Does anyone know that if my regulator/rectifier on my 2000 Arctic Cat 2x4 if it has failed will it get hot and smoke?

 

It has been my experience that if the cooling fins on the regulator get caked with mud and crud it can overheat and melt the wires going into it causing all sorts of trouble.

I doubt the charging system would cause that unless some wires are already melted together creating a short.

Swampy

 

thanks, the bike is clean, no mud or crud, on the positive side of the battery you have the positive cable with the smaller red wire also connected with a wire plug. If you unplug this (the smaller red wire), the regulator stops making heat. With this unplugged though, the bike does not have any power.

This problem was caught before any wires got melted.
Thanks to wife in trailer.

Thanks for your help swampy.