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[JRH]

Hi Adrian. I fitted the powerbox as the regulator was goosed, and to buy a reg/rec pair from Hitchcocks was actually £1 dearer than the powerbox! Besides, the PO has fitted the Boyer electronic ignition, and if you read the instructions that come with the powerbox, apparently running without a battery is not a good idea. Having had a good poke around it would appear that the 2 marker lights and the sidelight are actually LED's which are connected to the rear lamp circuit, so will need DC. So, the plan is for today: 1, wire the sidelights/rearlight straight into an ignition live source. 2, break away the headlamp source and connect to the AC side. So, I won't have to worry about the main switch. I'm a big believer in headlamps 24/7, and am a bit of a sod for forgetting to turn them on if there is a switch (like my Triumph T300), so like a more modern bike I have lights all the time. Would my plan work in theory? Thanks, James

[jefrs]

Lead acid cell voltage is 2.15V, so a "twelve volt" battery is 12.9V and needs over 12.9V to charge it, 14V charge volts being normal (your 13.9V) - but when we put a load on the generator the voltage drops if it cannot sustain the current (it's Ohm's law stuff). Solution is either to decrease load (LED everything) or improve generator efficiency (by magic).

Work out the power consumption of everything-on vs generator capability. Wattage is a non-word for power (Watts). Modern rectifiers in the regulator are so efficient that they can seemingly produce more current than the alternator puts out.



Personally I'm finding that with cars now using lights in daylight (mine too) we get a lot of smidsy to bike headlamps unless we stand out - like having three LED pilots in the casquette and headlamp which shows an unusual pattern, not the dip beam which looks like a car a long way off. Depends where you ride maybe.

My C5 does turn all the lights off when I pull the key out, so I can leave its switch on sidelights. The lights switch just runs off the on/off key switch. Otoh the 3-phase alternator on the C5 can probably run a toaster.

[JRH]

UPDATE: I have now discovered that the orange wire from the alternator (supposed to be headlamp "common") is down to frame earth, and the earth to the sidelight was connected to it as well as the headlamp. Which was also connected to the alternator! I've split the yellow & orange wires from the alternator, and the coils are good, nothing shorted to ground and good continuity. I'm going run new wiring to the headlamp from the alternator, with the AC reg in parallel via the hi/lo beam switch, and isolate the existing wires. One wiring diagram I have seen also mentions a resistor in parallel as well as the regulator, to regulate current I presume. Is this incorporated with the regulator or is it missing? I've done some googling, but cannot seem to find anything specific to the resistor. Thanks!

[jefrs]

On some old ones, one side of the alternator may well be earthy (0-??VAC) so a single diode can rectify the lot - not very efficient. Splitting it to full wave rectification (+ve 0 -ve) might double power available with the right box of tricks. Careful here as shorting alternator coils can burn them out, oops.

[Adrian]

Thought so, the p.o. didn't get the separate AC system. I too have come across the resistor in some of the wiring diagrams, I don't know if our hosts' pt no. 500974 is the one, but ask them. If you are not planning to run battery-less because of the electronic ignition, you could have saved a few bob with a generic single phase reg/rectifier!



I shall be using one of the Indian 6 wire alternators (with a suitably modified crankshaft) when I rebuild my Electra-X, as it has CDI ignition. With the Sparx equivalent of the Boyer Powerbox for the DC side (and LEDs wherever possible), and AC power direct to the headlamp I will be able to junk the battery. The Electric start is long gone.



A.

[JRH]

Nearly there! All the wiring is done at the back end, I just have to sort the headlamp end out now which shouldn't be too much of an issue. One thing I did notice, was during initial tests yesterday, the 35/35w halogen bulb I used was a little bit dark on the inside afterwards - Indicative of too much current?. The regulator is working ok, as it was around the 13v AC mark. I intend to fit a 60/55w bulb (looking at the parts diagrams for this particular setup it appears to be the 2002 4 speed kick start model, with the AC/DC alternator), So will see what happens. The sidelight/marker lights on this machine are already LED, but the stop/tail isnt. I'd be inclined to keep the stop/tail as a normal incandescent bulb as I have seen various articles on the brakelight being a bit inefficient. The indicators are a bit irrelevant as they aren't really on long enough to pose that much of a drain.

One question though: Would the horn take to running from an AC supply? I mention it, as due to the bike being heavily customised it has a combined hi/lo & horn switch, with one input. If the horn will take AC, then all well and good. If not, I have some rectifier diodes kicking around somewhere, and I'll knock up a quick and dirty half wave rectifier.

Nearly there!

James

[jefrs]

35W headlamps seem to absorb more light than illuminate.



If you're going H4 then go for one of the super bright versions of +20% to +90% although imo in the old car the 'brightest' ones did not offer the best road visibility (and some aren't road legal). - H's Phillips Motovision is "+40%"

[jefrs]

LED auxiliary bulbs don't have the spread of an incandescent, they certainly don't throw their light back onto the reflector and hence may not be seen from all angles as intended, the brake/tail from the side. The LED pilot I have in the headlamp suffers from this and appears as a bright pinpoint rather than a dimly glowing orange headlamp. It is visible as a see-me but it won't illuminate the road (one can drive on sidelights in a street lamp lit area, legal but only if you're stupid). I noticed in dusk traffic this evening that solely on the pilots, cars moved out of the way, switching to the headlamp they did not.