Wiring Damage

And here is the wiring that needs fixing.  How far up does the damage go?

 It's the Black and White wire that ends up with a lug fixing on one of the battery box bolts.

New Meter Readings

With the new rectifier and some extra grounds installed, I re-tested the voltage of the battery under different conditions:

My results are:

1).  Key off: 12.78v
2).  Key on:  12.18v (headlamp on)  12.32v (headlamp off)
3).  At idle:   13.2v (at 1,100 rpm)
4).  At 2,500 rpm:  13.83v
5).  At 4,500 rpm:  14.05v
6).  Key Off:  12.90v

These readings are all within prescribed ranges.  And I therefore certify the bike as fixed for now.

I now need to look further into the wiring which shows some wires as burnt.

New Rectifier Installed

So I ordered an new pattern part rectifier/regulator and this one arrived:

 Made by Electrosport.  It has all the correct wires and connectors so it is plug and play.  And now we know where those flow diagrams on GS Resources come from.

Sorry about the rusty battery box.  This is my road runner and it needs to be on the road.  I have no time to sort it out.  I needed some longer bolts which I found laying around and it's ready to go back on the bike.

Just in case you doubt that I am bothered; here is the one for my nuts and bolts resto:This is what is should look like - right?

Putting it all back together I came across this abomination (click on image to enlarge):

 It looks like it has overheated at some point.

 Nasty piece of work.  And I see it is grounded on the rubber washer of the battery holder.  I have done tons or reading around this subject (rectifiers and wiring problems) on the forums and the technical manuals and it seems that the positioning of this wire was the manufacturers design.  Can't say it looks well grounded to me.  I will be installing some of the extra grounds that are recommended and removing the stator loop that goes to the headlight switch.

Rectifier / Regulator Testing For Dummies

I couldn't figure any of this out so I researched it on YouTube and this is the definitive video of how these bits of kit work and how to test them:

I set up my own test and tested the rectifier off my Dad's bike (which I assumed was OK since it was working 10 years ago) and my Road Runner bike which is not charging it's battery.  Both of these rectifiers has a red and black leads and 3 other leads which are the loads. (click to enlarge)

These tests proved that my Road Runner rectifier is toast.  On 2 of the phases there is no current flow in either direction.  This is consistent with these 2 diodes being burned out and thus breaking the circuit.  It is also possible for diodes to break down and allow a voltage drop in both directions.  That would be a fail too.

It also shows that there is a problem with one; the number 3 diode on my Dad's bike as the ground circuit no. 3 diode does not allow a circuit in either direction.

2 new rectifiers are needed.