I have a cbr600f, andi'm having a wire melting problem. Needless to say, the bike will not be running untill i can figure out the problem. Can anyone HELP!
I think it's the regulator/rectifier. The reason I say this is because there is a wire that has melted and broke appart on the side of the clip of thr rectifier. I'm not sure exactly which one but it is one of the three iwres leadingfrom the alternator. on top of this the two red/white and red from the solinoid leading to the fuse box has also melted. When the bike "was running" these last two wires, especially the red/white to the fuse box would consistantly get HOT. I have checked the outputs of all of the electrical equipment on the bike and they seem to be ok (they all read in the specs.) I'm confused because even though the bike is 21 years old the internals and all other equipment are in perfact condition. the bike also only has a total of 19,700 mile on it and i'v put 6000 of those on it in the last 3 years???

 

I would start by looking at the stator, and the regulator/rectifier. also are any connections dirty/corroded or otherwise loose? loose connections cause wires to get hot as you describe.

 

I've been reading a few other posts. I have cleaned and put di-electric grease on all of the connections. I guess I'm hoping for a clear answer so that I don't have to spend about 160 on areplacement rectifier. the thing is though... there is no other damage other then at the connections. I know they were not loose?

 

Download the PDF service manual, there is a test outlined in it to test your rectifier using a multimeter. that will save you a lot of hassle. and I hear theres another bikes rectifier that has been used on I think this model, or maybe the F2 I'm not 100% sure which. if you'd like details I"ll help you out.

 

What you are describing sounds exactly like a loose connection. If you haven't done this already, disconnect the two connectors for the R/R and check the female spade lugs to see if they are loose. You can buy a male spade lug to push into the female to check for tightness. If it's loose then use a set of needle nose pliers to crimp the female spade lugs a little. Just because they plug in to each other does not mean that you are getting a tight connection. Also, how do you know they were not loose?

 

The PDF, where do I find out it's location? (in the haynes/chilton?)

 

Here it is.
http://www.cbrextreme.com/downloads/...manual-54.html
IMO, I would thoroughly check those connections first. Your condition is a common one as well as the R/R going bad.

 

I don't know for sure that they were loose, I assume that they were not, the connectors snap together but I guess that you are right. They could be. I need to double check this device, it doesn't seeam as though a "sealed electrical device" could malfunction??? Does anyone know of a possible way that the alternator could have caused these problems? (again nothing touches and theres no wear and tear or even a way to short out??)

 

I just checked out that hyper-link?the site didn't seam to let me download I will check it out later.

 

Again, what you are describing IS the symptom of a loose connection. The 3 yellow wire connector comes from the alternator which produces up to 60-70 VAC and who knows how many amps when running. The 2 greens go to ground and the 2 Red/ Whites supply the battery and bike load when running up to 30Amps DC. That is a lot of current and those wires are not that big. So.... if the connections are loose they become like a heater in a toaster. The wires on either side of the connectors get hot and heat makes the resistance go up which makes them get hotter and so on until they burn in half.
You can check the resistance of the R/R and check the resistance of the alternator. The sealed electrical device ( i.e. R/R ) fails all the time. Apparently the OEM R/R are a POS!