regulator rectifier

My 3/16" aluminum heat sink is awfully thick - much thicker than what I've seen recommended to dissipate heat. It remains to be seen what issues I'll have if any.

650Skull: Your aluminum heat sink (shown in #14 post of this thread) appears to every bit as thick as mine. No issues I assume?
 
Last edited:
should have no adverse affect other than being a bit thicker than what other ppl suggested. with aluminum there is no ability to produce or acquire any magnetism that would adversely effect the components. much past having something finned at a slightly smaller thickness you really cant get a slimmer profile that works as efficiently. then again i guess you could use a different metal but the price tag on anything that has a better quality is not worth it... metals can be tricky. most people will just grab some scrap and back yard fab something,which i by no means look down on in any way, but some people do not think of the application and conditions it will be used for. today i repaired a tool made in my shop that was made of 17-4 stainless that normally would fit the bill but somehow a person made it out of scrap that had been annealed so part failure happened in no time under stress. so it is always nice to know the limits of the material being used...particularly i guess in the case when you plan on rolling down the road on it.
 
I used what I had lying around for my heat sink. A 1/4 thick piece of aluminum. Way over kill. I can't say but it works just fine.
I have thought about cutting grooves in it to provide more surface area. This would increase the cooling.
Leo
 
Thanks for your feedback, WELDFAN. Welcome to the Forum! As to your question in Post#58, I don't have an answer for you, but there are a number of Gurus on here that can help you out.
 
Thanks, XSLeo.

This is the first time I've used heat sink compound. Is this a "1-time application, then forget about it thing", or does it need to be re-applied on some infrequent basis?

I had meant to apply some dielectric grease on the rectifier connections before I sealed em' up with heat shrink tubing, but I flippin' forgot... I assume its a good idea to use some on the male & female spade terminals in the plastic connectors?
 
wonder if maybe theres too much amperage and its throwing the reg off causing it to send only 10v to the rotor??? kinda the only thing i havnt looked at.. checked rotor,stator,brushes,grounds,wire connections...the only voltage prob is from reg to rotor. bad fuse not kicking so im not even realizing its a high amp??? one these days ill get smart n just get rid the battery..not much of a reason fer one when its kick only with a head light n tail light nothing else.
 
wonder if maybe theres too much amperage and its throwing the reg off causing it to send only 10v to the rotor??? kinda the only thing i havnt looked at.. checked rotor,stator,brushes,grounds,wire connections...the only voltage prob is from reg to rotor. bad fuse not kicking so im not even realizing its a high amp??? one these days ill get smart n just get rid the battery..not much of a reason fer one when its kick only with a head light n tail light nothing else.

Check your other thread...................main fuse bad.............or ignition switch high resistance.
 
When you checked voltage coming out of your reg/rec did you do this while running?
If you did then the voltage reading you got will read lower.
The reg/rec turns the current flow through the rotor off and on. The more charged up the battery the longer the off vs the on time is. The reading you see is the average voltage of this current flow.
The longer the on time vs the off time the higher this average will be.
If you hook your meter to this reg output then turn the headlight on you will see this voltage rise. It rises because the extra draw of the headlight will makes the reg think the battery is low and increases the current through the rotor.
At idle the reg is sending the max current to the rotor. It's trying to keep the battery voltage above 14 volts, it can't because the engine speed isn't high enough. As you rev it up and the battery voltage rises then the voltage on the reg output will drop.
If you checked this voltage by just turning the key on. And the voltage is much below battery voltage you have a weak connection somewhere. Often this is as RG mentioned in the main fuse or key switch. Check the voltage both sides of the main fuse as well as on the brown wire coming out of the key switch.
The contacts in the switch get dirty and even a bit burnt. You can take the switch apart and clean the contacts. B right and shiny is a good thing.
Leo
As long as the output of the alternator charges the battery at 14-14.5 volts at above say 2000 rpms the actual reading on the reg output is a moot point.
 
YamaLovin76, Heat sink compound, is a one time deal. It doesn't need much. A thin coat between the rectifiers and heat sink. To much just squeezes out and won't help.
Dielectric grease is a good thing. Enough to coat the parts is all you need. extra just comes out and can make things messy.
On crimp on connectors I put a thin coat on the wires, crimp, heat shrink.
Leo
 
Now that's a good idea. I put it on all my connections but never put it on a wire before adding the crimp. I'm going to start.
 
i had graduated from a 4 year tech school in electrical so the concept of the reg/rec and stator/rotor i can somewhat grasp haha. but i checked it with the bike not running. as you said i felt it might be a bad ground so i ran a jumper for my ground to eliminate that having a bad connect. its kick start only so i followed power from battery to reg. from battery to on off switch was fine. had a .3v drop comming off the switch to block. from block to reg was fine no drop. then comming out the reg was the 2v drop. which im going to replace the fuse anyway and im going through all the connections again. so either today or sunday if it persists ill put a more detailed description of what im getting for readings where. thank you all
 
Same as Leo, I used new connectors from Mikesxs.com. They work quite well.

A word to avoid confusion when making up regulators. My recommendations for using the VR-115 regulator are directed only at 1970 to 1979 stock alternators and stock wiring harnesses. This method uses one brush grounded to the stator frame. Do not try to use the method that is in Pamcopete's procedure.

Pamcopete's method is only when using the 1980 to 1983 regulator design (no brushes grounded) and converting your 70 to 79 bike to work with that design.
How ya doing RG? Just to clarify, I have a 77 and have fabbed up the rectifier already. I got my regulator from Advance today. When I wire this assembly in, I won't have to isolate the brushes with nylon screws will I. Again I have a 77 alternator, trying to use your reg./rectifier setup.
 
How ya doing RG? Just to clarify, I have a 77 and have fabbed up the rectifier already. I got my regulator from Advance today. When I wire this assembly in, I won't have to isolate the brushes with nylon screws will I. Again I have a 77 alternator, trying to use your reg./rectifier setup.

You are correct!

I'm doing real well...................I was out riding my bike yesterday:bike:
 
Oh, I`m good, I just read all these electrical posts and I think just get a tad overwhelmed
with all the knowledge you guys have of the electrical systems.
There`s times I thought about maybe going with a Pamco but I`m not sure I could wire it in but the bike runs so well I would hate to throw anything off and at my age I`ve learned if it aint broke dont fix it.
Thanks though.
 
Oh, I`m good, I just read all these electrical posts and I think just get a tad overwhelmed
with all the knowledge you guys have of the electrical systems.
There`s times I thought about maybe going with a Pamco but I`m not sure I could wire it in but the bike runs so well I would hate to throw anything off and at my age I`ve learned if it aint broke dont fix it.
Thanks though.

I agree. If you are using the stock ignition (points or TCI) and the bike is running well, then no need to do anything.............just keep enjoying the bike.
 
Why are "2" bridge rectifiers used instead of just one?

A bridge rectifier has 4 diodes. It's designed to work with single phase AC power.

However, our alternators generate 3 phase AC power. To rectify 3 phase AC to DC power, you need 6 diodes. One bridge rectifier, with its 4 diodes, is short by 2 diodes. A simple solution was to use 2 bridge rectifiers, which contain 8 diodes, and then just wire up 6 of those diodes. The 2 remaining diodes are not used.

With the arrival of huge growth in wind power generation, China's manufacturing plants are producing large quantities of 3 phase rectifiers. That large quantity results in cheap prices, which makes them very attractive to older motorcycles such as ours.
 
Back
Top