Anyone have specs on just how hot the Regulator can get before it fries?

Haven't had the problem till now.
Got off a ride the other night about 30 miles.
The side of the subframe that the regulator is mounted too was hot to touch.
My speedo healer overheated and quit working. :shock:
The side of the bike was hot to the touch.

I parked it and have yet to go back out and start pulling it apart.
I KNOW what I'm going to find.
Just delaying having to deal with it :roll:

I was just about to finish hooking up the NOS system :!:
The bottle will be located in the trunk.
A friend here had his bottle blow over the weekend due to
it overheating in his garage.:!: :!:
I sure don't want that happening while riding :shock: :shock:

Yea I could cut out the connector and hard wire it myself but that wont stop the oil from coming up the wire. Are the 05s fixed or what? I need to find out what will permanently fix this and my shop will give me the stuff I need. I talked to them today and they said I was the first one to complain. These guys around here will just ride their bikes until they quit then worry about patching them up then. apparently they dont come to this or they cant read, the latter being the most likely.

Yea I could cut out the connector and hard wire it myself but that wont stop the oil from coming up the wire. Are the 05s fixed or what? I need to find out what will permanently fix this and my shop will give me the stuff I need. I talked to them today and they said I was the first one to complain. These guys around here will just ride their bikes until they quit then worry about patching them up then. Apparently they dont come to this site or they cant read, the latter being the most likely.

Got mine back today and the parts are replaced with the exact same parts as before. This weekend I will be replacing the plug with separate plug-ins.

The service guy told me that the new parts were sealed from the factory. He told me the reason the plug melted was that when the first recall was done, the wires were somehow grounded to each other.

:roll: :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops:

That was the wrong answer.

I just said thanks for repairing it, see ya later.

Three of us are putting separate connectors on. If you let the connector melt, chances are the regulator will fry which will fry your wiring and anything attached to it.

There's your fix. Just do it before the regulator fries.

Man, connectors tend to get loose with time, be careful with what kind you will put there. You can go up to 15 amps on those wires, my suggestion again is DON'T put any, get non isolated splicing lugs, crimp them good with the right tool and then put solder on them, ooops don't forget to insert the heat shrink before splicing !!!! If you do that, it will be the last time you fuck with those wires.

Good luck.

Thanks for the good words.

I said connectors when I meant soldered wires directly.

I'll check out the lugs.

Thanks for the input.

If you look at the fisch on ronayers, you will see many of the late models have separate connections on them.

Hmmmm....

This is just an observation form the picture of the 00-03 connectors and the 04-05 connectors, but yes they use 3 seperat plugs at connection to the VR but the wires from the stator to that connection isn't any different. So what is stopping the oil form running up the wires. If there is still oil in the wires themselves how long till that causes a problem.

Believe me, the thought has crossed my mind. 2 points to think about.

1. Try to relieve the crankcase pressure so it doesn't push the oil as bad.

2. Even though oil doesn't conduct electricity, as junk builds up in the plug, arcing takes place and in time, it goes fizzle for sure.

I'm going the solid core route with the solder. IF oil comes out, at least its got someplace to go (my back tire) and it won't build up, ground and destroy the vr.

Ok so the problem isn't oil sitting in the wire its self, its just when it builds up in the plug and causes arcing and it fuses or burns the connector like in your pictures

The inside of my plug was so corroded and charred. The connections for the wires on the inside of the plug were extremely loose.

Heat has to build up somehow.

a. Arcing (loose connection)
b. Excessive voltage for the rated wiring. (Stator putting out too much voltage, almost never the case)
c. Grounded wires (+, - See d.)
d. Reversed wiring. (This will cook wires in a matter of seconds)
e. Corroded connection. (Possibly from some form of catalyst, oil, which leads to c.)

Summary of events to bring you up to speed:

Reported bad connector to dealer.

I have extended warranty coverage
(which has more than paid for itself with just this single claim).

Dealer called Corp. for warranty approval.

Replacement parts and labor approved.

