2008 S4RS fried regulator.... your thoughts?

[dan_t]

Hi all,

Here's a quick one for you .......
Last week, I was out enjoying a great ride out to Wolombi. Weather was great and the bike was purring along nicely. That was until I was about a kilometre north of Jerry's Cafe (heading home, south bound) at Kulnura when I noticed the engine warning light on.
The bike felt fine, but I figured I should ease off a little none the less and pull up to refuel at Kulnura. I guess I was hoping the light would simply turn off & the bike reset itself for my trip home after it had been stopped and restarted.

That didn't happen.......

The bike stalled just as I slowed right down to enter the gravel driveway and pulled in the clutch lever. I rolled to a stop in a safe place and couldn't start the thing for anything or anyone.

Luckily I was able to call Ducati Assist, who had someone out to pick me and the bike up in an incredibly quick 2 hours  

The bike and I were driven back to the dealers (how humiliating) and they have had it all week. They've just gotten back to me and said that the regulator has packed in.

I guess my question is to you all, is this considered 'normal' for a bike that is only 2 1/2 years old (since the original sale date) and has only covered approximately 12,000 klms?

They say that the part alone will be at least $300, plus the labour & for a bike that is really only a few months outside of its warranty, I'm a little surprised that an electrical component this crucial to the bike has failed.

Has anyone had a similar experience, or even had Ducati support them with a warranty claim of this nature before?

[J5]

I guess my question is to you all, is this considered 'normal' for a bike that is only 2 1/2 years old (since the original sale date) and has only covered approximately 12,000 klms?

They say that the part alone will be at least $300, plus the labour & for a bike that is really only a few months outside of its warranty, I'm a little surprised that an electrical component this crucial to the bike has failed.

Has anyone had a similar experience, or even had Ducati support them with a warranty claim of this nature before?

you dont ride enough

noting unusual for reg rects to pack up

dont be surprised if you need a new battery as well

$300 for a genuine , or you could try aftermarket

http://www.ca-cycleworks.com/products/electrical?limit=all

i would try brad black here and see if he has one on shelf

its a quick and easy fitment anyway

[Buckethead]

It happens.

As evidence: http://www.ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=52701.0

It's a crap electrical design from the factory. The unit WILL work, but it doesn't like heat. If it gets hot and goes into thermal runaway, well, then...

There are several options:

1) Simply replace the stock unit in the stock location, in which case you'll be facing the same problem again eventually.

2) Replace the stock unit, but change the location to someplace that gets better airflow. Lots of people have done this, and I haven't heard of anyone who has done it having the same problem again. Writeup available here: http://www.ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=55417.0 There's also a writeup of what I did in my specific instance toward the end of the thread above. (LINK)

3) Switch to a different design. I've heard good things about Rick's MOSFET systems. (http://www.ricksmotorsportelectrics.com/proddetail.php?prod=10-125H&pmc=MDZEdWMxMDAwU3BvcnRDbGFzc2lj) But I don't have any personal experience with them.

[loony888]

make sure the earth to the frame has had the spring washer removed, ducati have asked it to be removed to give better contact. You could also add an extra earth from the body of the ecu to the battery to improve the bikes circuit, poor earths will fry reg/rec units.
A few months out of warranty you say? mate, i couldn't get any love from frasers on my 1098R bayliss and it was STILL UNDER WARRANTY! they're arseholes.

[dan_t]

Thanks everyone for your quick & quality input here - even if it isn't filling me with happiness!
At the moment, it's in the dealers & I believe they've already ordered the part to fix it.
I have very limited technical skills & even less tools and space to do any work myself. As such, I'm thinking that I'm about to get shafted on the cost to repair it, but at the very least I'll have the support from the dealer if it happens again in the near future (they did the work, they'll warrant the work).

[suzyj]

Where are you?

If you're in Sydney, I'd be more than happy to fit a new one for you.  It's an incredibly easy job.  $300 is obscene.

Here's the regulator I'm going to put into my 695:  http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/YAMAHA-SHINDENGEN-FH020AA-REGULATOR-W-CONNECTORS-REPLACES-FH012AA-/380431090327?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item589375c297#ht_1138wt_1144

Buy one of those.  Or alternatively, you're welcome to my stock regulator.

[brad black]

this guy also has them with the option of partly made kits - http://roadstercycle.com/Shindengen%20FH012AA%20Regulator%20upgrade%20kit.htm

i have been meaning to get some as i usually have the original style sh579 on the shelf but am out of them and had thought of going to the mosfet.  but have never quite got there.  if suzy says it's a good idea i guess i should.

suzy: do you have any thoughts on the roadstercycle man's use of ciruit breakers as opposed to an inline fuse or maxi fuse?  he thinks it's a good idea.

the jason fella has a kit with wiring and maxi fuse too, and some bad words to say about circuit breakers - http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/SHINDENGEN-MOSFET-FH020AA-REGULATOR-RECTIFIER-KIT-REPLACES-FH012AA-/360451544102?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item53ec961426

i like to go thru the original maxi fuse holder, but terminals in the right size to take two of the wires i use seem hard to get.  maybe i'll ebay that too, although it makes it hard when you don't understand electrical wire sizes.

