My first go at fixing my bike on my own

[macros87]

so I have bought zxr250 to replace my previous (stolen) one. and after a couple of days of short rides, the bike wont idle instead turns off, lights would be dim, indicators blink slowly, the bike wouldn't turn over.

told my friend who use to have one about it and it was a dajavu to him. he said it was the same problems he had when his regulator rectifier died. spoke to some people who said its actually a fairly common problem on ZXR(250). turns out it was indeed the regulator rectifier.

this is where it gets tricky, i decided i could have a go at this on my own after reading the service manual back and forth. i have virtually no experience. from there i called the whole country trying to find a reg rec for less than the quoted 280 from red baron. turns out it wasn't hard once you knew who was stocking new parts.

so with a brand new silver Argentinian made rectifier, I now have to do some rewiring, it looked like at some point the cables had an awesome short circuit and had been tapped up really shittily, the reg rec also looked like it had been replaced before but I doubt they rewired, just botched it up and made a mess and I am sure it lasted them some time, but id rather this lasts for ages when i do it.

so now I am going to try and fix the wires... the melted plastic socket, the half soldered wires... well the mess really...

so this is where you come in, I suspect I will run into difficulties, etc... and I hope I can get help from here as I go, my dear mother works at a car air conditioning place and they deal with electrics so I will have some help from them, but not tons, summer is kinda here which makes them really busy.

[macros87]

1st photo is the melted regulator rectifier
2nd photo the bottom where the regulator rectifier sits that had a bit of melted plastic on it.
3rd photo the socket that goes into the reg rec, melted and broken everywhere fixed by previous owner with freaging tape.
4th photo, 5th photo, 6th photo all the same socket from different angles so you can see how it was stuck together.

by the way any suggestions what would have made it short circuit like that? would the cables short circuiting screw the reg rec? the reg rec caused the cable damage or a third factor?

[Rhys]

re shorting ,when the wires get old the rubber insulation gets brittle and cracks, so you then have exposed wire that can short, jointers are the same

[hayd3n]

take your time
keeping the colors the same as factory will make it easier to find any faults in the future
have a look online for a workshop manuel it will usually give you a wiring diagram

[macros87]

re shorting ,when the wires get old the rubber insulation gets brittle and cracks, so you then have exposed wire that can short, jointers are the same

having a closer look at the cables makes what you said seem very likely, I am trying to replace the cables with as close as i can in colour.

I was given this little contraption that you insert cables into so that you dont have to solder cables together, and it holds them with screws, it is something i would probably like to use in the future but i have no idea what its called! anyone can help? the photo with the orage thing is it, the others are photos comparing the socket I have replaced.



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[ellipsis]

....commonly called a chocolate box....maybe not the best idea for these types of stuations...there is nothing like a good soldered joint...whether it is soldered to a spade type fitting or wires directly soldered to each other...its a handy skill to have and doesnt take long to suss....

[macros87]

....commonly called a chocolate box....maybe not the best idea for these types of stuations...there is nothing like a good soldered joint...whether it is soldered to a spade type fitting or wires directly soldered to each other...its a handy skill to have and doesnt take long to suss....

it is only holding three wires for now, the plan is to have it soldered soon so its only temporary... thanks for the name though... chocolate box huh? sort of a deceiving name isnt it? whats a spade fitting like? i only ever had the soldered directly to each other concept in mind.

I have put the bike back together and it should be fixed in theory. but i am TERRIFIED to start it and test it....

[ellipsis]

....people like you who want to learn, generally do...carry on...

[jellywrestler]

....commonly called a chocolate box.

you're new to this I'm picking. Bare feet in the workshop!!!! anyway the orange thingamy is a strip connector or chocolate block (not box)
good luck and make sure you clean the metal surface where the regulator mounts as this is important on some for conducting electrickery and also very important for transferring the heat produced away from the box


check the batteries good a dodgy battery is one reason the rect/reg can cook

[notme]

Here's the usual troubleshooting chart in case you don't have a copy - as soon as you have the bike started and running, run through the chart to see if everything is sweet.

If you are scared to power it up, you have not checked your work enough - check it over again carefully, if you think you have missed something or wired something wrong refer to your notes/photos whatever you have until you are happy. When you are happy with your work you have no reason to be scared, because you know that you have done everything to the best of your ability and the only thing you can do is crank the beast over :-)

Run through the chart for more reassurance - if the chart doesn't show you a fault then there isn't one, and you can sit back and be proud of what you have done - fixed your machine, paid less than you could have for someone else to fix it, and learned something.

