RIHDER34

I am the dad, elec eng, and former super hawk owner. there is some discussion about reg R/R, stator probs etc. yes, the stator can fail causing poor charging, large voltage drop with all acc on etc. one thing i found is that the voltage reg does not have any thermal trasnsfer compound between it and the aluminum mount it bolt's to. i used a laser temp probe and found that the reg was HOTTER than the surrounding alum mtg plate. most, if not all regulators in auto alt's, and in most other applications use thermal compound to provide a better transfer of heat from the solid state components in the reg ic. regulators generally have a thermal cutoff point to avoid excessive heat from destroying the hybrid ic inside the package. working with solid state power devices i have never seen a power device without this. thermal compound is used to fill in for the inconsistencies of both mounting surfaces. the alum plate is the "heat sink" for the reg ic. you can go to any radio shack and purchase a small tube of thermal compound. clean both mating surfaces and then coat and smooth the reg metal backing with it. then bolt it back. in my case i noticed almost a 50 degF diff between the ic and the plate. it's a cheap and easy way to insure longer life from the ic. i found this when i bought my first one, did the fix and never had a problem. good riding!!!

tbartley

Sounds like a stop at Radio Shack today and thanks for the tip, RIHDER34!

Circuit_Burner

You will find that the heat transfer rate into the steel subframe from the R/R is not sufficient to control the heat produced with any degree of magnitude.
You can reduce the overall temp by thermal compound, but the gains will be fractional at best.
There are few designs out there that have a large enough heat sink for anything more than granny-riding.