[kyle]

Got a pic of the connector you need? I've got a serious supply of connectors/terminals/etc at work and should be able to help you out

[Speeddog]

The S4Rs S4Rt bikes seem to run the R/R hotter than previous models, I put it down to the tighter packaging letting even less air in to cool it.

Interested to see what y'all come up with for an improved R/R setup.

[Betty]

Dan, nothing to add to the comments from the intelligentsia ... just wanted to extend my sympathies.

I believe we were at the Mangrove Mountain crossroads when your bike came past. I had meant to post something when we got back ... but our day went sour too (non-bike related) and I only remembered seeing the bike when I read your post. Hope everything is sorted for your soon.

[suzyj]

this guy also has them with the option of partly made kits - http://roadstercycle.com/Shindengen%20FH012AA%20Regulator%20upgrade%20kit.htm

i have been meaning to get some as i usually have the original style sh579 on the shelf but am out of them and had thought of going to the mosfet.  but have never quite got there.  if suzy says it's a good idea i guess i should.

suzy: do you have any thoughts on the roadstercycle man's use of ciruit breakers as opposed to an inline fuse or maxi fuse?  he thinks it's a good idea.

I don't really have an opinion one way or the other, to be honest.  Fuses are nice because they're simple and straightforward, and it's easy to carry a replacement in the spare slot of the main fuseholder, but a circuit breaker would be cool too.

I guess one downside to circuit breakers it that they're very easy to reset, so if there's a fault you could cause serious damage (like a fire) resetting it continually.  Fuses, on the other hand, encourage you to track down the problem.

i like to go thru the original maxi fuse holder, but terminals in the right size to take two of the wires i use seem hard to get.  maybe i'll ebay that too, although it makes it hard when you don't understand electrical wire sizes.

Eastern Beaver has Metripack fuseholders which look rather nice:  http://www.easternbeaver.com/Main/Elec__Products/Connectors/R_R_Connectors/r_r_connectors.html

When I replace my RR as part of my loom refurb, I plan on removing the stock Ducati connectors and chucking them away, and just putting the heavy duty Furukawa connectors on the loom, so I can plug straight into the RR.  Alternatively I'd counsel ditching the stock RR connectors anyway and replacing them with quality in-line sealed ones, like for example the metripack connectors.

[brad black]

i like the maxi fuses too, which is why i have been buying the terminals.  that way i can disassemble the original holder, remove the original wires, heatshrink and leave them there so the loom is still all original and then run extra wires from reg to maxi fuse and maxi fuse to battery + to eliminate the loom.  but i seem to only be able to buy terminals in quite small and quite large locally.  i don't like adding extra bulky fuse holders if i can avoid it and this way i'm fitting terminals to wires, not butt joining wires which always makes me feel like it's a bit of a bodge.

aprilia use a normal 30a blade fuse size in their systems on the rsvr, so even the small size must be ok.

the white 3 pin connector from alternator to regulator are very reliable in my experience when they have 3 wires running through them.  2 wires in them is a guarantee to burn, but 3 is fine if they're kept clean and lubed.

i like leaving the original connectors in the loom as that way if someone gets stuck then they can refit an original regulator easily.  plus it gives the repairing shop the chance the bad mouth the idiot that fitted the wrong part previously, which many seem to like.

is there a standardised listing of sorts for what size wires are - ie, how they are referenced, how big they measure on the od of the plastic and the wire area?  seems every supplier uses a different system so i never know what the hell size i'm talking about.

guess i'd better order some of these FH020 anyway.

[kyle]

is there a standardised listing of sorts for what size wires are - ie, how they are referenced, how big they measure on the od of the plastic and the wire area?  seems every supplier uses a different system so i never know what the hell size i'm talking about.

What what?
There are a couple of standards for measuring CSA of cables; British SWG and metric.
Auto industry seem to use SWG mostly, whereas other electrical industries refer to the metric system.

[J5]

i found this the other day

http://eviltwinsbk.com/forumz/index.php?topic=276.0

quite informative about reg/rects

[suzyj]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_wire_gauge

When most people say "14 gauge" they're talking about AWG.

There is no standard for insulation thickness, though in general thicker insulation means higher voltage.

It's quite common for wire manufacturers to be overly generous regarding insulation, as at first glance, the wire looks to be heavier gauge.

The current a given wire gauge can carry depends on the temperature rise above ambient that you can tolerate, and what voltage drop you can tolerate.

Rules of thumb abound.  I generally use 10 AWG on 30A circuits, 14 AWG on 20A, and whatever suits the terminals I for lower current stuff.