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Series Reg/Rec or not

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Signal

Signal

Posted
Posted

I wanted to buy a series  reg /rec  for my recently purchased GS1000 before the stator cooks.

 After  searching Ricks Motor Sport in the US sell a series reg/rec but with shipping to NZ  the cost is prohibitive.

The Electrex World offering for the GS recommended by posters to this forum is the RR10. I looked on the Electrex world site but it does not state that if it is a series or shunt type.

SPS also sell the RR10 and have slightly more info but no definitive answer on its mode of operation.

I did not want to waste money on a beefier shunt type that still  overheats the stator.

I contacted Electrex World and the reply was the RR10 is a MOSFET series reg/rec. Being a MOSFET is a bonus decision made.

This is my first post to this forum hopefully it helps someone.

Dezza

Dezza

Posted
Posted

I use an Electrex RR and had zero problems. You may have to change the connector block but that's not difficult. Check your wiring and replace anything that looks remotely dodgy.

  • Like 1
Arttu

Arttu

Posted
Posted

What was the question? :D

Series regulator helps stator life if you have clearly less consumption than what the generator can produce. If you are consuming close to the full capacity of the generator all the time regulator type doesn't make much difference.

As @Gixer1460suggested one good alternative is to look for used OEM series regulators. There are few different series regulator models made by Shindengen used on some Yamahas and other bikes. Unfortunately these seem to be quite sought after so the prices can be relatively high. Be aware of cheap copies which are plentiful on the market! Shindengen shunt type MOSFET requlators are very reliable too and usually much cheaper on the second hand market.

  • Like 1
Jdgzz

Jdgzz

Posted
Posted

I have a 05 gsxf600  I changed the alternator on it and battery but it won’t hold a charge even I swear it worked for a few days and nothing was wrong until this morning I don’t get it 

coombehouse

coombehouse

Posted
Posted

To add to what has already been said regarding items from other bikes, I have used shindengen FH012 & FH020AA units. Can be had from Yamaha's & some hond*s.

Just trawl Eblag & look at the photos for the part number. You would also need  matching connectors available on AliExpress amongst others 

Or find yourself a super dream or cx500 unit, they were the fix back in the day.

bitzz

bitzz

Posted
Posted
On 11/26/2025 at 10:00 AM, coombehouse said:

I have used shindengen FH012 & FH020AA units. Can be had from Yamaha's & some hond*s.

If I was changing reg/rec on pretty well any bike i would be using a mosfet Shindegen. They ARE better. Mosfets use less power, so less heat, and switch faster than "normal" diodes... a LOT faster

They can be found on tons and tons of motors... motorcycles, agricultural equipment, UTVs... they can also be found on Aliexpress and Amazon (and those are all knock offs that don't work). They're NOT cheap, the cheapest one I can find in Canada is used on a CanAm UTV. The Yamaha part number is at least twice as much (they're all the same, just different part numbers. The FH020 unit is newer and has a little bit faster diodes. The plant where they made the FH012 got washed away in the Fukushima tsunami)

You can get a wiring kit off Aliexpress or there is a Triumph kit

All these regulators are "shunt", any permanent magnet alternator uses a shunt. The "series" refers to where in the circuit the regulator is. The Shindegens are parallel. Parallel results in less heat. 

Arttu

Arttu

Posted
Posted
5 hours ago, bitzz said:

All these regulators are "shunt", any permanent magnet alternator uses a shunt. The "series" refers to where in the circuit the regulator is. The Shindegens are parallel. Parallel results in less heat. 

Not correct. A shunt type regulator works by loading the alternator and keeping the voltage in the limits that way. A series regulator regulates voltage by controlling current going through it. So basically a shunt regulator keeps the alternator at full load all the time while a series regulator takes only what is needed to supply the loads on the bike. Shindengen makes both types and they both can be used with permanent magnet alternators.

  • Like 1
bitzz

bitzz

Posted
Posted
On 11/28/2025 at 4:33 AM, Gixer1460 said:

And to be technically correct - diodes don't switch, they either conduct a forward voltage / current or block it.

You win the pedantic award

Diodes SWITCH on and off... ON and power goes to the battery, off and the power goes to ground... so it is in fact SWITCHING... if we're using the english language here

Is the light switch on the wall called a "circuit interrupter"? That light switch doesn't SWITCH shit. Is a circuit breaker a switch?

