Hello all;
Yesterday I went for a pretty hard ride through the country, averaging maybe 80kmph? Anyway I stopped after about an hour and a half to fill up and could smell burning plastic.
It was coming from underneath the heat sink on the front of the bike near the horn.. has anyone else had this problem? Is it anything to worry about?
Thanks guys

The only thing like that is when either my boots or my rain overpants started to melt on the exhausts - it'll happen after a 7 day holiday on the bike to P Island - you tend to find new ways to stretch on the bike!

Can't help with your particular problem, though my initial thoughts are maybe not cabling? I've not heard of issues like that before. Sorry can't be of more specific help.

The heat sink you mention sounds like your regulator/rectifier, these nornally get quite warm during operation, make sure that nothing is touching it and have a look to see if anything hasnt got too hot or melted. Do this before panic sets in  





                                 Mmick

Monstermick!
Im the owner of the black monster that you left that note on today, haha.
Thanks for that, this site is great.

Yeah it looks like the wires have been tucked under it on purpose, but Ive only had the bike a few months.. maybe the previous owner wired it all wrong (that would be the least worrying thing he has done to the bike)

Quote from: Vinnnn on February 09, 2010, 02:51:29 AM
Yeah it looks like the wires have been tucked under it on purpose, but Ive only had the bike a few months.. maybe the previous owner wired it all wrong (that would be the least worrying thing he has done to the bike)

Yep, that will do it, give yourself a little time and tackle the problem straight away otherwise it will lead to more problems. Nothing should be touching the reg/rec except where it bolts in and the wires that go into it.
Hope this helps.





                                      Mmick

Riding at speed = alternator running at full tilt = regulator working hard

check your regulator.  i bet it is failing.

Curious, when did a reg/rec smell like plastic burning?

Vinn would have posted something a bit different, maybe lights acting up or battery leaking or some such thing.

Quote from: Vinnnn on February 09, 2010, 02:51:29 AM

Yeah it looks like the wires have been tucked under it on purpose,

Looks like the problem to me.





                                       Mmick ( hope I didnt sound to gruff )

My reg on my 900ss burned out .  Smelt of plastic.  They are often filled with vinyl insulation

Quote from: ducatiz on February 09, 2010, 03:55:36 AM
My reg on my 900ss burned out .  Smelt of plastic.  They are often filled with vinyl insulation

Gotchya 




                                      Mmick

biggest problem with regulators is dirty ground make shore its clean 

Quote from: bikeless on February 09, 2010, 07:07:08 PM
biggest problem with regulators is dirty ground make shore its clean 

+1

Unbolt it from the frame and make sure it's not wet or corroded underneath. Like Baz says, it it'f not earthing properly it's gonna cause problems - cooling battery and burning out alternator kind of expensive problems. And getting hot is one of the symptoms. If it's hot enough to cause a burning smell, I'd guess it's already causing problems somewhere... If you want to do some more diagnostics, check the system voltage when the bike is revving (with the headlight _on_ if you've got a way to switch it off) - if you see anything more than 14.5V you've got a reg problem. Also, if you've got a battery you can see the fluid levels in, check that - if it's overcharging you'll be losing fluid...

big

Well, whatever it was, the bike didnt even light up when I put the key in this morning
Will take apart heat sink tonight and clean.. Might post some pictures if it looks really bad. Hopefully nothing a resolder cant fix..

as some of the guys said, sounds like a regulator gone, and may well have cooked your battery too.. did it on my old 900SS a few years ago, also fried some of the wiring in between... hope it's not, but sounds like it..

not sure how old your monster is but the single phase bikes would often have charging issues, the reg/rec isn't earthed very well and the earth that attaches to the neg terminal on the battery isn't enough, run an extra earth from one of the mounting bolts to the negative side of the battery to ensure a better charge rate at idle especially. also make sure the positive side is contacted well, i think the reg uses it as a voltage reference and a poor connection can lead to overcharging.
If the reg/rec is faulty and allows too much charge it can/will melt wires, the insulation in the back and boil the battery. if it doesn't allow enough your battery just goes flat.
If you're not sure your battery is ok, check the fluid level and top it up if necessary, then measure the voltage across the terminals, a healthy 12v battery should have between 13 to 14.5v, use the starter, if you get anything less than about 11 volts at the moment you hit the starter it's probably dropped a cell.

paul

Update: Opened the fuel tank, acid burn EVERYWHERE. Checked the charge on the battery and its completely dead and the cells have no water. Swapping the battery today (since its the easiest for me to fix), then the regulator tomorrow.. My poor baby.