Hitchcocks Forum

Morning guys,

I took my enfield 65 for the MOT the other day and to fix the head light issues. Between the garage and myself we have managed to get the lights working off the battery and switch, i.e power comes through the ignition switch to the rh handle bar switch then i can dim as usual through the left hand switch. I had to disconnect the yellow wire from the ac regulator as i believe this made a short circuit. I'm not bothered about the lights running off the battery as i only ride at night very occasionally.
When i switch the ignition on the ammeter needle stays in the center, however when i'm riding the needle drops about a 1/4 of the way into the left side of the gauge, also when i switch the lights on the needle drops 1/4 of the way to the left. Is this because i'm using more amps than i'm generating? Would this be because my generator isn't producing enough energy? Would a high output alternator stop this issue?
Are there any other problems with this setup i should be aware of?
Thanks
Ian

Might pay to read the "post" AC to DC headlight by Norm 16th July, other "posts" can give you an idea if its worth the cost of more electickary

thanks neddy, that might be useful, I think that may require me changing more of my wiring but may be able to change the stator wiring and keep my current set up, with the power coming from the ignition switch.

Thanks
Ian

Hi Ian, at the moment you are only using half of the alternator and that isn't good enough to run the ignition and the lights, you will flatten the battery in about half an hour. You can't hook the 4 wires from the stator up and run it through the standard rec/reg unit you will cook it. The 4 wire stator is a good unit but it needs to be hooked up with a Boyer or similar higher input capable rec/reg unit. The conversion from A/C headlight is quite simple, I worked out how it can be done a week or so back and the result is a very good headlight

Hi thanks Norm, i have a power box fitted so i guess i'm ok to re configure the 4 stator wires as per your post AC to DC headlight 16/07/13. Thanks
Ian

Hi Ian, in the first post you stated the yellow wire you thought was shorting out. If it is there is another problem somewhere. From where the A/C reg plugged into the loom you can either earth the orange wire or just ignore it, The yellow wire is the power supply to the headlight switch on the right handelbar.

i've added a power supply to the switch directly from the ignition switch, which i think then makes the yellow wire redundant.

Hi Ian,
That certainly will work, just a bit messy altering the wires up in the headlight area. The way I have worked it out is just fitting a relay under the seat so nothing needs to be altered up the front, it remains completely standard. Now you just need to hook the alt up to the Boyer and you have a good lighting setup