Hitchcocks Forum

Hi,

I've got a 350 bullet year 2001 and soon I'll need to rewire her. Like many of you, I think the AC/DC system, though good (never had a problem) is too complicated for a bike known by her simplicity. Well, I'm planning to convert the electrics in an all DC system but when it comes to the alternator...doubts appear. After reading a lot on the subject I rejected some options (fitting a Lucas alternator or revert to the old RE 3 wired one) and decided convert my 4 wired stator to a 2 wire. Then I came across an old thread in this forum (July 2013) and my world came on darkness because I found some enigmatic Pete Snidak words which I'm not able to understand. Writing about this subject (converting 4 wires to 2) Mr. Snidal says: "...the amber (orange) output line my be grounded to the stator frame. Check for grounding with a circuit tester. If continuity is detected, find the point at which the amber wire is grounded and unground it". That text gets me mad. Anyone can explain me what does it mean or how to do that action or whatever? Any answer will be welcome.

Thanks!

Toni

I have no practical knowledge of this model but reading your thread I would say you need to put a meter between the orange wire and the frame with every thing disconnected to see if there is continuity between the two if there is you will need to find the connexion point and disconnect it well that's my take on it

It's quite simple really. Pete is simply checking that the AC coils are note grounded to the alternator chassis....You might have had the AC system working OK feeding the headlight bulb and it would not have mattered if the AC system was earthed by design or by a fault with the windings insulation but when you want to use the AC coils to be added to the DC system it's going to cause a problem. SO simply after disconnecting the two orange wires from their output connectors, attach one test lead on your Ohmmeter (set OHMs on your multimeter) to one of the orange wires and one on the alternator stator chassis ...if all is well the meter should not indicate any reading (use the very low Ohms range) If a short is indicated the coils output could be shorting on the stator chassis where they lead away to the output leads...if you cannot find a short then I'm afraid that the insulation of the coil windings is faulty and not much you can do about it apart from using it in the original AC lighting set up.....Les

Hello, again,

Two wires? Mine has two violet one yellow and just one orange. Should I unground both of them?

Yes.

I assume that your shed light is working then?

Sorry, I just re-read the title. It's been a long day and I am tired. disregard the above post.

The yellow and orange are the ends of the AC system coil....the resistance of the coil is something like 1- 2 Ohms (from memory...very low) Test on either of them to the stator chassis to find out if there is a short to ground...If OK you can use them to add power to the DC system as long as you use the correct or suitable power control unit to regulate the increased output....NOTE: When you sum the AC coils (orange and yellow) to the DC output wires you might have to reverse the pairing to obtain the highest output as one set of coils might be out of phase one way until reversed...Perhaps someone here might know the correct matching/pairing ?....Les

As Dennis said....do all the tests with the output leads unconnected ...but having said that, the DC coils in practice should be isolated (insulated) from contact with anything else anyway...all coils should "float" or be insulated from earthing if the stator is healthy.

Wow!

Thank you very much to all of you! Now I can see the end of the tunnel. I had thought even to change the indian alternator to a Lucas or Sparx but... I like open coils and the indian item appears to be a quite dependable thing. I wouldn't like getting rid of it.

Thanks again and any other suggestion will be welcome. The thread is not closed, of course!

By the way: any of you have done this modification? could it affect the battery?