Need Regulator HELP

[Bustedknuckles]

Alrighty, so ive got a 78 gs850 that i have spent a year restoring. it runs great now but the last puzzle piece is hooking up the regulator so that my battery stops dying.

simple right?

the problem is that the regulator i have is off of a 83 gs850 and all the wires are different colors and the plastic connectors don't match. there are only 3 wires coming from the bike. they are>> solid yellow, white W/ green stripe, and white W/ blue stripe. that's it.

and there are 6 wires coming from the regulator. they are solid red, 3 plain white (the one red and 3 white were part of a plastic connector). and a solid green and solid brown.

i have a manual for the bike that i have used extensively. but it does'nt label wire function, only color, if it did i would have no problem hooking everything up. my issue is that i have a bunch of wires that i know can go together but are different colors and have no labeling as to what they do.

i really want to use this regulator because buying a new one is around $100!

if anyone happens to know what wires do what, and how to wire them up it would be greatly appreciated and extremely useful.

Thanks alot! ~Nate

 

[Steve]

That is apparently a different regulator, as all 850s (by the way, they started in '79, not in '78, although your bike may have a manufacturing date of late '78) have had only FIVE multi-colored wires for the regulator.

Regardless, connect your three stator wires to the three white wires, it does not matter which wire goes where. The red is obviously your battery + wire. I belive the green wire will be your battery - wire, the brown wire should be connected to a switched power wire so that it reads battery voltage, but only when the ignition switch is ON.

What part of Cincinnati? I will be home in about a month, I can stop by to help, if you want.

.

 

[SqDancerLynn1]

Two threads going !! Ok.. after you get it wired check battery voltage at the battery and at the fuse block should be the same, if not check the ign switch first. then check from + battery to positive on fuse block Should be less than .5 volts, if more you have bad connections some where.

 

[BassCliff]

Hi,

For further reading, I suggest the following links...

From the GS Resources homepage:
http://www.thegsresources.com/garage/gs_statorfacts.htm

From my little website:

Stator Test​

Stator Replacement​

Regulator/Rectifier Replacement
*Electrical Odds and Ends*

GSR member duaneage has the best "bang for your buck" deal on regulator/rectifier units, about $45 shipped for a heavy-duty, plug-n-play Honda unit. Drop him a private message the next time you need one.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff
​

 

[Bustedknuckles]

awesome thanks

awesome thanks

thanks ALOT you guys. ill give it a try first thing in the morning. and sorry for the double thread, im kind of a forum novice. i figured it could'nt hurt and no one would care. if this works the year long restoration will be complete! and i live in anderson township, i dont think theres really anything else i need done on the bike but if ya wanna come by and take her for a spin i would love an experienced individuals input.

thanks again everyone, once again the GSresources has come through for me! Sincerely ~ Nate

 

[Matchless]

Just hold it there!

Yamaha used white wires instead of yellow wires, so that regulator most likely comes off a Yamaha. The Yamaha had many bikes out with field regulation and they used green and brown wires to the brushes which go to the field coil.
There should be a black wire for ground as well or the casing may be the ground.

This regulator will not work on a permanent magnet alternator!

Contact duaneage on this forum as BassCliff advised earlier, he can supply you with a used Honda type that is tested and ready for installation for your bike at a very reasonable price. Just use the search function. Or have a look here for more info: http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=12378&stc=1&d=1297503570

Here is part of the Yamaha XJ650LT diagram:

 

[850 Combat]

Your R/R has too many wires to be from a GS850. I have two good R/R's I removed from bikes a couple years ago in order to upgrade to Honda units from Duaneage on this site.

I will sell you one of mine for 20 bucks with shipping, but in my opinion, you would be better off buying one from Duaneage.

I'm not sure if mine are OEM or aftermarket, and the two are not identical, but they came off bikes with functioning charging systems. The charging systems were not functioning properly, but that was more a function of bad grounds and bad connections in the connectors than anything else.

I urge you to ground your R/R to the starter solenoid bolt, and add a ground wire from there to the battery.

