Topic: The $6 Charging System Output Improvement Mod

[Deltarider]

I heard that some are working at full constantly...

Yeah... I also remembered that. I thought I had read it in the German site, but I could not find it. 

burning the excess voltage to ground running very hot.

You certainly do not want that.

The old Honda throttling design by the field coil is good.

Yep, so far I did not have to replace anything.

[PeWe]

It is the wiring thst can cause issues.
Corroded connectors, grouding points.
Flimsy sockets in need to be squeezed tighter, aftermarket is thinner/weaker.
Ground wires not properly ground everything as designed.
Handlebar switches with weak connections causing voltage drops.
Ignition switch with bad contact points, also causing drops.

All bullet plugs are crap, too weak. But stock looking harnesses with slim connectors take less space in headlight bucket.
My K6 has thicker bullet plugs that take more space. Will not open up.

Ideas about absolute stock look electrical harness has started to move out from my head (again). It can work really well if wires and connectors have good contact.

When I measured the ground, I remembered the max value for PE (GNYE wires) at 0.1 ohm for the entire circuit from electrical device to PE bar.
I'm happy with 0.2 Ohm conductivity on my bikes ground wiring.

[dazemc]

I heard that some are working at full constantly...

Yeah... I also remembered that. I thought I had read it in the German site, but I could not find it. 

PeWe quoted a post from HondaMan earlier in this thread. I had asked if keeping the field coil in a constant 'on' state has wear effects too. Definitely does! Your right, the excess voltage goes to ground and produces heat but, it also goes back into the alternator, causing excessive heat there as well.

More good info to this thread
http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php/topic,43684.msg453904.html#msg453904

Sent from my SM-N950U1 using Tapatalk

[PeWe]

Got some parts in my postbox.
Need alu plate, heatsink paste and a connector that fits the main harness.
Or just crimp flat connectors, connect them and cover with epoxy to create a housing possible to disconnect and connect again.
Hopefully road test this year.

[Erny]

Inspired by this information about Schottky rectifier chip (many thanks, American Locomotive!!!), I got 3 rectifier chips for testing.

My main goal was to heal or improve weak charging on my CB550K.
Compare to stock I have H4 bulb headlight, 3 relays (each consumes apprx 330mA, so 1A total ~12W), LED bulbs in tail light and gauges and Boyer electronic ignition with stock coils.
My problems was(!) that when I was starting with fully charged battery I always arrived back with less charged one. I can behaviour as I have V-meter installed between gauges. Simply, under 4K RPM, there is no effective charging, especially when I did some km cruising in city (traffic lights etc). And if I stopped/start using starter several times during ride it was even worse, arring home with battery sometimes below 12V!

So, to make my story short - I had quite some expectation to improve charging in lower RPMs (less voltage drop on rectifier).

First I had to address heatsink and fixation of chip to it. I did not find proper "spring" or spring plate in my garage, so I decided to use only heatsink paste and JBweld for it. Idea was to make test sample/prototype and install it paralell to stock rectifier (on top) to have stokc one "handy' if it fails on the road, jut by reconnection of connector. I used connector housing from old fuse holder and new faston male pins. See pics how it look like

Testing:
Yesterday first ride (40 miles in total) - I immidiately saw result after start on voltmeter - big improvement!!! System starts charging in lower RPMs, approx 800-1200 RPMs sooner than with stock one!
I was bit afraid about tempeprature and heatsink effectiveness of my JB Weld solution -> right after ~20miles ride I removed cover and checked temp of chip/heatsink by finger - it was just normal temp, even not warm - promising!

Today longer ride (~130miles), all worked perfectly, I did not check temperature anymore. So, I have no more stress anymore about battery charging on my normal rides. 
Will keep testing it and later (or maybe not, if it will not fail ?  ) will do final version that will come in place of stock rectifier.

=> I highly recommend it for 500/550 for those who observe similar charging issues like me 

[PeWe]

Good input!
I have not built mine yet. Too much focus on jetting all year and head replacement the last month.

I had planned to place the chip against an alu plate as cooler, another small plate about 20mm wide, 50mm long placed over the chip fixed by 2 screws clamping the chip in place.

I have not found a new connector yet. I do not want to cannibalize on an old rectifier.

I must look for the connector asap.

- Did you need to adjust max charging voltage on the regulator?

I use a GEL battery and they must not get over 14.4V, 14.2 is better according to what I have read.

