Hello gents, annoyingly last night i noticed my headlamps weren't working at all, and almost got taken out as a result.. On closer inspection both low&high beam filaments on both bulbs were burnt out.. No fuses blown, but the voltage at 5K is 16.5V, the max is supposed to be 15.5V.

Is it likely the regulators the fault? 16.5V doesn't seem too much over the max limit?

MexicanGringo wrote:Hello gents, annoyingly last night i noticed my headlamps weren't working at all, and almost got taken out as a result.. On closer inspection both low&high beam filaments on both bulbs were burnt out.. No fuses blown, but the voltage at 5K is 16.5V, the max is supposed to be 15.5V.

Is it likely the regulators the fault? 16.5V doesn't seem too much over the max limit?

I'm afraid your instinct is 99% likely to be correct. 16.5 may not seem too much too much, but in fact it definitely is. Sort outthe charging system or it will cost you more in a new battery, wiring and plugs here n there, eventually a CDI, etc. Time to bite the bullet.

MexicanGringo wrote:Is it likely the regulators the fault? 16.5V doesn't seem too much over the max limit?

Very much so, unfortunately! Check the generator as well and get a new battery or you'll still have problems.

Cheers for the advice.

Im tempted to go for a $30 ebay reg/rec... Anyone had one of those on for a while?

14.4v is about as high as i'd like to see on a generator, anything higher and its busted.

Could be putting too much voltage to the headlamps, this will also kill the battery

MexicanGringo wrote:Cheers for the advice.

Im tempted to go for a $30 ebay reg/rec... Anyone had one of those on for a while?

I think you would be pretty unlucky to find something which was as poor as the original part.

My last CB-1 got a TourMax finned RR, it solved all my charging woes.

My current CB-1 has an unknown non-finned regulator and it's fantastic with 14.4 volts constant through the whole rev range.

Yeah cheers, usually you'd be better off paying the stupendous Honda prices, but not for this part...
It def used to charge around 14.5, but now it fluctuates betw 14-16.5v and its blown the headlamp bulbs and one of the indicator bulbs...

MexicanGringo wrote:Yeah cheers, usually you'd be better off paying the stupendous Honda prices, but not for this part...
It def used to charge around 14.5, but now it fluctuates betw 14-16.5v and its blown the headlamp bulbs and one of the indicator bulbs...

Just to be sure you got this - fix it now, or it'll keep blowing bulbs, then the battery and CDI, then the alternator, etc. etc. This is not a maybe, it WILL happen.