Dealer ordered replacement parts.

I did not specify 2004.
2002 parts received.

I am to perform labor at my leisure (nice perk from having a good relationship with dealer).

Dealer will let me know if Kawi wants the old parts back.


I was at the dealer a couple weeks ago and the Service Manager said
Kawi wanted the old parts back. I explained I was reluctant to replace
the parts immediately because they were the same parts and I wanted
to see how the delco plug and solder would hold up and didn't really need
to swap it out yet and then perform the modification to the wires again
if I didn't have to.

I told him of the woes my fellow 12 riders from the org were having and
the multitude of possible remedies suggested, he then offered to order
the 04 parts for me.

These guys are awesome, I didn't even have to ask!.

2004 parts arrived a few days later.
I picked up the new stuff.
Performed r&r of vr, stator, gasket and foam thingy.
I returned new 2002 and old 2002 parts to the dealer upon completion of
the r&r.

I'll check the three connectors in a few weeks for any weirdness, they
now reside beneath the fuel tank in stead of in the tail by the vr.

:shock: :shock: THATS a nice place to put know "burning" connectors !! :shock:

Very nice of them to get the 04 parts for you ...
just wondering.....Why did you relocate the connectors?

Hey now, I didn't design it and I don't think it's an issue with the 04 parts.
Any 04's had any problems?

that's apparently the location for the 04's;
shorter wires from stator, longer wires from vr, and thats where it wound up.

any 04's out there to confirm this location for the three connectors?

One other person who knows what to do. Read my post on the first page. And yes I know what I am doing. If anyone wonders why I think I might know the solution is because this is what I do for a living. I am an EE and work for a very large OEM wiring and EE systems supplier. We have had to deal with stopping capillary action in wiring in the past.

Yeah, and don't forget the heat shrink BEFORE splicing and soldering, like I did on one of the wires. Mistakes happen.

which LUGS are you guys using, pics and or part# and were to pick them up?

I posted that pic in another thread, do it like that and it will never fry your ass. You can get those kind of lugs at your auto parts dealer or any store that sells electrical supply, get the non insulated ones, that way you won't need to cut off the insulation. Wire size looks to be 16 awg on one side of the connector and 14 awg on the other side, but those kind of lugs can take both gauges in these wire size. Am i repeating myself ?? :D

zixxer 12r: I have been reading about this connector situation for awhile and I was given the run around bigtime here in Calgary AB. I took pics had the recall done and in fact just joined this website(great one at that hello all). I even printed off excerpts of the wiring situation and talked to Kawi Canada with no avail they said as this wasn't an official kawi website it means nothing and that Kawi USA has a different setup so we can't do what they do In the US. When I asked them what am I supposed to do about the burnt wires I'm left with all they could repeat was its off warranty and weve done the recall twice you should have bought extra warranty. To make matters worse Blackfoot motorsports here in Calgary never tried and when i Talked to Kawi I got screwed as they said I tampered with it, what a pile of BS. When i tried to talk to the rep on the mechanical issues he said he is not mechanical and I cannot talk to his tech !!!!!!!!!!!! WTF! I used to work for Kawi, Honda and Yamaha and all this crap Is why I'm no longer in the business, seen to muchscrewing over.
Any way had to get this one off my chest so after reading I will assume 3 seperate crimp connectors soldered and shrink tubing is the way to go. If any one has any other good advice let me know thx.

Hey nosburner glad you had that one off your chest. I am so tired of that kind of BS that is why i always buy the service manual and once warranty is over then it's up yours to the stealer. I got BS like that a few times and now i do everything myself, at least i try, sometimes i screw (very few times) but most off the time i succeed !
:wink:

I get them from work, but we don't sell retail. Any splice clip that holds the wire together while you solder the splice will work. The splice clip is insignificant once you solder. The solder joint is a very low resistance connection so "size" of the splice clip means nothing, unlike an inline connection system where the terminal size DOES matter. Use sealed heat shrink over the splice instead of electrical tape. There is a chance that the oil can be pushed up to the splice point, working its way out to the splice point between the insulation and the soldered end of the wire. Over time the tape will unravel, and you could get oil dripping. Plus, the better the splice area is sealed tight, the less oil the can be pushed up. Try blowing through a straw with your finger on the end. The more the end of the straw is open or "leaks" the more air, or fluid you can push.