SWITCH works in this case..

On 11/28/2025 at 3:08 AM, Arttu said:

A shunt type regulator works by loading the alternator and keeping the voltage in the limits that way.

On a permanent magnet alternator output voltage is determined by how much magnet goes by how much windings... so basically, all things being equal, the voltage/amperage of the alternator is dictated by the RPM. The regulator does not in any way vary the output. The shunt reg takes that output and regulates it. The original shunt reg was a stack of zenor diodes. A shunt regulates the power after the alternator makes it. 

What the regulator DOES is it SHUNTS excess power back to ground... hence it is called a shunt.

The other type of reg is a field reg. A field reg changes the power going through the rotor, thereby changing the output of the alternator. It changes the field in the rotor (something you can't do with a permanent magnet), more field = more output, less field + less output,  to regulate the output of the alternator: hence a field reg. A field reg regulates power as the alternator generates it, there is no excess power.

Most cars have a field reg, most bikes have a shunt reg. There are other forms of voltage regulation, but those are the two most popular and you'll find them on 99% of motors.

As to series and parallel: I'll leave it to yourselves to look into that. If you don't understand the difference of a shunt reg and a field reg: parallel and series is beyond this conversation.

Arttu

Arttu

Posted
Posted
16 hours ago, bitzz said:

As to series and parallel: I'll leave it to yourselves to look into that. If you don't understand the difference of a shunt reg and a field reg: parallel and series is beyond this conversation.

Not sure if it makes sense to continue this conversation... But let's try.

We can leave field controlled alternators and their regulators out of this discussion as obviously you can't use a field regulator with permanent magnet alternator.

As you said output power of a permanent magnet alternator depends on rpm. Power is voltage * current so for the same power you can have more voltage and less current or vice versa. A shunt regulator regulates voltage by increasing current by shunting it to the ground if the voltage tries to rise too high. So basically it keeps the alternator at full load all the time.

A series regulator works differently. It controls current going from the alternator to the bike system. If the charging voltage is too low it passes more current through and if voltage is too high it reduces the current. Load of the alternator varies depending on real consumption and voltage on alternator output can rise very high if the load is smaller than alternator output capacity. This kind series regulators are much less common on bikes but they exist.

  • 1 month later...
Suzukian

Suzukian

Posted
Posted (edited)

Stock Suzuki's of that era only regulated one leg of the stator, the other 2 were left to swing wildly.  I use Yamaha XS100 Reg/Rectifiers to fix the problems with these bikes.  They are over built, cheap, and regulate all 3 legs off the stator.  3 wires in, and +/- DC out, that simple.  The last one I had lasted 20 years.  I just picked up another one off of EBLAG for $35 bucks, came off an FJ big bore something or the other, looks exactly like that one I have, so no new mount needed.

 

The original system by Suzuki was poorly engineered.  They had something like 6 feet of wires going through the harness.  I run the stator wires directly to the Reg/Rect unit and the +/-  DC output directly  to the battery. Simplest fool proof method.  I lament all of the beautiful Suzuki's I could have purchased for virtually nothing at the time because of the charging problems.  Suzuki calls the alternator a "generator/alternator".  I've always found that to be strange.  In any event, simplify the wiring, and pull all of that leftover wire right out of the harness.  It's attached nothing, the gauge is too small, and it just isn't necessary and does nothing.  I used an Electrosport Stator.  I believed that is fried also. That lasted 20 years also.

Edited by Suzukian
Suzukian

Suzukian

Posted
Posted

Transistors are switches.  Diodes keep current going in one direction.  Zener Diodes are put in backwards, and their "Knee" voltage is calculated so that acts as a voltage regulator.  Old BSA motorcycles used 3 huge ones for that, and they were very problematic, as they ran very very hot.

 

This link provides an excellent tutorial on Zener Diodes:

https://granttiller.com/zener

krazy kat

krazy kat

Posted
Posted (edited)

i have been using shindengen FH-------- off yamaha's last one was from FJ1300 works well as others have said, cheap if you look around

Edited by krazy kat
spelling again
  • Like 1
  • 4 weeks later...

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