Uprated charging system

Forum rules
Please can you post items for sale or wanted in the correct For Sale section. Items / bikes for sale here will be removed without warning. Reasons for this are in the FAQ. Thanks
Post Reply
JamesHambleton
Settled in member
Reactions:
Posts: 31
Joined: Tue Jul 26, 2016 6:26 pm
Bike owned: CBF125,CB400SF,CB500,Bandit400
Location: Bedale, North Yorkshire
Uprated charging system

Post by JamesHambleton » Mon Oct 10, 2016 1:37 pm

I upgraded my charging system on my cb500 and used it for about 5k miles so with my purchase of my cb400sf nc31 this was going to be one of the first things I was going to do to it.

Sadly Dyrons motorcycles in Leeds had already "changed" the system, they butchered it, as they did the forks but that's a story for another time. So I needed to do the job myself as they'd cut off the 5pin connector for the standard reg/rec too as well as poor quality connections are bare wire touching the frame :o

I'm using my electrexworld RR690 reg/rec for this as it's what was fitted to my cb500 before I had to change the engine so it has been borrowed for this upgrade on the 400. You'll be looking for the ones that start with FH (do not get a SH model reg/rec)ideally you'll be wanting FH020, FH012, FH011, FH010, or FH009 as all of these use the QLW 250 connectors, these can be soured on ebay for about £50 avoid some of the honda ones as they have some strange connectors on one side. These are mosfet reg/recs and are much more efficient and run cooler than the stock shunt reg/rec.

First I had to unplug all the connections you can see to get some movement on the stator cable. I cut off the connector and pulled back the cables back to the stator.
Image

I then rerouted the cable to give me better access to the cables but also to use the extra length. So along the back of the engine it went.
Image

I got the waterproof grommets and fitted them to the cable. I then stripped the cable back and crimped the connectors on.
Image

I then pushed them into the connector and clicked them into place using a screwdriver, I then pushed the seals into the connector too once again using the trusty flat head.
Image
Image

I then realised that I needed a cable to go from the reg/rec to the battery so I had a look for some.. I didn't find any so I settled for the next best thing.
Image

I cut the end off and then cut off the yellow and green earth cable so I was left with the blue and brown cables. I then put the seals on the cable and once again re-crimped the connectors. I did a test fit.
Image

So with the test fit done I was left with this, I then measured it to length and cut it down to size... ish
Image

Since most things on the bike are black I decided that there was no place for a bright white household cable, so in temps less that 10c I got the spray paint out. I put some kitchen roll down on the floor and sprayed the cable. I then went and got the hair dryer and used that to cure the paint and I was left with something that looked like this.
Image

I then fed it through from the reg/rec and into the battery compartment, I then cut it down to size and fitted ring connectors and attached it to the battery.
Image

I then secured the reg/rec using the trusty cable ties and tried to start the bike, it works so I'm happy, I've managed to pass dodgy bare metal connections, poor connections and the loom so I'm happy.
Image
I tested the charging system at idle with the lights on while idling at 1.4k rpm ish I think, I'm getting 14.2volts across the battery terminals. In comparison with the dodgy reg/rec that had been fitted it needed the engine to be running at 4k+ rpm to start charging,

untonyto
Settled in member
Reactions:
Posts: 32
Joined: Wed Mar 25, 2020 10:17 am
Bike owned: 1992 CB400 NC31
Location: Nairobi, Kenya
Re: Uprated charging system

Post by untonyto » Fri Aug 28, 2020 8:33 pm

Excellent post. I wondered how to do this and I have the same issues and dodgy wiring on my NC31. Bike would randomly lose power in the middle of the highway. Will do this too. Thanks for posting pics and recommending Mosfet reg/regs. You won't believe what I was preparing to buy

magg
Senior Member
Reactions:
Posts: 1910
Joined: Mon Sep 20, 2010 11:55 pm
Bike owned: VFR400
Location: Blue Mountain NSW Australia
Re: Uprated charging system

Post by magg » Sat Aug 29, 2020 11:27 pm

My only suggestion is to solder the connections. Crimping requires the appropriate tools and skill to produce reliable connections.


Post Reply