Why are Reg/recs a notorious weak spot?

as far as the O.E.M. Ducati units are concerned I think it's a fallacy Matt. Many bikes are getting to the age when the connecting wires/connectors have taken a ravaging by the elements and it's often these creating resistance that starts the problem that often leads to total failure.


EDIT Should have qualified which units as I couldn't speak for every model but have come across half a dozen or more of bikes i've owned all from 1990 - 2000 -ish with original units still on and functioning fine so 748/996/SS/Monster/Elefant. Any unit I replaced had connector and/or alternator wires gone high resistance. I've even bought s/hand O.E.M.units off E-Bay and run them without problems. I'm sure that there are some rogue units out there, but I have certainly been lucky in that case

 

The older ones were dodgy which started the reputation in the 90's. Once upgraded to a jap shinidegen??? regulator the problem is solved. Fitting them in airflow is a big help.
When we went to WDW2002 my 888 cooked one, my mates ST2 did one and nearly everyone I spoke to knew of someone who blew one(it was fkn hot). Ducati made a fortune out of them that year. Luckily I had bought a spare the week before for £5 and tucked it under the seat last minute. :smile:.

 

I have an OEM SS one here which I pulled apart...........it looks as though all the soldered connections inside are dry or have come apart through heat; or just maybe they weren't soldered properly in the first place.

Having junked the guts now, I am seriously thinking of backing the case onto the ally heat plate behind the RR version on the bike, so the old case acts as extra heat dissipation........


.......or will it?

 

On the 916 they shoved em right by the front downpipe. Theyd get hot. Very hot. Leccy things like that dont like the heat.

ElectrexUK are the ones to buy. I keep one under my seat as a spare. 1/2 job to swap.

 

The one on my GT1000 failed at about 4500miles.You could see the bubbling in the resin filling on the underside.

 

... or even in the 70's. The regulators in those days were even worse. An extra heatsink is always good - bolt the thing tightly to a thick bit of alloy plate, if you can.

 

I put mine on the 748 here recently, should keep it much cooler.

And then added a shield to protect it from the elements and act as a extra heat sink.

Steve

 

First job when I get a 'new to me' Ducati is to clean up all the reg/rec contacts, add an additional earth lead, and chuck it on an alloy plate as a better heat sink. Believe it or not, in 20+ years of Ducati ownership I've never had one fail! Now all I need is a 900SS that eats 998r's and I can start to sound like Steve R ;-)

 

I considered that Birdie but decided I couldnt be arsed as I had a spare. I did have my stator rewound and thicker core cable put in, mine is 2core btw, and all connections are soldered and sleeved. I also put a heat deflector on too. Its been ok but tbh RR53 electrex unit is £80 or so and as long as it lasts a couple of years I can live with that. Keeping one still in its plastic under my seat gives me piece of mind that should it go miles from home i'd be ok.

 

As you say, I have done all the upgrades to the wiring and connectors but can't stop playing around so this was the final step. Mine is the Electrex unit as well.
Steve

 

I keep one under my seat because i had my 1st electrex unit fail after 11mnths. They replaced it free of charge after I phoned for another one and they saw that it was only 11mnths old. I bought another one anyway as a spare. Been on now for at least 5 yrs no probs.

Both times they failed i was many many miles from home. Hence the spare.

 

I've posted this before but it is a worthwhile mod, buy a mosfet based reg/rec for a ZX10R off eBay.



Then go to a Triumph dealer and buy a T2500676 wiring loom for under a tenner.




Depending on bike this loom is plug and play, or just modify it to suit.

 

It's not just Ducatis. My Bandit 400 (previous bike before the Monster) needed its reg-rec replacing, and being a grey import, that meant waiting several weeks for a pat frrom Japan.

 

had an issue with my reg /rec on bike recently
luckily it turned out to be corroded connectors
found water running down wiring into back of connector
so cleaned re taped and re-routed wiring
considered also silicone sealant in the back of connector block aswell

 

I can guarantee that it ain't just older bikes due to connectors etc.... My 1098s went, was sitting at the traffic lights in the rain when a load of what I though was steam came up from the bike, turns out it was a 5mm hole burnt through it. Unfortunately that didn't become evident until I was on the M62. The ecu light came on but as it was raining I just ignored it as one of those Gremlins which would reset on next start up, however when I was in lane three passing two trucks in one and two the bike decided to die leaving me with no power and no where to go. Such fun & to top it off the AA refused to recover it as they didn't have the kit available so couldn't guarantee they wouldn't damage it, leaving me in the rain for four hours on the hard shoulder. Ain't just dukes though. Just done a Trackday on my 2009 zx6r and that went just as I pulled back into the pits (had a spare though) just don't think they like heat and changes in temp. Expensive for what they are to!

 

I've had reg/recs go on a couple of bikes over the years and it's generally heat drying out the connections to the point where the wires and joints just decay.

Since then I always have a look see if they can be split and if they can I spray some silicon grease in there and if not the minimum is to use the same silicon grease on the connector where it goes into the wiring harness. On my scabby Tenere I've added an extra earth because that wire in particular was rotting in under a year and once you've been let down by the bastard and had to repair it in a snow covered lay by in Germany you go for prevention rather than cure

 

My worst bike for reg/recs is my '03 cbr600rr, had 5 in 10 years. 2 of which were electrex ones under warranty and changed for free. IMHO electrex ones are poo, I have had loads of these die on me but dont see the point in paying twice the price for OE which is just as bad. Iecho the prevention advice, I made a heat shield for the reg/rec on the cbr and relocated it for better airflow.

 

Thats your own fault Hammer for owning up to the CBR on a Ducati forum. Your Honda faux pas will be noted and added to the lengthening list of evidence to be used against you at some point of someones choosing. Hopefully you will be shown some leniency and you may be taken and shot in a nice quiet place rather than in front of SKY TV viewers. I will pray for you.