i need some help.
after my 99 f4 went down on the left side (it scratched the stator cover but no holes or damage to the interior of the cover were found and i replaced the cover with a new OEM one) my bike stopped charging, the rectifier had gone out. after a replacement rectifier (OEM) was found everything worked well for about 2 weeks and then the rectifer went out AGAIN and stopped charging the battery.
I have since bought a new a aftermarketrectifier (that claims better resistance to overheating)and installed it. i let it run for 5 mins @ around 4000 rpm and it got HOT. Really hot. the aftermarket one has fins on it (similar to the 2001+ stock rectifiers) but i am afraid of blowing it up too.

is it possible that the stator is puting out too much current? my mechanic did a 'static test' on it the first time it went out to make sure it was puting out current, but i dont know if that test will measure HOW Much current it puts out.

please let me know if you have any suggestions. thanks!

 

I'm no electrical wiz, but I'd start by making sure all the ground wires were still going to ground and not knocked loose. I then check for shorts. Your alternator produces as much as it's asked for. If its putting out alot, then it is either having to jump a gap to find ground or there is a short somewere.

If it is not blowing fuses, then you only have a few places to look. The 3 yellows coming from the altinator. The red & white wire coming off the rectifier and runs to the starter relay switch. The green should be bloted to the engine case.

If that doesn't find the problem I'd send it to the dealership myself.

 

what is the condition of your battery? If you are running a low or dead battery you are making the reg work harder to try and charge it. I see people taking out their reg/rec by running it with dead batteries. Also check the connections on all connectors on the charging system circuit. Make sure that they are clean and tight, sometimes loose connections can generate heat by making it seem like a load at that point. I guess just a few suggestions. Some specs on Stator output would be like 18-24 VAC at idle, and about 60VAC at 5000 rpm. This is with the stator leads disconnected.

 

Great post. It is quite possible also that the stator is putting out too much juice. As mentioned, test with a multimeter the VAC coming out of the stator

 

If I were you, I would get my hands on a Honda or Chilton repair manual. Find the specs on the current running out of the stator. Now if the aftermarket rectifier says "it has more resistance to overheating" then the ohm value should be greater than the oem. Now in theory (V=IR), you should actually be creating less current (Amps), the Voltage shouldn't flucuate all that much. Get a multimeter and test the current output (off of which wire i have no idea), and see how close it is to oem spec. Goofy.

 

Might help a bit, Worth a shot.
http://www.cyclemaintenance.com/elec/electrical.htm

 

looks like i squared it away.
i had done the 01-03 seat conversion which swaped out my subframe.
the area i bolted the rectifier to was not contacting in the back well enough and was not grounded or dispersing the heat well enough.
i ground down the area and mounted it flush + mounted and wired two small computer fans to keep it cool.
Working Be-A-U-tiful
thanks to all!