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Silent Hektik Voltage Regulator Install!

Jetguy

Well Known Member
A little back ground on my setup. First flight was 2010. 2009 Rotax engine and Ducati voltage regulator. Dual Dynon D180/D100 screens, NAV and landing lights installed. My old voltage regulator lasted 758 hours at which time I was able to acquire a Silent Hektik(now known as SH) regulator from a friend who travels often to Europe. The old Ducati didn't develop much voltage at low power settings but at/above 5000 RPM it developed about 13.6 volts and at 2500 RPM it developed about 12.3 volts. Now with the SH at 5000 RPM it developes about 13.8 to 14 volts and at 2500 RPM it now developes about 13.4 volts. I installed the SH using the original installation setup as the Ducati with a few exceptions. First the 1/4-28 bolts would not work because there was not enough clearance along the side of the hole in the regulator to slide a socket over the head of the bolt. So I used a 1/4-28 socket cap screws instead. Second I went against the trend of using heat sink grease under the regulator and actually lifted it up about a 1/16 inch above the metal shelf by putting thick metal washers under the regulator bolts. I've spent a lot of flying hours in the 12 and that stanless steel firewall gets very hot. Inflight sometime try taking your shoes off and put your feet on the fire wall. Third I grounded the regulator directly from the battery as well as off the engine per Bill's suggestion. The SH is almost the exact same size as the Ducati. The holes need to be slightly enlarged for the 1/4-28 bolts but they line up perfectly with the original bolt pattern. The plug that holds the wires for the Ducati is exactly the same for the SH, simply unplug the Ducati and plug in the SH. The bottom of the SH is metal and the resin circuit board is completely in cased in the metal housing. The label on the SK says 14 volts 47A. So I'm not sure you will be able to get more amps out of the SH, maybe Joe Gores can address this. I won't be testing this because I won't be changing my avionics anytime soon. But I do think when only pulling 18 amps it won't create as much internal heat as the Ducati. The SH seems like a well built unit. Only time will tell, I'll keep everyone updated as we put hours on the unit.;) Here's a few pictures of the unit and install.:)
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Re sourcing Silent Hektik F4112 for USA, possibly this motor cycle trader in UK would source and ship them to USA.

http://www.motoguzzisales.co.uk/index.htm

They do ship another (different) Silent Hektik part all over the world according to their site. Possibly they could obtain the F4112 and ship to US?
 
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So I'm not sure you will be able to get more amps out of the SH
The Rotax permanent magnet alternator (dynamo) is the limiting factor. If the dynamo is loaded to its maximum, it could get very warm. Excess heat will shorten its life. ASTM standards limit alternator output to 80 percent of its maximum capacity.
 
Your experience please

John, assuming that you have used this VR for more than one year, could you up-date this discussion with a report on ts performance so far? Sure sounds good.
 
The SH is still working great. I think I have over 100 hours on it. ;)

Dito. Mine just reached a 100 hours, too. Here's a write-up of my installation and the slight changes about the cooling that I made.
It is working flawlessly ever since I put it in.
 
I just heard from the Moto Guzzi shop in the U.K. and they will ship the unit to the states. The price is $230 plus $50 shipping.
 
Maybe if we could get an order for 10 we could get a better deal on shipping. Can they email you a picture to make sure it's the right one?
 
Confusion on part numbers.

It looks to be identical to the one you have.

Poking around somewhere on the web, it looks like the replacement for the Ducati 343620 is the SK F4118--the F4112 now having leads instead of the desired spade terminals. It also appears that they recommend a larger cap, SK F4114. John, did you switch out the cap in your installation?
 
On my installation there were no changes to the cap. The Ducati cap plugged right into the SH.
 
Plugged into?

On my installation there were no changes to the cap. The Ducati cap plugged right into the SH.

I'm referring to the capacitor/condensor used to smooth things out--SH recommended a larger value with higher voltage max than Rotax specified.
 
SH Regulators now available on eBay

Re sourcing Silent Hektik F4112 for USA, possibly this motor cycle trader in UK would source and ship them to USA.

http://www.motoguzzisales.co.uk/index.htm

They do ship another (different) Silent Hektik part all over the world according to their site. Possibly they could obtain the F4112 and ship to US?

The same blokes across the pond are now selling these on eBay--F4118 is now the correct part number for the Ducati-compatible units:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/262818488520?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
 
I had an e-mail from Jerome Martin - Martec with the request if I can buy the regulators on this side of the ocean (I'm living in the Netherlands ;-)).
I mailed Silent Hektik with a request for a quotation for an initial order for 10 regulators (F4118). In that case the price will be $174,- including shipping to the Netherlands.
My wife and I are working for an airliner so one of us can take them to the USA when we have a flight to the States and drop them off at FedEx or DHL. The only thing is I'm not familiar with customs in the States, normally I take stuff only back home.
 