I would also solder the three wires from the stator to the R/R instead of using bullet connectors, and consider soldering the red one too.

I'm not an expert on this. There are people on this forum who are though.

 

[posplayr]

Just hold it there!

Yamaha used white wires instead of yellow wires, so that regulator most likely comes off a Yamaha. The Yamaha had many bikes out with field regulation and they used green and brown wires to the brushes which go to the field coil.
There should be a black wire for ground as well or the casing may be the ground.

This regulator will not work on a permanent magnet alternator!

Contact duaneage on this forum as BassCliff advised earlier, he can supply you with a used Honda type that is tested and ready for installation for your bike at a very reasonable price. Just use the search function. Or have a look here for more info: http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=12378&stc=1&d=1297503570

Here is part of the Yamaha XJ650LT diagram:

kinda scary if that yammy regulator was already wired in

 

[Steve]

Yamaha used white wires instead of yellow wires, so that regulator most likely comes off a Yamaha. The Yamaha had many bikes out with field regulation and they used green and brown wires to the brushes which go to the field coil.

Good catch, Matchless. :clap: :clap:

I had forgotten about those field-regulated units (from Yamaha) as I have never owned or worked on one.
My only experience with field-regulated alternators is with my Wing, and it uses a modified automotive alternator.
Yep, it's an aftermarket unit from Compu-fire (sound familiar, Pos?) that puts out over 90 amps.

.

 

[Matchless]

Yep, it's an aftermarket unit from Compu-fire (sound familiar, Pos?) that puts out over 90 amps.

Steve you most likely could do some roadside welding with that sort of output!

I picked this up as I had just helped someone who also had one installed on a GS850!!! He blew his igniter which I repaired and which is usually due to overcharging (Jim you will love this one).

Someone fitted a field type regulator with the field wires cut off which then did no regulating just rectifying. I repaired his igniter and replaced the regulator with a shunt type and warned him that his battery may be on its last legs now.

To crown it all he tells someone else with a Honda CB900F to contact me about his charging problem and I find he has a brand new aftermarket shunt regulator fitted. They wired 12v directly to the field winding so it always runs at maximum output. Then they disconnected one of the yellow wires to reduce the output. This resulted in a shorted field winding and a new regulator.

Both of these hacks seem to have been done at a bike shop!!

 

[BassCliff]

Hey Andre,

I'm glad you were paying attention. I hope Mr. Bustedknuckles hasn't fried his igniter yet.

I'll have to remember that for the future, "Yellow wires, good. White wires, bad!"


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

 

[Matchless]

Hey Andre,

I'm glad you were paying attention. I hope Mr. Bustedknuckles hasn't fried his igniter yet.

I'll have to remember that for the future, "Yellow wires, good. White wires, bad!"


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

Cliff, Yamaha also uses the three white wires on the shunt regulators which again works well in our bikes.:!:

Honda and Yamaha have some regulators are for field regulation alternators only. They even look physically similar except for the extra two wires for the field, than the shunt regulators. It can be quite confusing. Honda even has a sense lead on some of their field regulators!

 

[posplayr]

Steve you most likely could do some roadside welding with that sort of output!

I picked this up as I had just helped someone who also had one installed on a GS850!!! He blew his igniter which I repaired and which is usually due to overcharging (Jim you will love this one).

Someone fitted a field type regulator with the field wires cut off which then did no regulating just rectifying. I repaired his igniter and replaced the regulator with a shunt type and warned him that his battery may be on its last legs now.

To crown it all he tells someone else with a Honda CB900F to contact me about his charging problem and I find he has a brand new aftermarket shunt regulator fitted. They wired 12v directly to the field winding so it always runs at maximum output. Then they disconnected one of the yellow wires to reduce the output. This resulted in a shorted field winding and a new regulator.

Both of these hacks seem to have been done at a bike shop!!

Hey if it doesn't smoke at idle and we can get it out the door then all is good. :dancing: Blame it on those poor electrics if it comes back :-#