Hitchcocks Forum

Hi chaps.

I have bought one of those Boyer Powerboxes without realising they are really meant for a 2 or 3 wired alternator also i bought it before i even heard of 'Hitchcocks' so sorry about that Hitchcocks but don't worry as i will be putting an order in very soon for some other bits & bobs.
So before i bite the bullet & order a more modern 3 wired alternator has anybody got their 4 wired alternator to connect to a Boyer Powerbox? I apologise if this subject has been already covered but if you are like me i actually enjoy helping people.

Believe it or not but Boyer-Bransden themselves couldn't answer my question & neither could the eBay Seller so again i am hoping someone on here can help but you would have to explain it like you are talking to a child though. I just about know my way around a volt meter but then again i have NEVER come across AC Headlights before though so this is all new to me.

I will say though that i found this interesting article on the interweb where a Scottish chap who is too clever for me adapted his R/E to work with a 2nd hand Reg/Rec off a Kawasaki ZR6 but i somehow think he will still have the AC Headlights though which is what i want to get rid of. I will attempt to post that link here but don't know if it is allowed to post links or pictures on here? Here it is:

I am going to give it a go & have bought a new Reg/Rec for £11.48 off one of those auction sites so i will try that out before i go & pull that side casing off but i still want to see if i can get this Boyer Powerbox working first before i attempt to fit that Boyer Electronic Ignition so as to do away with those fiddly unreliable points.

Thank you.

Just as i thought any links have been blocked which i respect but all you have to do is Google this: & that shows you how to do this Japanese Reg/Rec Conversion

Fit a Japanese Regulator Rectifier Unit to a 12v AC/DC Royal Enfield Bullet by stinkwheel

As in Stinkwheel who posts here regularly?



Pete Snidal's manual also shows how to connect both sides of the four wire alternator to a single reg/rectifier. Presumably you want to run the lights off an all DC system so that you can have them on without the engine running? For alternator upgrades a single phase (two wire) Lucas RM21 or its Sparx equivalent would normally be sufficient.



A.

Yup, this stinkwheel. My 350 bullet has had a ZX6R rec/rec on it for the last 6 years/ 30-ish thousand miles after the original one died and fried the stator on the way home from the Dragon rally in 2012.

And yes, I still have the AC headlamp, because I think it works well so I didn't change it.

Blimey that was quick. Thank you very much Gentlemen.

So Mr. Stinkwheel is on here? Wow! I have subscribed to your Youtube Channel Mr erm so i will follow your progress with your latest R/E Project & Adrian i only want to go on DC Headlights because that AC Lighting Regulator has melted LoL. BTW after some googling i discovered who this other guy is namely Pete Snidal? He has written a book i see all available on CD ROM which is excellent news.

I also found another thread on here about this Boyer Box and it has been done like you say. It looks like i just remove this AC Reg which has 2 spare wires. It has an Orange & Yellow and apparently i just connect the Orange to a Purple & the Yellow to the OTHER Purple so surely i can't go wrong there. Once again i am surprised that Boyer-Bransden's don't even recognise a 4-wired stator.

Cheers Guys. Ian W.

If the AC regulator has melted, I would be checking that everything else is ok with the alternator because they are usually pretty reliable, they don't have a whole lot to do. Something made it cook, be that a fault withthe unit itself, a problem with the stator windings or a short elsewhere in the wiring.



Incidentally, AC regulators are relatively cheap. £25 from our hosts. If you don't fancy an Indian one, there are slightly fancier versions available elsewhere designed for running on older vespa/lambrettas.



Mr Snidal had gone into all of this in MUCH greater depth than I have.

Of course if your existing regulator/rectifier on the battery side is still OK, and, with Stinkwheel's comments in mind, the rest of the AC headlamp circuit/alternator still checks out fine, there's no reason you can't simply fit the Boyer Powerbox in place of the fried AC regulator. The only difference it that your headlamp will now have a regulated DC supply, with the added advantage of the Powerbox's capacitor. Having a DC supply to the headlamp will let you fit one of the better LED replacements for your H4 headlamp bulb (probably best to make the high-beam warning light LED too) which will use a lot less power.



A.

The above is an elegant, novel and well thought-out suggestion.



Adrian. Do you mind me asking what you do/did for a living? That is the kind of lateral thinking money can't buy (I'm pissed I never thought of it!). I love the way it uses already existing hardware (and therefore zero additional cost to the user) yet solves the problem and fulfills entirely the OPs stated aim whilst keeping the original intent of seperating the ignition and lighting systems.