Regulator question

[borjawil]

Might seem like a dumb question but will the regulator short if the housing touched the frame/ground? Ive noticed the all regulators I've dealt with have the rubber grommets on their frames and wasn't sure if this was due to vibration dampening or to keep from shorting.

Also when making a round electrical "box" (fake oil tank) to put all the components in, how does one keep the plug parts on the backside of the regulators from touching the box?

 

[XSLeo]

You should not put a reg/rec in a box, they need good air flow around them to keep them from over heating.
On some reg/rec's the case is not electrically connected to what's inside. On these the case touching ground won't matter electrically. On the XS650 the reg/rec mounts to the frame. This helps draw more of the heat out of the reg/rec.
On those that do have an electrical connection to the case it should have the case hooked to the frame for a good ground connection as well as heat dissipation.
All this applies to the solid state combo reg/rec's. On the early XS650 mechanical regulator with the separate rectifier then the reg is rubber mounted to help with vibration. The rec again should be out in the air.
Leo

 

[borjawil]

Good to know thanks! One more thing, where do people mount the rec then if they are using an elec box?

 

[XSLeo]

Most any where is good as long as you get air flow. Some like to try to hide them, like mount it on the bottom of the swing arm. Me, I like things out in the open. I like to see the things not hide them.
Leo

 

[borjawil]

If I mount it in the electrical box and drill a bunch of tiny holes in front of it for airflow, think that would be enough?

 

[retiredgentleman]

If I mount it in the electrical box and drill a bunch of tiny holes in front of it for airflow, think that would be enough?

You don't want a rectifier sitting in a dead air space. Having holes on just one side of a box is a bad idea. Now if you put holes on both front and back,then you would have a path for air flow to occur. Tiny holes = bad, large holes=good.

Its just a bad idea from the get-go, to put a rectifier in a box. My rectifier and its heat sink, is fastened underneath my battery box.

Whereever you put the rectifier, make sure you use a decent size heat sink.