Forum

[simon]

Frank and Norm, surely this is an abomination! Lighting coils are all very well in Vespa Scooters and suchlike but the alternator windings on a bullet are designed to be rectified and regulated and sent to a battery or was the Sixty-Five a totally different setup? If so its probably been messed about with extensively already in order to get the power box to work. The lighting coil setups usually run the lights on AC it maybe a case of grab a handful of wire and pull then start again. From what I've gleaned the modus of the Enfield factory up until the total redesign was to squeeze as much as they could out of all the old kit. I wonder if they even used the same stator for the 12V as they did for the 6V? I know I've got a splendidly bright and well performing 6V setup on mine with a decent reg/rec whereas the 12V versions I've seen on other later machines do seem a bit anaemic.

[Frank]

Simon. Although the factory gave a brief nod to modernisation on the classic models it would appear that the lighting circuit was not an area covered, and the 65 retains a seperate lighting circuit for the headlamp. Electra X and beyond are graced with better alternators and full DC functioning. It is possible that some previous owner has attempted a modification but from a previous thread on this problem it would appear that Ian has changed the AC regulator which cured the problem, albeit temporarily. This proves at least the circuits existence. The suspicion is therefore that the new regulator has blown. To move this problem forward a step has to be taken back and a more logical approach needs to be taken. Our hosts have posted on this site in the Technical Notes section a description of the charging and lighting circuits and the method of checking the output of the alternator and the output of the regulator. Multimeter required. Bullet Charging System 1999 on. If the input to the regulator is ok but there is no output then yes it has failed, and care must be taken to find the cause of the failure before changing again. Whether the output has failed or not the wiring from the regulator through the switch to the headlamp needs to be checked for complete continuity and more importantly any shorts to earth.

[Norm]

Simon/Frank I said I wouldn't post on it again but the mention of the 1999 wiring diagram is not where the problem started.Could be but I haven't looked it up. The wiring diagram was changed for the introduction of the electric start models( possibly they did have electric start back in 1999 in India) and this is when they split the wiring and introduced the 4 wire stators, 2 wires for charging 2 for running the headlight. I'm assuming they did this to prevent the use of the headlight to flatten the battery and then not be able to use the electric starter or run the ignition so you could still get home. They knew the charging system was marginal to say the least and this was the best they could come up with

[Frank]

Norm, thanks for posting, it's good to learn the reasoning behind it. Now to protect my sanity I must also bow out of this one!

[simon]

Come on chaps, don't be coy. there's tons of meat in this topic yet! The electric start is of course the straw that would have broken this poor old camel's back. Not only were they using a stator designed for a six volt system to power a twelve volt one but then they slapped on an electric start. The idea of an electric start on a single (especially one that starts as easily as the Bullet) is an anathema to me but Enfield are not alone in having stuffed one on in an ill advised and inappropriate fashion. My 860 Ducati had an appalling effort which not only stuffed up the look of the cases but worked through endless operating rods and solenoids to finally end up with a bendex that operated straight into the engine oil. Fortunately I was able to find a non electric start cover which allowed me to remove all sign of electrification and so I could throw the whole abortive effort in a box under the bench never to see the light of day again!