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Gagarin737 (Joeri),

I received my SH regulator from you today. I just wanted to thank you for making the purchase possible at a reasonable price. It's great that you and your wife took time out of your busy lives to help us out with the batch purchase and related shipping logistics.

If you ever need anything from us, please let us know.

Thanks again,
Alex
 
Gagarin737 (Joeri),

I received my SH regulator from you today. I just wanted to thank you for making the purchase possible at a reasonable price. It's great that you and your wife took time out of your busy lives to help us out with the batch purchase and related shipping logistics.

If you ever need anything from us, please let us know.

Thanks again,
Alex
I second that, and I hope your wife enjoyed her lunch! :) Looking forward to getting mine installed. I'll also be installing a good sized electrolytic filter capacitor, which for some reason was not part of the original installation on the RV-12.
 
Capacitor loacation

I second that, and I hope your wife enjoyed her lunch! :) Looking forward to getting mine installed. I'll also be installing a good sized electrolytic filter capacitor, which for some reason was not part of the original installation on the RV-12.

I believe it has been pointed out earlier that the cap is buried in the switch block. However, the recommended voltage and capacitance for the SH regulator is higher than that in the RV-12, but the world won't come to an end if you stick with the existing cap.
 
I second that, and I hope your wife enjoyed her lunch! :) Looking forward to getting mine installed. I'll also be installing a good sized electrolytic filter capacitor, which for some reason was not part of the original installation on the RV-12.

Dale - Actually, there is a filter capacitor on the RV-12 .... it is a 22,000 MFD capacitor rated at 25 volts residing inside the AV-50001 Switch and Fuse Module. If additional capacitance is needed, it can be added by attaching the capacitor to P156. The positive end of the capacitor would go on P156 (output of the regulator) and the negative end of the capacitor would be tied to ground.

Total capacitance for capacitors in parallel are added. So with the 22,000 MFD already in the AV-50001 module on the P156 circuit ... if the recommended capacitor size from Silent Hektik is, say, 33,000 MFD ... then it will only require adding an additional capacitor of 10,000 MFD rated at 25 volts anywhere on the P156 wire to get you in the ballpark.

If this install will be firewall froward, I would suggest purchasing a capacitor that is automotive rated because it will have a higher temperature rating and be better suited for the higher temperatures under the cowl.

Happy building,
 
Dale - Actually, there is a filter capacitor on the RV-12 .... it is a 22,000 MFD capacitor rated at 25 volts residing inside the AV-50001 Switch and Fuse Module.
Well, by golly, so there is. And yes, I'm quite well aware of how capacitors work. :) Well, I have this nice new capacitor I'll probably just swap in during the condition inspection. 33,000 ?F, 35V, 105 C temperature rating. A little extra margin is almost never a bad thing.
 
Plug and play

I guess I hoped the SH regulator was a direct swap for the Ducati VR. I would appreciate a little more direction on the install of the additional capacitor. It sounds like some did the install with no change to Vans wiring and others are including an additional capacitor, and this protects the circuit?

I am not as savvy as Dale or John in the previous posts with the electrical requirements and with so much done by Vans/Stein on the 12 I appreciated this. Thanks for any additional insight.
 
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I guess I hoped the SH regulator was a direct swap for the Ducati VR. I would appreciate a little more direction on the install of the additional capacitor.

Patrick - The SH regulator IS a direct drop-in replacement for the Ducati regulator. Many have not changed or added an extra filter capacitor and have had no issues what so ever.

But you know how it can be with us builders who tweak things ... if Silent Hektik recommends a certain filter capacitor value, we try to comply. Truth be told, if you just replaced the Ducati regulator with the SH and did nothing more, you would likely be fine with the 22,000 MFD capacitor Van's has already supplied.

Real world ... upping the filter capacitor value or adding an additional capacitor to get to the value SH suggests will likely only provide a tiny bit better regulation from where it is now. Bottom line if you don't feel comfortable playing with the wiring ... don't ... you will be fine.

I'm moving my regulator away from the #4 exhaust pipe and the outflow from the coolant radiator but still keeping it firewall forward .... so will likely add an additional capacitor because I will need to extend the wiring harness, so adding an additional capacitor will be easy to incorporate while building the extension wiring harness.

As for how to attach the capacitor should you decide to go that way, there are many ways you could do it. One example would be to make a short extension wire that plugs into the connector for the regulator ... the other end of the wire you can use a connector like the one in the following photo to make a Y for the capacitor's positive lead. Use connectors designed for 12 gauge wire on the extension not 14 gauge as shown in the photo.
http://www.steinair.com/product/14-16-ga-blue-faston-14-2/
 
Yep. What John said. I'd forgotten about the filter cap on the fuse board. Swapping it for a 33,000 ?F or adding a parallel capacitor is probably not necessary. If you do, adding one with the terminal to which he provided the link would be adequate.

