Yes - in reality hovering around 14v or a little higher. Should never go above 15v. I was measuring voltages tonight to check out some spare regulators and most were around 14.2v  They started at 13.9 or so, just after starting and quickly got up to 14.2v after a minute of recharging the battery then stayed in that range. Probably would have gone a little higher after a few more minutes of recharging but it was cold.

If you still experience low voltage then the battery would be bad and is draining the system. Your voltage at the stator, combined with all 3 pairs being the same voltage, means the stator is OK.

Quote from: adidasguy on January 21, 2013, 09:03:38 PM
Whoever wrote the article doesn't know what a voltage regulator does these days. A solid state voltage regulator controls the amount of electricity going through it like a faucet - it does not short extra voltage to ground . Shorting extra voltage to ground could result in a near short circuit from the stator if no current was needed to charge up the system. Possibly some ancient voltage regulator methods did that, but solid state ones like we have do not do that.

I am struggling with this part 

Your statement goes against not just everything I have been tought, learned and generaly picked up over the years on this subject but also against descriptions of reg/rect and charging systems operation found on many various and very credible sites. For instance this site contains a typical diagram of a 3ph system identical to that found on the GS5 that clearly shows the 3 outputs being switched to ground by the regulator circuit.....are you saying they are wrong also?

http://racetechelectric.com/ft-751-voltage-regulators.html

So what exactly is the issue with grounding and consequently shorting the outputs?  All that will happen is that it will see a maximum current and if its been designed to handle this current there wont be an issue 

IMO, you should be safe to assume that.

It goes against design of solid state regulators to short the inputs to ground. Also nbot good practice to switch a circuit directly to ground with transistors without having some resistance load. Transistors will fry.

Maybe they are illustrated that way for convenience, or whatever. The explanation is OK to help people understand what is going on. Normal linear voltage regulators do not short to ground. They regulate the voltage like a faucet.

Actually, electrically, it would make more sense to switch the output of the stator on and off rather than shorting it to ground.

What goes on inside of one matters less than knowing if it is working. I'm sure the MosFet regulators operate in a better way than the stock ones. There can be many different ways to regulate voltage so let's not get hung up on the internals - as said - different ones can operate with different circuits and in different ways.

To really know, it would be interesting to see a schematic for the RR or dissolve the encapsulating compound and see what's in there.

Quote from: adidasguy on January 21, 2013, 11:26:59 PM
It goes against design of solid state regulators to short the inputs to ground.

But Wikipedia says this......

The shunt regulator works by providing a path from the supply voltage to ground through a variable resistance (the main transistor is in the "bottom half" of the voltage divider). The current through the shunt regulator is diverted away from the load and flows uselessly to ground,

Are you getting shunt and series mixed up?

Normal linear voltage regulators do not short to ground.......but my question is........is it a normal linear VR that forms the basis of the reg/rect?

I'm not going to get involved in this anymore. I have better things to do than discuss regulator design. Sorry.

I realized that somebody asked me if I bought used rectifier. The answer is YES, I did. I provided link to ebay auction few posts before this one. Rectifier that I bought comes from bike with only 1000 miles on it as the seller offers 30day guarantee.

Why does it matter anyways? Used or new? As long as it works I'd rather save money. Brand new OEM rectifier is $133+shipping on bikebandit. I got this one for $25 with shipping. Also, I am collecting money for new bike so I don't want to invest too much into GS anymore...

Quote from: kml.krk on January 22, 2013, 08:37:15 AM
Also, I am collecting money for new bike so I don't want to invest too much into GS anymore...

*GASP*

.... 

- Bboy

When you are done with a bike...you're done.

Been there with my 1982 GS model.  So much went wrong with it that I was done.  I'm sure the new owner had a bike that was tip-top, but I wanted a different bike, and wild horses could not drag the thought out of my head.

I'm sure the R/R is at fault, and it will fix it.  I had one go out too on my 1982 model.  Bought an Electrosport, never had another problem.

Yes you should be fine buying it with a bike that only has 1000 miles on it, if it doesn't work just send it back.

Make sure you update us on your situation, I love when riders fix their problems! 

Sledge, from my understanding there are a few different ways to construct a regulator rectifier. For a regulator rectifier you need both voltage regulation (diodes) and ac to dc rectification (diodes). Your battery is a large capacitor which gets a charge built up on it after the diodes have been placed in a certain schematic, usually a full wave rectified diode. A full wave rectified diode turns a sine wave, both negative and positive values, to a pulsating dc wave, which is what is used to charge your battery. The excess voltage that is not used is usually dissipated across the load resistor in this case. However, everything is grounded so maybe some how somewhere along the lines someones terminology got confusing and seemed like the excess voltage went to ground.

I will definitely update you when there is progress. Also, by saying that I'm collecting money for new bike I didn't mean that I'm getting one anytime soon. I have been thinking and slowly considering an upgrade to FZ8 for over two years but so far that didn't happen. I want the moment to be right and I am still working on my riding skills. Now that I no longer commute on a bike I am getting a bit rusty. If you're wondering Gore many miles I put on the GS, the answer is almost 8000 and most of it is daily commuting around NYC area. I believe that I can handle bigger bike... 8000 miles is not a lot but I have mentally grown up a lot since I got my GS and I never, ever ride beyond my abilities.

Happy fishing!

Replaced regulator

 

It is better but far from 14.4V and voltage still drops past 2000 RPMs. I will do one more test in an hour (my battery is currently charging using wall charger - I will retest with fully charged battery)
EDIT: If the battery is lightly discharged, shouldn't the voltage at 4000-5000 RPMs still be around 14.5V?

Thats much better than before! Problem solved. It is weird however; that the voltage is higher with 2000 rpm than it is with 3 or 4000. But as long as its well above 12, 13 and 14 in this case, it will be charging your battery.

Just measured again with fully charged battery. 13.5V at 3000-6000RPMs at battery terminals. 13.7V at regulator wires. There's little drop on wires, but in general I am still far from 14.4V.

What else can I check before replacing the stator?

At three grand you should be ok with voltage at 13.7, when you are at 5 grand are you at 14.5? If so your all good.

13.5V everywhere from 3000-6000RPMs. The only range when it gets to 14V is at 1800-2000RPMs

Hmm that is strange. Replacing the stator could get you your desired outcome, buy if you ask me I would say your fine cause its charging the battery that's for sure.

Thanks for your opinion but I would say I am not fine because something is definitely broken and it is driving me nuts.