Mileage: 29,453
Maintenance Summary:
- Repaired Temp Gauge with new DIY 7V regulator
The temperature gauge on this bike has been intermittent since I bought it. Once the weather turned cold it rarely seemed to work. Having found no other reason for the gauge not to work I decided to replace the regulator.
It would cost more than $50 to buy the OEM Honda part — which is available. Normally I would go with the original part. However, besides being ridiculously expensive for what it is, electronic parts degrade over time, even when not in use, and the OEM parts have probably been sitting on a shelf for a few decades. So, instead of buying the OEM part, I built a new regulator for less than $5 using a 3D printed case and an adjustable buck regulator I purchased on eBay.
I’ve described how to build the regulator that along with some troubleshooting and gauge operation info here: DIY 7V Regulator.
Here’s the regulator just before it was bedded it in the case with epoxy.
The new DIY regulator is a direct replacement for the OEM regulator. Here you can see the new regulator hanging in the original rubber mount under the speedometer.
Only time will tell if this is a robust solution to my temp-gauge woes, but it’s looking good so far!