Hello everyone, I know there are many posts about voltage regulators but I haven't found one talking about the question I have. I have a 1997 Touring SLE 500F. Riding it on Friday, the heated grips got so hot that they melted to my gloves. Of course, all the bulbs also burned which led me to the voltage regulator failing. Went to my dealer and they said the Bombardier ones are discontinued so they sold me a Kimpex version. Installed it no problem exactly as the old one was but before throwing bulbs in, I decided to check voltage at the headlight connection. Put the sled up on a stand and checked AC voltage at various RPMs. For the most part, it was staying under 15 volts per the service manual but every so often, there was a short blip to 18 volts. Is this normal behaviour? I cleaned the ground and mounting location before installing the new VR and checked resistance between the VR casing and negative on battery - 0 ohms - so I think I have a good ground. I threw some new bulbs in and rode around the yard several times at various RPMs and so far so good but the 18 volt blip here and there is worrying me.
Voltage Regulator Questions
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18v is not so bad, lights will handle it no problem, when you get a bad regulator they jump to over 40v, that's why everything blows.
After having several Kimpex and SPI die on me I decided to have a second regulator running at the same time just to make sure, it does not seem to be affecting any having two in parallel.
The second one is wired in near the CDI box and not under the engine.
I test them several times a year.
After having several Kimpex and SPI die on me I decided to have a second regulator running at the same time just to make sure, it does not seem to be affecting any having two in parallel.
The second one is wired in near the CDI box and not under the engine.
I test them several times a year.
Thanks for the responses; all seems ok for now. I haven’t received my replacement handle bar warmers yet but the thumb warmer thankfully didn’t melt and seems to be working fine. Anyone know why the VRs fail so frequently? Thinking of keeping a spare in the toolbox along with extra bulbs
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That's the type of trial & testing I enjoy. Can you elaborate on your testing?
I have seen two VRR connected in parallel from an RM Stator YouTube video, but I never tried it.
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Testing is simple, disconnect one and test voltage, then disconnect the other and test again.
Strangely since I have been running two I have not one fail on me, going on 4 years now, before I would blow at least one a year.
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