GSXR600 scorched reg/rec and wiring - Mitigations?

I had my Reg/Rec fail on the way to work yesterday (only 1.5 miles mostly downhill to go after the battery died), and I need some ideas to prevent this from happening again. The reg sits under the tail, and it's bolted/body grounded to the subframe. As the wiring is a bit melted, I need to circumvent the plug and go direct.
Options:

1. Solder all connections and stagger/separate and insulate
2. Butt Splice connections (staggered, of course)
3. Spade connections per wire (least preferred)

What's the preferred connection method?

Should I move the unit into the open air as well as run a dedicated ground from the reg/rec to the engine cases (effectively direct to battery ground) to prevent overheating, or is there another factor that contributes to the reg/rec melting/failing?

Any other considerations or modifications you would recommend? The output wires from the reg/rec are unharmed, it was the alternator/stator side that failed and melted the plug, but I'm still considering hard wiring the bike side connections. Yay or nay?

 

I've used a 3 pin weather pack connector in that instance and it's held up just fine.

 

Use a connector. You can get the connector and pins from a dealer who sells K&L Supply. Upgrade to the Mosfet R/R. Move it out from the upper shock mount are to the front of the bike where it can cool.

 

Get a good quality connector if you're going that route, bad connectors adds resistance and ultimately heat, it's all downhill from there. I'd use a bit of dielectric grease to help with fretting.

 

Why is it mounted under the rear tail? Sounds like a terrible place for air flow. Also I noticed my connector had the starting to melt brown look, soldered the wires and seems good to go.

 

Do you have any more info on the Mosfet for a 2005 GSXR600, or are they all the same? Any links?

And if I move it from under the tail, then I need to build a harness extension, because I can't reroute the wiring harness (that I can see) to allow an installation point other than on the back of the subframe.

I mounted it where the wiring plug ended up. It wasn't installed when I got the bike, so I just sorta figured I would put it at the end of the wire and go from there... It appears that I need to rethink my strategy.

What's the failure mode on these things? After picking apart the crumbling connector, I noticed that the AC wires were smoked but the DC (output) wires are in good shape. This leads me to believe that it failed, then started smoking at the connection. I know that it was a good connection (at least well inserted, not loose), and the grounding point is as good as a direct connection to the battery. Is it a matter of overheating internally, shorting out, and then the incoming AC overwhelms the connections and lights up the night?

 

This place offers Mosfet conversion kits. Not the only place to get everything you need but makes it easy. http://www.roadstercycle.com/index.htm Mosfet is just a newer type of transistor that creates much less heat so less of a need to relocate your R/R. Also use this fault finding chart for your charging system to eliminate any other problems that can cause a R/R to burn out. http://www.electrosport.com/technical-resources/diagnosis-center/fault-finding-guide

 

I didn’t realize it was an 05, it’s the 06+ bikes that had all the issues.

I’d just buy a new one, solder thecables and give it a try. It might have just gone bad from age rather then design.

 

Thanks for the link. I just bought a replacement on Amazon, if it fails I'll go for the upgrade. I'm going to push this one out into the airflow with a longer homemade harness. I tested the system and determined that the stator is functional (good resistance with no grounding, and good voltage at idle and 5k RPM), but the stator itself melted the AC wires. And it's well grounded (or was), just hidden under the tail section.

Honestly, the prices for the RR on the link you provided is 1/3 the value of the bike, so that's a tough nut to crack...

Um, the RR is only two months old...

I guess airflow does matter for these things.

 

Ha ha, true enough. In that case just keeping the connectors clean by disconnecting every year or 6 months and spraying with contact cleaner will help a lot to preserve your R/R.

 

Assuming it’s a race bike not having lights and what not means that it has to dissipate more heat. Personally I ran one of those for years with no issues. Hope yours gets sorted soon.

 

It's my daily driver, hence my rush to get it sorted out.

 

Also https://easternbeaver.com/Main/Elec__Products/Connectors/R-R_Connectors/r-r_connectors.html

 

Nice stuff, thanks. I really like their relay setup. I might need that for one of my projects.

 

I've been using Ricks mosfet regulators in all my Suzukis. They have a upgraded connector kit (very beefy connectors) as an option to replace the melted stuff and I just run all new heavy duty wire between the stator and regulator. Never any problems. I've got about 80k miles on one of my Ricks units. Personally I think the stock Suzuki wiring does not take a bad OEM regulator failure well and will almost always melt the 3pin connector when the stock regulator goes.

 

Ricks is good stuff.

 

Its funny..my 02 750 started doing that last season..got a new stator from Ricks and a rectifier and it was fine..now its doing that again..I seem to smell anti-freeze but its not coolant leaking..I guess that is the plug melting..haven't looked into it yet due to RL goings on..this thread is a big help.

 

Yup, I just threw a Rick's R/R and stator on my 06. Have only started the bike up since installing but all seems to be working well.