

As far as the wiring, depending on which one you get (assuming your wires aren't cooked like mine were) some versions are plug and play (unplug the old one and plug in the new one - easy!) while others require connecting a new plug - but it's still pretty straightforward.

You can do it - and we can help if you need it.

Start by taking out the battery first.

amac

 

Electrex make the best aftermarket reg/recs IMHO. I had 3 standard units which burned out due to an alternator problem, but the electrex unit has a 1 year guarantee and has handled everything better than standard. They run 13.5V from around 1400RPM instead of 3000+RPM from the standard OEM unit. Fitting them takes about 20 minutes, even with a change of plugs which comes supplied. I'd never have any other aftermarket unit and have fitted them to at least 6 different bikes over the past 9 years and all are still working perfectly.
A good number of us are using them here in the Hurricane section.
FWIW.

 

Ok. The electrosport unit is out of stock on their site, and call me stupid, but i have no idea how to purchase from electrex... my money only has american presidents on it. Also, just out of curiosity, could a bad battery be causing the same symptoms? I find it unlikely that my regulator/rectifier would go bad over a cold winter. Battery seems more likely now that i think about it...

 

Playing the Devil's Advocate role here ... what did you do to determine regulator\rectifier failure ?

 

Hey Archie, I'm with you on that one. The R/R won't go bad sitting in freezing temps but an uncharged battery will freeze. I would most certainly change it if there is any possibility that it did freeze.

A bad battery will not charge. How are you cranking the bike over? A bad battery will not crank a bike properly.

With a volt meter check the battery with the bike not running. A good battery should register 12 volts. With the bike running, you should get 13-14 volts, anything less you will need to replace the R/R. As Shadow mentioned above, you need to increase the RPM with the factory R/R to get 13.5V output.

If you don't have a multimeter, Harbor Freight has one for $9.99.

 

Given the winter we have had , I'd be guessing the battery froze busted some cells and is done.

 

Yeah, i'm really frustrated with myself this year... I normally ride all winter long so no need to winterize my bike. But with so much snow this winter the pavement was hardly ever dry, and i plow snow during the winter so i was so busy i just didn't get around to running her. Should have just taken the battery inside to begin with. As for the multimeter, i will borrow one from my buddy or buy one before i buy a r/r but i was trying to figure out what my options would be.

 

Welllp... now its a full-blown electrical gremlin. Had my 2 batteries tested, one was fine. With it charged and in the bike, reading about 12.5V, the starter still acts like dead battery. turns over once or not at all, then clicks. Now trying to check electrical connections. Starter is buried under the carb assembly. Has anyone been able to jump the starter from the battery without taking the carbs off? i just want to bypass all the wiring and see if the starter will crank normally

 

I have had trouble with the starter solenoid in the past on my 90', you can bypass it with a length of wire, the thicker the better. The wire will heat up quickly and there will be sparks, so ensure that there are not any flammables around.
Also, make sure it is not in gear as this test ignores any safety features. If it turns over then your starter button is corroded or you have a bad solenoid. The terminals you want to jumper are the ones with nuts on them.