Hi Sitw, you gave very good explanation in your past posts, there is a lot of different ways to make a splice, some real bad and some real good, imho i suggested the lugs to provide a compact, mechanically stronger joint and solder to get the lowest possible resistance, i never used the kinda clip you're talking about so i don't know about the strenght of that kind of splice but i do know that i saw a lot of "just soldered" connection that broke due to vibrations.
By the way the company "Thomas and Betts" makes all kinds of very good lugs.
http://www.tnb.com/ps/pubint/

We just call it a splice clip in the industry, it is essentially the same thing you described. I know Thomas and Betts, they are a much smaller competitor of ours. Not that it is a bad thing, being smaller. When our margin is negative on a product, we just make it back up in volume :D

The lug or splice clip gives the mechanical strength to the joint, solder adds to the mechanical as well. In fact, when doing it by hand, you always should solder. It is nearly impossible to get a good crimp by hand that is both good mechanically and electrically. Only our machine crimps can go without solder, and even then, their resistance is not as low as with a soldered splice. Believe it or not, we have PhD's and contact physic experts that study this stuff. Yes, you are dead on for what is best with a hand crimped splice or termination, and why.

Can anyone comment on whether it is okay to splice-in individual bullet style connectors rather than butt connectors to replace the standard 3-pin connector? Or, is there a possibility of arcing with that style of connector?

I'd like to retain the option of being able to disconnect the wires in the future without having to cut them.

Ok these posts about this rectifier wiring problem is really confusing me ??
If and when it happens to my machine I plan on hard wiring the rectifier directly onto the alternator no connectors. One splice right near the recifier itself with a service loop for future reconnects. I figure it would take one or two hours and a couple of yards or silicone jacketed 12ga solder covered marine wire......
Why the $#%^ replace the connecter that has caused so many problems with another connector ???
Seriously ???
Alittle solder and some good adhesive type heat shrink....
What is the purpose of keeping the connector in the first place ??

+ 10000000000
Alleluia, Amen
:wink:

Ok the repair was done by my dealer once already on my 00. it's now leaking again, I haven't checked the connector yet for burning. has anyone had the 04 parts on an 00 model yet? And do the 04 models still have the oil seepage up the wire. Is there a way to seal the wires at the stator? Nosburner your experience with CKM is discouraging, i was about to write a letter requesting the newer parts. My dealer has jumped and worked miracles before but CKM is telling them the repair must have been done wrong, do it again. Still doesn't fix the problem.

Servicability. Try removing the sub frame with the VR hard wired in. Not impossible, but just not as easy. The connector is not the problem. If you don't stop the oil wicking, in time it will work its way to the VR and screw it up. If it were hard wired originally from the factory, we all would be really bitching because we wouldn't know what happened until all hell broke loose when the VR went.

I'm just gonna let mine burn to the ground.

Fixed mine before it burned to the ground!









Getting new RaceTech springs and Gold Valve kit installed at the same time.

Got me too, Sunday to be exact. Went to the dealership with the info from this site. No problem and will fix everything free of cost. I could have cried when I saw the condition of the connector...shit had me pissed all day!

I'm an idiot and could really use some help. Pulled mine apart today and expected some oil....well, it was all burned up pretty good. Especilly the wire that has the wire spliced into it. So, I was pissed and snipped all the wires without thinking. I had assumed that they all three carried the same voltage and were interchangeable. But, after reading up on this thread, one method says to do the splices one at a time. I noticed that inside the connector, that 2 of the connectors are stacked and one is opposite & there are the two wires and the two spliced wires:

Does it matter which wires go together?

