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[Adrian]

I was one of Her Majesty's pen-pushers, but have always had an interest in things mechanical. My wife thinks I have Asperger's (possibly a better explanation than lateral thinking) as I do tend to obsess over details... I can still remember the part no. for the of BSA fork stanchions on a long-gone B40/Starfire bitsa.



A.

[iainw07]

Hi Guys.

I have got this Boyer Powerbox thingy all up & running thanks to the people in this group but i need to pick your brains once again because i wonder if i am expecting too much out of this 4 wire stator now by upgrading to a more powerful headlight bulb? It is a regular everyday 55W H4 bulb i am now using which i robbed from my GSX 1400 to try it out but with everything switched on i only get 11.5V across the battery & i have to keep the revs up for this otherwise it will drop down to about 9V.

BTW i know you can swap around the violets which i did so i am definitely on the best variation because i get 14V with some revs until i switch everything on & once again i drop to 11.5V with revs but 9V on tick-over but it will sit at 12V on tick-over with no other electrics running.

I done all the tests like you do with a volt meter & the stator knocks out about 25V (AC) on BOTH charging phases so it can't be totally knackered but saying that i have no doubt that it has seen better days especially after that AC to DC Headlight Regulator melted, i bet that overheated them coils . I might pull that side cover off today to inspect it but then again whilst it's off i might just as well upgrade to a 3 phase stator but if i do that then my Boyer Powerbox will have to be swapped for a 3 phase unit so before i bite the bullet has anyone else got any better ideas?

I never did know why that Headlight AC to DC Regulator melted, i wonder if something earthed out on the frame. It happens.

[ed.lazda]

Sounds like you need a new battery.

[stinkwheel]

Is the battery in good condition? Can't put much charge into a dead/dying battery and a bullet will cope for a long time with a very ropy battery. Especially if it's on points, it'll make a spark down as low as 9v.



One way of checking is to charge it on a charger then see what the resting voltage is and see if it's holding that over 24h or so. If it's only sitting about 12v, it's probably on the way out.



Another thing worth checking is the frame earth, they can get very corroded and rust is a poor conductor of electricity. It's often located behind the top bolt that holds the battery box on but in any case, just follow the negative lead back up the loom to find it.

[Adrian]

Iain, exactly how did you wire in the Powerbox?



If you kept the AC and DC sides separate, whatever's happening on the AC headlamp side of an AC/DC Bullet electrics should have no effect at all on the DC/Battery side. The AC and DC systems should be completely isolated electrically, even though the same lighting switch will operate both sets of lights.



Probably the best thing you can do for the headlights is fit a bulb with a LOWER rating, eg H4 36/36W, this will work better at lower engine speeds when the alternator is chucking out less juice as the filament will need power to glow at full intensity. I mentioned LED replacement for the H4 bulb, which you can fit if you used the Powerbox as a direct replacement for the AC regulator only.



If you wired the WHOLE output from the alternator into the power box Snidal-style, the alternator should be able to cope with a 60W H4 bulb. Try running without the battery as the Powerbox has a built-in capacitor to allow you to do this.



A.

[iainw07]

Thanks once again Gentlemen. I am hearing a lot about this Pete Snidal Guy. He sounds like he definitely knows his Onions from his Shallots for sure and i wish i knew where i could see his wiring diagram just to make sure i have got it right right but after following the instructions on this forum i am convinced i have wired it the best way around. I worked out that you join a Violet with an Amber from the Stator to a Boyer Yellow & join the other Violet to a Yellow on the Stator to the other Boyer Yellow then measure your voltage & apparently you can swap around a Violet if it doesn't give the highest output voltage. I wish i could upload a picture to show what i have done & just to be clear i have totally eliminated the AC Headlight so everything is on the Boyer Powerbox Adrian. I will check out this other battery before i go any further just as Mr Stinkwheel says.