HOT regulator rectifier...

[skinnybwoy]

Hey guys.

I righted the issues I talked about in my previous thread (cutting out after a few minutes and refusing to be started again), by replacing the regulator/rectifier and the battery.

OK, I did a fair bit of reading up on Honda reg/rec issues, and reg/recs in general. Seems like the main cause of them failing is overheating.

Ok, so I've taken a few steps to prevent the new unit from overheating.

First, I removed the unit from its regular spot on the left side of the subframe. It definitely wouldn't be getting enough cool air there. Next, I fitted a BIG heat-sink, I think it's from an amplifier or something. bolted on with heat tranfer paste inbetween. To get it into a spot where it would get more air, and accomodate the size of the heatsink, i used a steel bracket coming out from next to where the seat bolts onto the tank, so that the unit is kind of suspended in the space between the seat and the rear wheel. I made sure when positioning it that I had enough clearance from the rear wheel that it wouldn't hit the unit when the shock bottomed out.

Ok, so I took the bike out for a good half-hour spin to test it. thankfully, there was no cutting out or any of that business. The bike revved out very cleanly and handled stop-go traffic too without any complaints.

When i got home, I decided to check out the reg/rec. The big heatsink definitely did a good job of sucking a lot of the heat out, but the reg/rec was still VERY hot. Not so hot that my fingers got burned, but enough that it made it uncomfortable to hold your fingers on the unit for too long.

suggestions to cool the unit further? Is this kinda heat unnatural for a relatively short ride?

[CMSMJ1]

it does get very hot whatever you do..