So i recently had some issues with my bike (94 cbr600f2) kept dying on me. Anyway, had it in to the shop and the diagnosis is that the wire harness heated up from something (exhaust maybe) and needs to be replaced along with the voltage regulator. Is the voltage regulator the same as the regulator/rectifier?? I have a repair manual for the bike but it doesnt say much in regards to this particular issue. The shop has quoted me over $700 to fix this. My question is how hard is it to replace this stuff myself, i've done a bit of lookin around on the web and it doesnt look like theres much to the wire-harness, just bassically plug it in?? Wadda u guys think???

thanks in advance..

 

regulator and rectifier are the same thing. The rectifier regulates the voltage produced by the stator so its too high. Some manufacturers call it a regulator, but most reffer to it as the rectifier.

as for changing the wiring harness. I would definately do it yourself if your somewhat mechanically inclined. You can easily save a few hundred bucks. Just make sure you re-secure it the same way it was removed. I'd even suggest taking pictures as you go so you know how it was routed and where it was secured to the frame.

However, I would look very closely as your removing the harness. Inspect every spot of the harness as you remove it to try and figure out why it burned up. I doubt the exhaust had anything to do with the wiring harness failing, more than likely, a wire grounded out, or a fuse that was too large was used. So make sure you look at the fuses.

Having said that. How do they know the rectifier is bad? if the wiring harness has failed, there really is not was to test the rectifier. I don't think if the rectifier fails, it will damage the harness. It can damage the battery from over charging, but I don't think the harness would be affected. I dont think they are related, but without actually seeing the bike, I couldn't tell you one way or another.

I guess the hardest part about your swap is going to be figuring out why the harness melted. if you find it, great.... if you don't see any reason why it failed, you could be setting yourself up for another failure with your new harness.

on a side note. If the wiring harness has failed at the rectifier, (which is common to do so), I would change just those wires, not the entire harness. You can splice in new wires. A lot of times, the plug at the rectifier will melt when the rectifier fails. dealerships won't do something like this as they have to hold up to their work, so they replace entire harnesses, when its not really needed. But again, without actually seeing the bike, I can only offer suggestions that may, or may not work for your situation.

 

Wow, $700 !! If you could save at least $500 would you do it yourself ? I would. Wiring harnes on ebay Less than $100. GSX/R Regulator less than $75. There is nothing to swapping out a wiring harness. Just take your time, watch what you do and I think you'd be fine.

 

so i phoned the shop who looked at the bike to see where exactly they found the problem and they told me it was burnt where the harness plugs into the reg. I'll add pic. this is the only visable damage to the harness. im just wondering what caused this. could it be that the regulator died and burnt it out? I think i could just replace the plug and the regulator and i'd be fine, just dont wanna have it happen again. Where would i get just the plug part though?

 

Yeah, pretty common for that plug to fail when the rectifer overheats the pin. Depending on how bad the plug is, you may be able to just replace the pin and reuse the plug. The plug doesn't do anything other than hold the wires in place, which is important, but as long as the new pin is held securely, it will work.

But, a better alternative was suggested by IDoDirt with replacing your currently rectifier with a GSXR one. The GSXR rectifier is a much stouter rectifier. Its a very common replacement, and there are a few write ups on this forum about. If you have any questions about it, you may want to post a question directly into the F2 and F3 sections on this forum.

No need for a new harness. Just buy a GSXR rectifier and follow instructions.

but here is a link to a great start on the conversion, and should have all the information you need for the swap.

https://cbrforum.com/forum/f2-tech-93/regulator-rectifier-r-r-problem-solved-27739/