[Erny]

Changing of rectifier does not affect regulator in any way, no need to do anything

If you find connector housing, let me know, I'll build another one for my 750K7

[Deltarider]

Good info, Erny! Although I have no charging problems and return from every ride with a better charged battery than I started of with, this looks like a nice tinkerjob for the winter months ahead anyway. I mean, isn't this what we all want for our world: less heat? I even might make one myself and use the heatsink that came with the Velleman K2543 kit (electronic transistor ignition). I have never needed that heatsink as I used an aluminium box and its lid to cool my Darlingtons. What do you think? It's the finned black alu part on top. It measures 70X35 mm.

[Erny]

Sure, you can use it, but it will not fit into space on top of stock rectifier w/o significant modification - you need to drill 8mm hole and have place to fit chip plus fix it to heatsink. I can measure my when next time in garage.
But if you fit instead of stock one, I see no problem

Would be good to find some elegant and proffessional way to fit chip onto heatsink

[Deltarider]

Thanks again, Erny. The way you've done it, looks like a clever job. BTW, would it be possible to list the exact electronic parts one needs? I consider ordering them from Conrad, if they have them.

[Erny]

Just rectifier chip, see first post : IXYS FUS-0045B

[PeWe]

The diode is important too. See earlier in the thread.

[Erny]

I dropped that diode. If chip fails I'll reconnect back stock rectifier

[Erny]

Just in garage now - heatsink I installed is 60x32mm, height 16mm. It can he higher but you need to anticipate way to install and tighten nut as there is limited space (I had to remove spring washer due to heatsink thickness)

I found connector housings at 4into1 : https://4into1.com/locking-connector-kit-6-3mm-250-series-6-pin/

In fact you need only "male" part of that pair

[Deltarider]

So my 'Velleman' heatsink could serve. I love it when I can (re)use old parts lying around. Muchas gracias! How about shipping costs for that connector?

[PeWe]

Just in garage now - heatsink I installed is 60x32mm, height 16mm. It can he higher but you need to anticipate way to install and tighten nut as there is limited space (I had to remove spring washer due to heatsink thickness)

I found connector housings at 4into1 : https://4into1.com/locking-connector-kit-6-3mm-250-series-6-pin/

In fact you need only "male" part of that pair

Thanks for the information.
I have found lots of connector kits, but wrong side only, the female.
I'll do another search. Good to know that 4-1 sell.

The issue here is customs for goods outside EU, around $15US minimum or 31% of the total.

[Deltarider]

On second thoughts, I consider not buying anything from US since they played that dirty trick that costed Philips € 450.000.000. So US will be on the list, next to China. That will teach them!

[American Locomotive]

Sorry I've been AWOL for so long - life gets in the way sometimes! Anyways, I've put about 500+ miles on the rectifier + protection diode setup, and it has performed flawlessly so far. Battery voltage definitely stays higher at low speed, especially during days where I'm making a lot of very short trips with a lot of stops and I'm starting the bike often.

[PeWe]

No speeding tickets when the charging system will work while cruising in legal speed!

[Maraakate]

Bumping this.  Kept this one bookmarked.  For those who have done the mod is it still holding up for you?  I may make one this year.  I don't have problems since everything is stock but would be nice to put less load on components.

[PeWe]

I have not built one yet. Too much  other things to fix.

I have 2 rectifier circuits and clamping diodes.

Only the connector that fits stock main harness missing. I do not want to change stock harness connector.

My idea is an additional rectifier. If needed plug in the old.

[Maltboy]

I wonder how well this mod compares to the aftermarket combo units like Mike's.  Are they roughly the same efficiency/performance?  Am I talking apples and oranges?

[PeWe]

See first post about the improvement.
Another is #105
Hondaman commented this as a good improvement for CB5xx

[Maltboy]

See first post about the improvement.
Another is #105
Hondaman commented this as a good improvement for CB5xx

PeWe, if I understand the first post, he's comparing his setup with a stock rectifier.  Am I missing something?

I'm assuming Mike's combo units use modern electronics, but they're probably not the same as this setup.  I'm wondering if there's much difference in efficiency between the two.  Is this setup more efficient than a modern electronic combo unit?  It's definitely cheaper, which is a big plus.

[PeWe]

The difference is better charging on lower revs.
At 4000rpm stock will charge good enough.
Another thing when cruising longer time on 2000-3500rpm.

This rectifier has less losses as described in the beginning and Hondaman's comments.
Stock regulator work fine.