I'm sure a "real" EE will correct me if I'm off when I say this, but in many cases the value of a filter capacitor specified for a voltage regulator or power supply is a matter of the designer's preference rather than a specific calculated value. In many cases it's simply "more is better", or what the designer has on hand or perhaps what's used in another product (one less part number to inventory). In a situation like this, the difference between a 22K and 33K capacitor in the overall circuit would be pretty small indeed. If I had remembered about the one on the fuse board, I'd more than likely not have bothered ordering another one.

I have a new, larger filter cap ready to install... but it will probably wait until I have the plane torn apart anyway for the condition inspection. The regulator will get installed as soon as I get to the hangar to do it, because my Ducati regulator was putting out 13.1 Volts and a whine in the headsets on the last few flights.
 
Thanks

John & Dale thanks for your input on this matter. Currently my original Ducati, is in the original firewall location, but I am watching its performance. Lately my battery voltage has stayed in the 13.6 neighborhood and amps come up fine with RPMs. This is my standard charging performance for the last couple years.

I have a backup Ducati, John Deere, and now the SH, but don't want to change out the Ducati because I have a replacement on the shelf. Thanks again guys and looking forward to better flying weather coming (lots of crazy winds these days in the Denver front range).
 
Since I did my cooling mod on the VR that was suggested in the Rotax class my VR temps have not broken 149F. I think it's between 140-149F. I think the VR failure is now a thing in my past.
 
Details please

Brad - Care to share some of the details of your successful install? Any info would help a lot of us. Thanks.
 
Since I did my cooling mod on the VR that was suggested in the Rotax class my VR temps have not broken 149F. I think it's between 140-149F. I think the VR failure is now a thing in my past.

Hey Brad, what is the cooling mod that was suggested in your Rotax class? There have been several thoughts with a better way to keep these VRs cool, and I am curious about the one that you are using.

Thanks...............Tom
 
Here and here. Mount the VR with spacers underneath to get it up off the firewall and allow air circulation all around. So you'll be depending mostly upon convective cooling from increased air flow, rather than conductive cooling from contact with the firewall. I've been pondering this approach. It seems reasonable, given that the firewall is pretty thin stainless and no matter what you do, the actual contact area between the regulator and the firewall is petty small. Even with the Silent Hektik regulator, a beautifully machined piece by the way, only two small mounting pads would actually contact the firewall. I can't see where exposing the bottom of the regulator to air flow would hurt, unless the ambient temperature there is pretty high (which it may be, I haven't measured it).

A slightly more perfect solution would be to cut a couple of spacers matching the outline of the portions of the housing that would contact the firewall, so you maximize the heat conduction while providing some exposure to air flow as well. It would be a little more substantial mechanically as well. Just thinking "out loud" here. I plan to add a length of duct to direct some cool air directly to the regulator, similar to the newer Van's instructions.
 
Just another data point and comments

The other day while flying, I stuck my hand up under the shelf where the VR is mounted in the "new" location, with heat transfer paste between the back of the unit and the aluminum structure. The VR is my second Ducati, the first one having bit the dust in the original location. All the electric and electronic goodies were turned on so as to impose a maximum electrical load. The VR was only pleasantly warm, meaning I could hold my hand there all day without discomfort. In fact, it felt quite nice!

I have followed the multitude of threads on this topic, and it seems there are two main theories as to causes of failure with these units, those being either heat or vibration. Considering the above, I believe if this unit fails it is NOT because of excessive heat. At present, with a hundred or so hours on this Ducati, my battery is being charged at 13.9 volts, even with a maximum load on the alternator.
 
I got my new Silent Hektik regulator installed today. I had to spend some time enlarging the mounting holes. As stated in the specs on the German web page, the voltage starts out at 12.8 and goes up every 10-15 minutes ending up (35 minutes later) at 14.2.

I flew just under an hour with it. For most of the flight I noticed that the "static-y" whine in my headset was gone. It came back for a few minutes but I can't really say whether it's noise from the regulator or something else. I haven't installed the new capacitor yet. I really don't remember when that started, so I can't say if it's a power supply noise issue or the intercom (a Flightcom 403).

It sure was nice, though, not seeing the voltage in the yellow after the first half hour or so. It would be nice to disable the feature (intended to protect lithium batteries) so it would put out 14.2 Volts from the start. But, if this thing proves to be as stable and reliable as its reputation (not to mention its price) indicate, I'll be satisfied.
 
I also just installed the Silent Hektik (keep the Ducati as spare).
Enlarged the holes with a 7mm drill.
Drilled holes for the cooling shroud through two fins (otherwise the rivets were hard to install).
Grinded two washers to make them fit better.
Shaved a bit of aluminum away with the Dremel to have clearance for the AN4 bolts.
Grinded a slot in the AN4 bolts so a flat screwdriver will fit.
Used the same location and cooling. Install time approximately 1 hour.

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Source?

For you folks that have installed the SK units - where did you get them? I'm contemplating getting one just to make a preemptive strike.
 
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