Forum

[David]

According to the 2004 electric start schematics, the left hand switch gear where the hi and lo beam switch is ( green and blue wires) and the yellow wire from the AC reg , is earthed, via the block connector, if I understand it correctly. There is a load of wires that run through the block connector, and I am not sure if it would earth all the wires running through that block connector?

[Adrian]

David,



no, that is not correct. The block connector is just a connector, nothing earths through it

Please refer back to the manual. Look for pictues 11ac2b.bmp and 11es.bmp on your manual's CD (assuming you haven't bought the printed version). Meanwhile this is Snidal, not me saying it. I quote:



"4 of the 6 alternator coils feed the AC lighting system without going through the AC:DC rectifier - with an AC regulator to "crowbar" down the voltage when it gets too high. Note that the "common" AC line on the headlamp - the one which feeds one side of both high and low beams (shown as amber in the drawing) is NOT grounded. - ie, there is no connection to the chassis ground."



So to repeat, THERE IS ***NO*** EARTH CONNECTION TO THE FRAME ***ANYWHERE AT ALL*** IN THE AC LIGHTING SYSTEM - IT IS SELF-CONTAINED.



What can be confusing is where the wires may be shown as crossing in the full wiring diagram, but that DOES NOT mean they join. The L/H switch block ONLY earths the horn via the horn button contact and the handlebars, nothing else. The headlight on/off and dip/main/flasher are all AC only, so nothing earthed there, and the indicator and other lighting positions certainly do not want to be earthed at this point.



Norm,



I can only assume from what has been said is that people just cannot get their heads around AC only lighting system and think it has to be earthed somewhere when the manual states the EXACT opposite. There is no earth wire for the headlamp wire, only the amber return wire (from the headlamp bulb terminal block and the high beam warning light), which as stated in the manual is not earthed, but goes back to the alternator, so why would anyone be crimping the black earth wires into it?



A.

[Norm]

It is in the loom Adrian, I have stripped a number of them apart and they are all the same, it is factory, couldn't get my head around it when I first saw it, they are a crimped in factory fitting. Remember any bulb needs a current flow from either pos to earth or neg to earth regardless if it is A/C or D/C. You can probably find it in the wiring diagrams but I can't be bothered looking, Scaley might have it somewhere

[Adrian]

Makes no sense to me - AC and DC linked? A.

[Dennis C]

I haven't looked at the circuit for this bike so please don't tell me off, but there is no reason why two separate circuits can't use a common return, it is a very common thing to do in electronics where a multitude of different power supply voltages use one common return circuit. Whether this bike does or not I don't know and can't be bothered to study the circuit to find out but for the regulator to work it must be connected to both sides of the AC circuit.

[Norm]

"A/C and D/C linked not sure how",Adrian they are 2 seperate circuits, trust me I have rewired and repaired the wiring in plenty of these bikes. Wait till you start playing in the left handelbar switch where in among all this you have A/C and D/C all going on in there, high/low is A/C, horn is D/C, I think headlight flash is A/C,blinkers are D/C, it is a complete dogs dinner and somehow it works

[Dennis C]

Am I reading this thread incorrectly or are Adrian and Norm both saying that the AC circuit is not earthed but somehow managing to disagree?. I must be bored as I have found and studied the circuit for this bike and it does show the AC circuit to be a wired return with no earth, however it is an Enfield so the diagram could be wrong of course.

[Norm]

Dennis, the A/C orange is earthed to the frame in a couple of places,I looked at it in disbelief the first time I unwrapped a loom, had me stumped at first and I still don't really know how it works because the orange is also earthing out one side of the alternator so it must need this to make a circuit. Just to add to this a friend recently started to unwrap a loom from a UCE he was having problems with and he came across these similar joins in the loom and he figured somebody must have fiddled with the loom, I had to assure him that it was factory, they are not insulated, just wrapped inside the loom

[Norm]

Dennis, I have never seen a light bulb work that doesn't have an earth, regardless of what its power source is

[Dennis C]

Norm, I personally have no first hand experience of the Bullet AC headlight, and would not disagree either way, the diagram I found shows no earth return just a wired return to the alternator. think household wiring, AC positive and AC negative no earth needed. As I said previously it is an Indian Enfield anything can happen they don't seem too bothered if the information they give is correct or not. It would work in either mode Earth return or wired return as long as the circuit is complete.