If so, I'm kinda screwed. Is there a way to chase them down to figure which ones need to be spliced together. I've got a really good idea which ones need to be spliced, I just hate to risk it without knowing for sure if I can hook them up.

I'm sure someone knows the answer. Yours looks like mine did. Wait 'til tomorrow. If no one answers, I'll visit a friend that just chopped his connector out of the equation and it's doing fine. Someone will probably respond before I can get over and take pics.

really wished I'd put a little more thought into before I started hacking.



at least I'm still waiting on my clutch pack :oops:

No it shouldn't matter which wires. All have the same voltage on them. The stator is just a 3phase AC generator, it wont matter on the input side of the rectifier...

L2M, Just installed an aftermarket stator/rec...instructions said it did not matter in what order the three wires from the stator were connected to the rectifier.

thanks for the insight. GOt it cleaned up last night, what a fookin mess.

I gotta go to the dealer this morning, I'm real curious if they will be willing to fix this...I can fix it, but just want to see what they say.

same bullshit at the dealer....no recall on my '03, call Kawi, blah, blah, blah.....fine with me, I'd rather the dealer not touch my bike, even if its free.

takes less than an hour.

Don't be like me, check your connection WAY before you hit 28K miles :!:

I had to go to two dealerships before they finally made the call and spoke to the right person at kawa. They replaced mine with the new 04+ stator connector. Also replaced the junction box and regulator. Mine's an '02 and had it done late last year. Not under warranty. Just have to push that it is a known problem within kawa.

Welcome to the club Lie.

Once you check it, it's kinda like an automatic enrollment :D

I still love my 12 though :D

Wow, ok. Can someone verify the new part numbers for the stator and vr. I have 21003A for the Stator and 21066A for the VR. Are these the 04+ part numbers?
I bought my 2000 ZX-12R from my bro and its bone stock with 3800 miles on it(yea he never rode it, lol) and hes never heard of this problem or the recall. I haven't rode it since I bought (no tags or insurance yet) but will be soon and want to put the newer parts on and do the deletion of the connector and do the soldering thing if need be, or is this not an issue with the 04+ parts?


Thanks 8)

You should know fairly quickly if they will fix it correctly. If they are not willing to put the '04 parts in, do it yourself.

I am gonna do it myself or have it for me, just trying to confirm if those part numbers are the 04+ numbers and if the soldering/splicing needs to be done with the new updated parts.

I don't think you really need the newer parts, just cut out the connector and make sure the wires are vented.

btw, I have an '04 1000rr and the stators are weak in these also. They just fry. All of a sudden your bike won't start.

All of the resistance checks come out okay but when you look at the stator, it is mostly black and cooked. I think they overheat. I purchased a new one from an aftermarket company.

Yes, I looked and they don't make one for the 12.
The 12 is listed but no parts.

electrosport.com

FANTA, go to www.ronayers.com and compare on fisch the difference in part #'s. That's where you'll prolly get parts from anyway.

Ok, so forget about the new parts and just bypass the connector?

Thanks just want to get this done before I register and title the bike because once its legal I'll be putting plenty of miles on it. 8)

THat's what I would do if it were me. Oh wait, I've already done it.

I had mine replaced under warranty (new stator and v/r), brought it home and cut out the connector and soldered the wires together.

The wires will still get hot, that's why you need the venting. But I haven't had any problems in 12k miles.

What do mean by venting, or how I guess is what I meant?

I have 3 separate connectors and keep them separated. Originally all three were bunched into the connector....they obviously get way to hot for that plastic which results in the melting.

Not sure if thats what Faukker means, but thats how I understood it when I fixed mine.

Ok, thanks. More than likely when I'm ready to do it I'll post or pm one of you guys for detailed instuctions and what supplies to get as I will more than likely have someone thats more mechanically inclined than myself to do it.

So should I by the updated parts and modify them or just modify what I have now on my 2000 with 3500 miles?

diy.... WAY LESS HASSLE.

Seperated.

mine is identical to vipers.