[macros87]

....people like you who want to learn, generally do...carry on...

yeah finally got past that and turned it on but first followed this advice



good luck and make sure you clean the metal surface where the regulator mounts as this is important on some for conducting electrickery and also very important for transferring the heat produced away from the box


check the batteries good a dodgy battery is one reason the rect/reg can cook

so I had to take it apart again to clean under the reg/rec, it never even crossed my mind that might have made a difference. while the tank was off i thought I might as well look at the photos again double check I attached all the right cables together just one more time.

checking the battery was the very first thing I did. I hoped it just had a bad battery. that would have been a cheaper/quicker/easier yet less satisfying fix.


Here's the usual troubleshooting chart in case you don't have a copy - as soon as you have the bike started and running, run through the chart to see if everything is sweet.

If you are scared to power it up, you have not checked your work enough - check it over again carefully, if you think you have missed something or wired something wrong refer to your notes/photos whatever you have until you are happy. When you are happy with your work you have no reason to be scared, because you know that you have done everything to the best of your ability and the only thing you can do is crank the beast over :-)

Run through the chart for more reassurance - if the chart doesn't show you a fault then there isn't one, and you can sit back and be proud of what you have done - fixed your machine, paid less than you could have for someone else to fix it, and learned something.

I must admit I didn't have a look at this comment in time but had I seen it i totally would have used your troubleshooting flowchart, I had a look through it and I am going to be keeping around just in case. but i did have a look at the cables again.

The result

well I took it to work but I had fully charged the battery and I don't have access to a voltmeter until tomorrow, so I couldn't really tell if it was charging but it was functioning normally, but I expected it to until the battery runs low at least, took it back home from work, took it for a random little ride, left it idling for like five minutes with lights on and indicating, it all seems to be working great, it all points to the battery charging, I will double check it tomorrow, but I think by the time I ride it there to get it checked out I will know for sure anyway.

thanks everyone who helped me out! i will keep you posted with how it goes from here

[notme]

Run through the chart when you have access to a multimeter - and make it sooner rather than later.

A $10 multimeter might save you a new battery, reg/rect or whatever, which will be a lot more than $10!

The chart guides you down towards a fault, so all you need to do is follow the first few tests and if everything is fine as you suspect, then you won't get past the stage of simply putting a meter across the battery and varying engine revs.

Just to reiterate - following the first few steps of the chart is cheap, simple, takes 5 mins, and will tell you whether it's really all OK or not - DO IT, then you will know for sure that you fixed it :-)

[macros87]

did it, it seems to be definitely fixed. I am also going to get them soldered some time this week. next on the list replace the couple of bulbs that burned out in the gauges. replace exhaust canister then... well.. engine top end rebuild? but that will be left to a mechanic :) yeah I know its a longish list.

[notme]

Good to hear - and well done for fixing it yourself :-)

The connections you made in the junction box don't need soldering - in fact soldered connections can end up causing you problems in the future. I'd replace the junction box with crimp joiners, and that's only because the screws may come loose with vibration.

Crimp joiners are shown in the very right hand compartment of this set: (make sure you use a real crimping tool not pliers, or as I once saw - a hammer!) http://www.jaycar.co.nz/ShowLargephoto.asp?id=13110&PRODNAME=Automotive%20Crimp%20Tool%20with%20Connec tors&IMAGE=

[macros87]

Good to hear - and well done for fixing it yourself :-)

The connections you made in the junction box don't need soldering - in fact soldered connections can end up causing you problems in the future. I'd replace the junction box with crimp joiners, and that's only because the screws may come loose with vibration.

Crimp joiners are shown in the very right hand compartment of this set: (make sure you use a real crimping tool not pliers, or as I once saw - a hammer!) http://www.jaycar.co.nz/ShowLargephoto.asp?id=13110&PRODNAME=Automotive%20Crimp%20Tool%20with%20Connec tors&IMAGE=

Actually I just got exactly that done today, at the place my mum works they have a set exactly like that one of their technicians did it for me in like ten minutes.

when I put that bike back together today, I was happy to know I wasn't going to be taking it apart for a good LONG while.

Thanks for the help man :D