Keeping the R/R cool.....

[biaggi]

OK, with the new stator and R/R installed my bike is finally running again and sending a steady 14V to the battery - the battery fizzes nicely now ;)

Anyway, reading previous posts, keeping the R/R cool is key to longevity. I haven't tried to relocate it as my wiring and soldering skills are a little poor and I don't want to risk buggering anything up.

So I want to keep the heat away. First off I have routed a scoop and pipe from the top of the radiator guard along under the tank which then stops an inch or so above the R/R. The scoop is positioned as far left as possible in direct fresh air and the pipe is nice and straight so it should direct some air at least.

Obviously the main culprit of the heat (apart from the R/R itself) is the rear cylinder. (finally he gets to the question!!)...

Would it be worth putting a shield between the rear cylinder and R/R?? I was thinking of a thin metal plate with cooling tape each side mounted to the frame or something. My only concern is that this would stop some air from coming in from the side and would make the R/R even hotter - what do you guys think?

[Walt_M.]

I've actually considered that as I still have my R/R in the stock location but what I've done, aside from replacing the plug-in connectors with solderless crimp type connectors, is put a Radio Shack computer cooling fan on the R/R. I did this in June of this year and the fan is still running, but I haven't had it out in any heavy rain either. I had not had any problems before doing this but, better to do something than wait for the meltdown. I think the connector replacement is key here. I do know that heat sinks in a stationary mode cool better if they are vertically mounted, as the R/R is in its stock (though admittedly hot location). I promise to let everyone know when my $16 fan quits.

[Rick G]

I guess I 've said this before, but I don't think the fan helps at all, Your just moving more hot air over the RR  I ahve mounted mine in front of the Radiator ,up high and to the left, you can hardly see it. Many Hondas have it mounted in front of the rear tyre , I was thinking of mounting it on the left aluminum foot peg/muffler mount , on a bracket so that it would be sticking up above the mount. The wiring would be closer and easier to do.

[biaggi]

Rick,

Such a location would leave it very exposed to the elements - rain/road salt etc etc, wouldn't that just cause the need for another replacement?

 :)

[Walt_M.]

Moving hot air is better than moving no air and the stock location has the additional benefit of not having more connections (wire splices) which are, I think, the real cuplrit in this problem.

[Lucky]

The connections are the big culpret, no doubt about it, and many R/R's live on the rest of their lives fine in the stock location.  The point of moving the R/R is to extend it's life.  The R/R disapates unused
(unneeded) energy produced by the stator by shunting it to ground which produces heat. thus the need for a heatsink (the fins) or on some bikes, being bolted to the frame.

The stock location couldn't be in a worse spot for disapating heat. Right over the rear exhaust with little room for airflow.
Moving the R/R to a location that is cooler & has improved airflow obviously will keep it cooler. heat is the enemy of electronic components.  Simply put, cooler conditions can only extend it's life.  Unless you WANT to buy another one...

As to the question of road grime/salt,etc, The stock one is sealed in epoxy,& you'd need a pretty hot oven to even begin to soften that stuff up.  The electrex one on the other hand is sealed in a rubber like material that will melt under certain conditions I know this because my friend had one melt on his 83.  electrex replaced it even though it was just out of warrenty.  You have to remember that electrical components can be bad from the start once in a while, that's life :)

[Rick G]

Legons of Hondas , have the RR located where the rear tyre spits all manner of road grime and water on it , but as Lucky said there things are sealed  and  water and dirt won't affect it. However 400. deg F air off of the rear cylinder and exhaust pipe most certainly will

[Rick G]

Triumphs  (Meriden  not Hinkley) had a zener diode mounted on a finned heat sink , mounted  under the headlight  to keep it cool. not a bad idea.

[sdinino]

I've always thought the most obvious place to put the r/r is where the horn is currently located. You already have a mounting bracket, and if you have an unfaired V the horn cover has air holes to aid cooling.

Relocating the horn shouldn't be that big a deal.

[Rick G]

I mounted mine there, even with the fairing, it is fairly easy  to do.
 The only reason I moved it to its present location, in front of the raditor is because I added a fork brace and it would have given it a smack on the first good bump I hit.
If your going to mount it on the horn bracket ,just make sure its tucked up there as far as it can go.

[kiawrench]

just an idea to share about hot electric parts...
  I work for a somewhat new kia auto dealership, and sometimes i encounter the unusual heat related problem(rrriiigght).
   after reading a lot of older posts to this site, i went over to my local junkyard and found three 82 visions somewhat stripped , but still hiding some goodies . i scavenged the tci units, the r/rs and a few other litte things, but did manage to pick up two stators. i carried all of my electric stuff to a electrical whiz  at a electric motor rewind shop . i had the stators rewound as per the post i found here on site , and we sent the tci units to a computer shop for check out, both failed ,, so still hunting the elusive spare.
  after some study, we decided to try a trick that was on the eletrex website,  you can reposition the r/r under the horn bracket , just do some soldering -, but you dont have to buy one from eletrex or yamaha . i relocated my new r/r to the little tool slot at the end of my seat, added a second one for a spare , and made a small set of gang switches (radioshack )to move all of those little electric guys around the bike.a small led charging indicator was added to my right riser, so i can see the rate day or night , allowing me to just switch over based on one red light . oh, cooling for this little project was easy, i went to my nearest walmart and bought the small rope guide the look like snorkel, mounted on facing forward on left side, one on right faces back. after a 400 mile ride i had no heat, no funny sparks from under my seat and actually able to make my return ride . one quick point - if you are going to swap over to the kawasaki or honda r/r units, be sure to get all the connectors at the same time, it helps in the wire in part of this trick

[ArrrGeee]

ok now you got me curious,
 what is the Kawisaki swap thing ? I haven't seen any posts about this one, whats the deal ?

do you still have the TCI's  I've repaired a few of them now
and would either like to have a couple for stock or I can have a look at them for you.

thanks.

-Ron

[jasonm.]

The R/R's do not run hot! If they do get hot on their own, they are going bad. I have had mine within reach at all times while stopped or riding it just never gets hot, just warm. These are in aluminum. Which absorbs the heat from the rear cylinder. Basically, relocating it to anywhere else will solve the future problems.

[Rick G]

The wat I test TCI boxes is to hook them up to my bike ! iIf it runs  there good and if not there bad!  I mark all my spares after  testing , to avoid confusion.