Hi again everyone yet another problem how can I tell if the alternator on my bike which at the moment is in pieces is 6 or 12 volt I have it off and in my hand but cannot see any I.D. or numbers anywhere and there are no bulbs in the bike to help me in that way the battery was replaced with a 12 volt by the last owner who only had it for resale and he put a 12 volt on but as I am rebuilding I need to be sure many thanks Chris
alternator 6 or 12 volt
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Hi LAB and thanks for your reply I am attempting to post 3 pics showing both sides and the 3 wires of which 2 are green and cream and the 3rd is either solid green or green and black and hopefully you will be able to tell me what it is many thanks again Chris
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chrisf1 said:
An extremely ancient 3-wire, single phase RM?? stator-that's what it is.
Those "green and cream" wires are in fact green/yellow, and green/white! The other being a green/black.
If the green/yellow and green/white wires are connected together ahead of the rectifier then it should operate as a 12V stator.
Information on how to use it as a 6V stator can be given, if necessary.
(Awaiting correct rectifier photo)
Hi again I cannot see a zener diode what does it connect to and I will try again thanks I do not know if it makes any difference but at the moment it is running a distributor and coil which I intend to change for electronic ignition if possible without needing to use a battery is it possible because deciding where to put the battery is a problem, don't know how the pic went wrong but I am no techy but can get by with a spanner many thanks again Chris
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chrisf1 said:
If it's there, it should be connected 'somewhere' on the negative side of the battery (for positive earth) and is usually mounted either on an alloy heat-sink plate or some other substantial metal component that will dissipate heat?
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chrisf1 said:
I take it you meant without a battery but with electronic ignition?
For a points system this would involve fitting either a 2MC or similar type capacitor or replacing the regulator and Zener with a reg/rec unit containing a built-in capacitor such as the Boyer Powerbox or Podtronics Pod-4-1 Max.
Attempting to run electronic ignition could be another matter entirely and whether it worked at all (considering the ancient alternator) is likely to depend on the particular electronic ignition system.
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Hmm. Budget for a new alternator.
And leave space for a battery.
And leave space for a battery.
The unencapsulated stators, like the one shown here are fairly unreliable. The one on my 650ss fell apart in the middle of an ACU National Rally in the mid 70s. The coils become loose and the connections fall apart. It's why they (Lucas) went to encapsulated alternators fairly quickly. Thank God for magnetos!!
For my money, replacing the alternator would be towards the top of the New Bits Required list.
cheers
wakeup
For my money, replacing the alternator would be towards the top of the New Bits Required list.
cheers
wakeup
Hi again I am about to order my new alternator and it is an encapsulated RM 21 please bear in mind I intend running one of these Boyer Bransden capacitor power packs eventually to do away with the battery should I go for one with more power output or should this be sufficient, also I have seen that the rotors differ in size mine is 70mm diameter was this changed when they moved to encapsulated alternators or are they the same size ? many thanks Chris
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chrisf1 said:
The rotor for the encapsulated (and late unencapsulated) stators is 2.7/8" (72mm) diameter, so yours is probably correct, however, if the rotor is anywhere near as old as the stator then it's likely to have lost some of its magnetism by now which will reduce output.
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