[Reveille]

Silly question, are you discussing replacing the shunt style rectifier with a mosfet style? I did this on a dr650 and it was a great upgrade and ran much cooler producing steady dc voltage. Iirc, I used a Honda cbr600rr takeoff and it was a quality piece. I ordered a matching connector to make it a clean install.

 

[Border Dave]

Silly question, are you discussing replacing the shunt style rectifier with a mosfet style? I did this on a dr650 and it was a great upgrade and ran much cooler producing steady dc voltage. Iirc, I used a Honda cbr600rr takeoff and it was a quality piece. I ordered a matching connector to make it a clean install.

Not a silly question at all. I am looking to replace the factory KLR voltage regulator (shunt style) with a series regulator. I believe that all MOSFET style regulators are still shunt style. I want a series regulator that will allow the stator to run cooler by only drawing the current that the bike needs, similar to an automobile.

With the shunt style (including MOSFET versions) the stator is forced to produce the maximum current at all times. Crazy, huh? Whatever power the bike doesn’t use, the shunt regulator burns it up in the form of heat.

With a series regulator, not only the stator, but also the regulator usually run a lot cooler, with the possible exception of when the demand on the stator is at it’s peak.

David

 

[Reveille]

Ah, I understand now. I honestly don't know much about the inner workings of these. I do know the mosfet never got hot like the one I replaced and put out a steady 14.4 vdc at all rpms. On the DR650, it helped since the stator didn't have much spare to run accessories. I'd be curious to know what style the gen 3 uses since the stator has a much higher output. It's also a behemoth. Every bit as big as the one I had on my super tenere.

 

[DPelletier]

Tom is right in that I'm looking to replace my factory shunt type voltage regulator with a series type that allows the stator to run cooler and last longer. I plan on switching my lights out for L.E.D.'s and that would put an enormous strain on the factory regulator.

I'm just lurking as electronic work is my Kryptonite and I'd sooner rebuild a KLR engine or attempt a triple jump on a Z50 as try to figure out what you all are going on about, but this statement has me concerned - I've been running JNS LED headlights and WOW LED taillights on both my Gen1 KLR's for several years now with all the stock electrickery in place; this is the first time in 15 years someone's raised a concern about this .....at least that I've noticed. should I be concerned?

On edit; Post #22 and 23 were made while I was typing - I will monitor my regulator for excess heat though I've never noticed anything amiss.


Dave

 

[Border Dave]

I'm just lurking as electronic work is my Kryptonite and I'd sooner rebuild a KLR engine or attempt a triple jump on a Z50 as try to figure out what you all are going on about, but this statement has me concerned - I've been running JNS LED headlights and WOW LED taillights on both my Gen1 KLR's for several years now with all the stock electrickery in place; this is the first time in 15 years someone's raised a concern about this .....at least that I've noticed. should I be concerned?

Dave

Theoretically, your regulator should be producing a lot more heat. Have you put your hand on it after your bike's been running a while? If it's not too hot, then it shouldn't be a problem. Try it and let us know. I'm curious.

 

[Border Dave]

Update on this. I had just about decided that I was going to purchase a Compu-Fire 55402, but after reading many forums I found that Polaris came out with a new series regulator around 2017 or 2018. Their part number for it is 4016868. It has comparable specs to the Shindengen SH847 in that it is 3 phase, can handle up to 50 amps, and is about the same size as the SH847. I looked up pricing on it and it has an MSRP of $119.95. That's a lot better than the Compu-fire, which as of right now is running about $190. I had almost hit the buy button for the Polaris part when I came across a few used ones on Ebay. These were genuine Polaris regulators, not the Chinese knock-offs that are actually shunt regulators masquerading as the more expensive Polaris parts. I ended up ordering one for under $30, plus a regulator link harness for another $27. It will take a few weeks for both parts to get to me. In the meantime, I'm going to order the LED headlight from JNS and the WOW taillight conversion from Happy Trails. I still haven't decided exactly where I'm going to mount the regulator, but I'll worry about that when I get it. I'll keep everyone posted on the installation.

 

[Border Dave]

I received the used Polaris regulator today. Here are pics of it and I measured it, just in case anyone else is looking to mount one on their motorcycle. I still need to figure out a way to mount it on my KLR650 and am waiting on more parts to arrive.

4 5/16" x 4" + another 13/16" for the connectors x 1 5/8". The mounting holes are 3 1/4" apart (center to center).

 

[Border Dave]

I did a mock-up installation today. I was able to test the Polaris regulator and it puts out more voltage than the factory regulator. At around 3300 rpms, the voltage peaks around 13.65 volts. At idle, it puts out about 12.7 volts. I thought that was a bit low until I put the factory regulator back in and tested it. At idle, I was only getting about 12.3 volts and had to rev it out to about 4000 rpms before it topped out at around 13.4 volts. For those of you who've checked their running voltage, does this seem normal?

EDIT: I wrote down the wrong numbers. I've updated this thread with the correct readings below.

 

[pdwestman]

You should be seeing a peak voltage of 14.0 - 15.0 @ 4000rpm.

I think that your bike may have a weak alternator.

You need to test the AC voltage output of all 3 pairings of the Yellow leads disconnected from the regulator. Should put out about 35-40 volts AC @ 4000rpm.
You can also test the resistance between pairings ( 0.3 - 1.0 ohms) & resistance to ground should be Infinite (any continuity to ground it is short circuited, Bad).

 

[Reveille]

Also your meter may be a bit off? Is it a true rms volt meter? Something isn't right because I see mid 14vdc readings with the bike started.

 

[Border Dave]

Also your meter may be a bit off? Is it a true rms volt meter? Something isn't right because I see mid 14vdc readings with the bike started.

I've checked it and my meter seems to be accurate. I have updated readings below.

 

[Border Dave]

You should be seeing a peak voltage of 14.0 - 15.0 @ 4000rpm.

I think that your bike may have a weak alternator.

You need to test the AC voltage output of all 3 pairings of the Yellow leads disconnected from the regulator. Should put out about 35-40 volts AC @ 4000rpm.
You can also test the resistance between pairings ( 0.3 - 1.0 ohms) & resistance to ground should be Infinite (any continuity to ground it is short circuited, Bad).

Thanks for your reply. This may be very helpful. I retook readings and here's what I saw:


DC readings:

Polaris Regulator 12.9v at idle (around 1250 rpms), 13.7v at 2000 rpms, 15.2v at 4000 rpms.

Factory Regulator 12.4-12.6v at idle, 13.6v at 2000 rpms, 14.0v at 4000 rpms.


AC readings from stator:

10.35, 10.2, 10.65vac at idle, 11.5, 11.0, 11.5vac at 2000 rpms, 9.7-11.74, 10.9-11.9, 10.9-12.0vac at 4000 rpms. At 4000 rpms the AC voltage was bouncing around quite a bit.

What do you make of those numbers?

EDIT: Here is the resistance between each of the 3 wires coming from the stator: .7-.8 ohm, .8 ohm, .8-.9 ohm. There is no continuity to ground on any of those wires.

 

[PeteK]

Possible it’s a bad Polaris regulator. You do not want more than 14.5 volts. That will overcharge the battery and eventually damage it.