Rectifier - which one for best reliability?

[buggsubique]

OK, we all know the issues with the rectifiers on these bikes. my stocker is reading low V's and I'm gunna buy a new one from Electrex. I have no problem hacking and re-wiring different plugs to get a non-stocker to work. So which do I get? I hear the R1/R6 one is the goods and it looks a bit beefier too but only has one +ve wire and one earth, whereas stock rd04L has two of each. What have others chosen to do?? I'm probably going to put a fan on it too for the airflow.

RR55 for R1/R6? or RR83 for an RD07? or the RR82 meant for my RD04L? or this RR64 for a generic XRV750? or even this RR113 for a CB1300?

cheers in advance, Matt

[Xander]

OK, we all know the issues with the rectifiers on these bikes. my stocker is reading low V's and I'm gunna buy a new one from Electrex. I have no problem hacking and re-wiring different plugs to get a non-stocker to work. So which do I get? I hear the R1/R6 one is the goods and it looks a bit beefier too but only has one +ve wire and one earth, whereas stock rd04L has two of each. What have others chosen to do?? I'm probably going to put a fan on it too for the airflow.

RR55 for R1/R6? or RR83 for an RD07? or the RR82 meant for my RD04L? or this RR64 for a generic XRV750? or even this RR113 for a CB1300?

cheers in advance, Matt

Cant really help with whatone is best but i have a spare rr83 going cheap. No wiring needed.
See my post under the 4 sale section

[Annette]

Not all of the rectifiers you have detailed above show the correct connectors. Wemoto do this one which is perfect:

Honda XRV 750 X/Y RD07 Africa Twin 99-03 Regulator Rectifier
so if you get one like this it will fit.

[AlanH]

The beauty of using an R1/R6 regulator is you can pick them up from a breakers for not a lot of money. If using Electrex, just get the right one for the bike and it'll be fine.

[buggsubique]

thanks for the info - I've just ordered an RR82 from Electrex so that should do the trick.

[Zenarchy]

Just a quick tip about that regulator you've ordered. I'm not sure if it'll be the same on all of them (mines an italian import RD04) but i picked one of those regulators up from ebay a while back, and the connector didn't slide easily into the existing plug, like there was something stopping it.

All of the wires were in the place they should be and lined up, and I realised that there was a little circular plastic insert clipped inside the plug at the bikes side that can be removed, which allowed the electrex one to fit properly.

I bought mine mainly as a spare to carry with me and only put it on to test it, then took it off again and put my old one back. When testing it I noticed the voltage read a bit higher than my old one (which may be on its way out perhaps), but I think this is normal as I was testing it with the battery a bit low, and without any lights or other electrics turned on.

I still haven't got around to giving it another try, but if you're trying yours out and monitoring the voltage, it might be an idea to do it with the lights on, as I think some of these may put out slightly more voltage than the honda ones (unless it was just the one I got).

[buggsubique]

Thanks Zenarchy - I have hacked the plugs to non-stock already so will likely do the same on this new rectifier too. I will run lights on as well but would certianly expect to see my 12.6v or so climb up to 13-14V with a new one, and hopefully resolve the heating issues I'm getting at the 3phase plug.

cheers, Matt

[buggsubique]

By way of an update, I sent an email to Electrexworld and got this great response which may be of interest to others considering a new Reg/Rect. I had already ordered my replacement from these guys so won't be getting a custom build done - but hey - looks good!


Buggs



Hi Matt,
Thanks for your email.
RR82 is designed as replacement Regulator Rectifier for XRV750 (1990 -1994), comes with correct connectors to just plug in and go. It is good for 20AMPS DC with good cooling air flow.
When we use Amp ratings, we usually refer to the maximum system load at 14.2Volts, and this should never be higher than about 15Amps on any bike - even a crazy bike like a VFR800 with its 4 headlights is only 22Amps.
We have a “RR58 racing class” regulator rectifier, which I know we have about 100 units so far fitted on bikes which run at 30 to 35Amps, with no failures known.
This is our most reliable RR unit for that class of bike, so it would work very well for sure on a XRV750 under most arduous conditions of high altitude and high temperatures.

• We can supply a standard RR58 with a loose connector block for you to wire up (crimp tags need soldering after hand crimping) or we can hand make an “RR8258 special” unit with XRV750 plug in and go connectors fitted to an RR58. Never made one before, but no real problem.

Most important point for reliability - keep the RR unit cool, needs lots of fresh air to keep him happy.
Best Regards,
Mike RIGG, +44-1491-682369, +44-7824-619713

[Zenarchy]

Mine seemed to be putting out around 14.9v with the engine revved a bit if my memory is correct (and not that much less just ticking over), but after some advice on this forum, it seems that could have been because my battery was a bit low and because I didn't have the lights turned on when I tested it. I got a bit of a shock at the time because my old honda rectifier was putting out around 13.6 to 13.9v under the same conditions, but it seems that may be a bit on the low side (so could be an indication its on its way out perhaps).

I've got a little LED battery tester still to wire in, so when I do that I'll try fitting it again and going for a good ride with a charged battery and the lights on then keep an eye on it to make sure it's not overcharging. I'm hoping that it putting out a bit more than the original honda one will mean it copes with the heated grips and other electrical stuff I'll be using a bit better (not completely sure it works like that as I'm a bit useless where electrics are concerned but I have noticed that the old rectifier doesn't seem to charge the battery as well with the heated grips running on high, so hopefully the extra few volts will help there).

I didn't bother contacting electrex about mine as I hadn't bought it direct from them but from ebay, so didn't want to bother them. If my voltage turns out to be too high, then it could just be because I've got an iffy one from ebay (but it was a bargain so not a problem really). They seem like a good company with a good reputation though so if I need another one I'll probably go back directly to them in the future.

Thanks for posting the specs. That's handy to know about the amps it'll handle as I've got heated grips,and I'm also wanting to run a netbook battery charger and ultimately satnav from it too, so I can check that it'll handle the load for whatever I plug into it.

I'm pretty sure the one I got was an RR82 one, but the plugs on it didn't slide straight in as there was a little circular insert clipped inside the plug on the bikes side that was preventing it sliding in (though after removing this it slid in OK). Perhaps it was something to do with my bike though as it's an italian one, so there's a chance the connector is slightly different or something. There wasn't a little plastic retainer on the side to connect to the frame either, but then it was a used (but almost new) one that came from a bike that had been written off, so there's a chance something happened to that.

It's good to know about the airflow too. I had been thinking about fitting a computer fan to it and/or cutting a hole and making a little grille in the fairing to get some more air to it, so it sounds like that's worth a try (on the RD04 the rectifier is just above the exhaust and not much airflow to it ofcourse).

I came across this link that might be helpful if you're experiencing any problems with heat (though it looks like he took it to the extreme):

regolatore di tensione per honda africa twin 750

[xrv_jim]

How are you measuring regulator output? From the r/r wires directly or across battery terminals?