Voltage regulator/rectifier on 582

[Jwayneball@aol.com]

I have a KF3/582 equipped with a KeyWest regulator/rectifier. The regulator went bad about a year ago and I replaced it. Now, it seems to be going bad again. Sometimes my voltage shows nearly 14, hand swinging slightly with strobes on the it drops to 8 and is dead still, no rocking. I've checked grounds and all connections and find all ok. I have about 50 hrs on this regulator. Do they burn out with so short a life? Could the alternating drain of the strobe lights be causing it to burn out quickly? Anyone else experience this problem?
WAYNE
Maple Valley, WA

[Av8r_Sed]

Any idea on how much current you're drawing, with and without the stobes on? The regulator has to dissapate a fair amount of heat. How is it mounted? It should be in contact with the firewall if possible, or at least with good free air flow around it.

[JimS]

I went through a couple of the epoxy potted ones in about 200 hours, then bought the one with the cooling fins (cost twice as much) and that one lasted til I sold the engine at 600 hours. (Just my experience).
JimS

[Av8r_Sed]

For what it's worth, I'm using a motorcycle regulator (Yamaha Shindengen FH020AA) with MosFET technology. It provides solid voltage regulation and dissipates less heat than the original Rotax unit I had. It's designed for a three phase stator, but I'm only using a single phase.

EBay listing:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/YAMAHA-SHIND...ccf7ca&vxp=mtr

Caution! Like a lot of Chinese electronics, counterfeits are prevalent. Try to find a standup vendor.

[t j]

My kit came with the epoxy pot regulator. I's still in the box. I bought the high dollar Rotax finned one instead. It lasted about 35 hours. Instructions said if it goes out you can hook up the other yellow wire and go again. I didn't do that, just got a Key west. Something over a hundred hours on it now and no problems.

[inzersv]

The one that came with my engine is the Ducati with fins. Is this the one that isn't lasting very long? Since I have it, I will install it, but keep an eye on it. The instructions say to place it just aft of the firewall on the fuselage structure. This would seem to give it good air flow. Where have others put it without any problems?

[Captdill]

I'll resurrect this thread to tell you my woes. I run a 503 with Rotax finned regulator. It charged nice but lots of radio noise. All I did was relocate it and shield some wires. Now its dead. OK, first flight I forgot to install the fuse in the line to the battery, Was wowed by the lack of radio noise, but obviously no charging. Reinstalled fuse, still no charging.

"Instructions said if it goes out you can hook up the other yellow wire and go again."

Thanks for that comment Tom, I have long since lost the instructions.

[catnipp]

will this work> http://www.ebay.com/itm/MOSFET-motor...xVCPH2&vxp=mtr
AMie

For what it's worth, I'm using a motorcycle regulator (Yamaha Shindengen FH020AA) with MosFET technology. It provides solid voltage regulation and dissipates less heat than the original Rotax unit I had. It's designed for a three phase stator, but I'm only using a single phase.

EBay listing:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/YAMAHA-SHIND...ccf7ca&vxp=mtr

Caution! Like a lot of Chinese electronics, counterfeits are prevalent. Try to find a standup vendor.

[Av8r_Sed]

will this work> http://www.ebay.com/itm/MOSFET-motor...xVCPH2&vxp=mtr
AMie

Answer: Unknown without a data sheet. I think this particular one is unlikely to be your solution. You need to know how many amps it can deliver. A good match for the lighting coil would be somewhere around 13-15 amps.

If you want to hit the easy button on this, just get the Key West unit, install and go flying.