reg / rectifier question

Had a rectifier go down a few months ago and fitted this one then. All was well 'till today and i'm starting to panic as i'm off to the Dragon on Thursday !!

Had a 170 mile ride today and my heated jacket stopped working at about 130 miles. Think the battery was drained but i'm not sure. gonna charge it tonight and try the jacket again in the morning. Hopefully all will be well then.

But my question is about the electrical connections to the rectifier.
This is what it looks like



When i got home i checked and the bolt that holds the rec to the frame (the right one in the picture) was very loose. The left one wasn't too tight either !! Would the fact that the right bolt was loose cause the rec to not work properly, seeing as it has the wire clamped under it and that wire was not making good contact ?

That would make sense to me. Get the multimeter on the battery before you do anything else and see what the difference is after you've been out on it for half an hour. If that's what it was the battery should be better charged now you've tightened the bolt. If the battery is fine try your jacket again. Could it possibly a bad connection to your jacket?

First option seems more likely, but you never know with electrics. Devils magic that stuff is!!!!

I think the bolts earth the unit so if the bolts were loose it Id of thought it wouldn't be working properly but personally id take the unit off give it and the area a good clean get some contact cleaner and a bud on those connections. Then run some wet and dry over the earth loop that attaches to the right one and even run a tap through the frame mount to make sure all the connections are good.

but that's just me

also those aren't the original bolts, or even like the originals..... pick up some 6x12 or 14 flanged hex bolts off eBay.

again just me.

if you need or want to try another rectifier I have one for an early CBF600 - not sure if they are exactly the same (you might want to check if you want it) but the size, shape and connector block are a spot on match.

If it was really loose then, yes, that might have been the problem.

From my experiences with the 'standard' CB500 charging system I concluded that unless you are doing some fair revs then it isn't capable of supporting the headlight + heated grips, let alone a jacket too.

Other people have upgraded the alternator (and rectifier regulator) to overcome these problems.

I suspect you will be fine, as long as your journey includes enough motorway....

The rectifier has got a heat sink on its rear. The common problem is dirt and rust between rectifier and frame so that the rectifier will overheat. It is recommended to clean the surfaces and add some heat transfer paste in between. If the screws have become loose, the same overheating occurs.

The green ground wire on the right hand side is the one that leads to the side stand switch. Although it is mounted with the same screw it has no electrical connection to the rectifier.

Be advised that in some cases the alternator wire can be crushed by the chain drive and its cover, so check the wires, too.

A bike mechanic I know suggested running a lead from one of the bolts direct to the negative terminal of the battery as poor earthing is apparently a well known issue with the CB500 rectifier. I've done it and it might help your problems.