sculler2x

I have had 3 G8HE relays fail. The specs for the G8HE and the G8JN are almost identical. The JN is a much larger package and it is vibration rated as well as rated for 100 amp inrush. People have have commented about how hot the HE get. The JN runs cool, it does have a lower power density in terms of coil watts per CC.

This year I put in a new regulator and the voltage is now consistently 14V. Previously, the first 40Kmiles, it had been about 12.5. I never had a problem with the fuel pump relay. I replaced the factory ones with the recommended Omron units a long time ago. This year I have had to replace the Omron one twice. The third time I rewired it to a much larger Omron G8JN-1C6T unit. Of course this solved the problem but it seams to have fixed another as well. The beast has always stumbled at part throttle below 3K RPM. From the schematic it looks like the relay also sends power to the coils. No doubt the contact resistance is lower on the new part but I don't think that would explain the improvement. Any ideas?

another photo

I put one in my 2002 LM last night. I had to cut away some of the bucket to clear the fan. I also opened it enough to get a little more access to fresh air. If it runs a little hotter it will reduce the lifetime but it is a good trade off. By the way life time is defined by the output dropping %50 so it will not go dark by surprise. attached are some photos

I say forget about it and put in one of the CNSUNNY LED replacements. The LED replacement does not use that portion of the reflector anyway.

Saturday, I put my gas tank back on and put some fuel in it. I primed the system by toggling the kill switch, this drives all the air out of the lines. This resulted in fuel spraying from somewhere. I removed the regulator and took it apart. I found 2 possible sources. 1 The cast housing had a ragged parting line on the hose barb. I filed and sanded it smooth. 2 The O-rings inside were unlubricated. I lubed them with fuel proof grease and put it back together. This solved the leaking problem. I discovered while I had the regulator apart that there was no adjustment possible. I had often wondered what the small stalk sticking out of the side was for. I suspect that you could connect it to the manifold on a supercharged engine to deliver higher injector pressure when there is boost.

I replaced mine with the same one that is on my 78 BMW r100. I cut off the bullet connector and replaced it with a spade one that matched the BMW switch. I put in an LED lamp in the dash as well. The only down side is that when it rains the oil LED goes on dimly.

I have been using Startron to keep the ethanol in suspension. During the off season I drain the tank and ventilate it to dry it out.

What fuel are you using? I had to pay $12 per gallon for Sunoco alcohol free race fuel, ouch.

I got one at West Marine.

I have an elcheepo car charger that I have sooped up. I put a digital panel volt meter on it for starters. I then added a wall mount lamp dimmer, on the high voltage side, so that I can control the voltage. The dimmer says to use on a resistive load only but it has been working fine for more than 10 years. There was plenty of space inside the box for everything. Before I added the dimmer the voltage would go way over 15 but now I can cut it back.

The other thing to look out for is the ground line and connection. The wire is usually too small.

Here is my solution. I ran a #4 wire from the battery negative to the bolt on the starter. I ran a #8 wire from the regulator to the starter bolt on top of the battery cable. this way the start current goes right to the starter and the regulator has a great path back to the battery