Electrically challenged -- MKIII zener/rectifier replacement

I understand electricity sometimes, frequently not. I get that something simple like a light bulb could care less from which side it was getting pushed as long as the voltage and current was there.

Hooking up a replacement box for rectifiers and zeners is a NOT situation for my MKIII.

On a MKIII I have absolutely no idea what the Ignition Warning Light Unit box does. Assuming I understand it, the wiring diagram shows the two output wires from the alternator going off to the the zeners and the rectifiers as expected. However, the diagram also shows the two alternator wires going to the the ignition warning light unit box. Then box output goes to the the ignition (red) bulb in the console (functioning as an idiot light, going off when engine revs go up enough to generate enough output to equal/exceed draw?) , has another hook up to a white wire whose connections aren't obvious to me from the diagram (but I think ties into the ignition switch bundle), and a positive earth connection.

The diagram also seems to imply that a common brown/blue wire comes off the rectifier and goes to the battery, the capacitor (long dead and gone), the power point (I never use) and to the ignition switch. This part seems normal and understandable. Virtually all the replacement box schematics show the boxes two output going (a) to ground and (b) the ignition switch/battery; by passing the rectifiers and zeners. I got that, but don't know what to do about the Ignition Warning Light Unit box - don't want to fry things up - hence my plea for help.

Note: I don't trust how the bike was wired by the PO due mostly to what I saw when I opened the headlight bucket. I would prefer to keep everything functional, e.g., warning lights, etc.

I think I have two choices:

1) Custom wiring. Given I am a dummy, this seemingly simple task is intimidating.

2) Get replacement wiring harness, but I still don't know what to do about the Ignition Warning Light Unit box hook-up.

I put the wiring diagram online (hope that's OK) in case someone thinks they could help but doesn't have the MKIII diagram - http://www.mediafire.com/i/?iew6stfzr44wjej

Thanks for any help you can render.
Lee

P.S. I maybe should mention I'm also throwing an Pazon Altair into the mix along with their coil setup, replacing the POs install of a Boyer Mark 3.

Re: Electrically challenged -- MKIII zener/rectifier replace

lbridges said:

On a MKIII I have absolutely no idea what the Ignition Warning Light Unit box does.

Click to expand...

It's just a simple electronic switch (unless it's the Canadian model assimilator) that breaks the warning light circuit when it senses a certain level of AC output from the alternator.

http://www.nortonownersclub.org/support ... similators

lbridges said:

Assuming I understand it, the wiring diagram shows the two output wires from the alternator going off to the the zeners and the rectifiers as expected. However, the diagram also shows the two alternator wires going to the the ignition warning light unit box. Then box output goes to the the ignition (red) bulb in the console (functioning as an idiot light, going off when engine revs go up enough to generate enough output to equal/exceed draw?), has another hook up to a white wire whose connections aren't obvious to me from the diagram (but I think ties into the ignition switch bundle), and a positive earth connection.

Click to expand...

Battery power is supplied to the warning light through the white wire (white = main ignition circuit) the warning light remains lit until the assimilator senses alternator output when it interrupts the lamp's (white/brown) connection to earth/ground. The white power wire to the assimilator is necessary because the Mk3 type is a transistor triggrered unit unlike the earlier electro-mechanical 3AW unit.

lbridges said:

The diagram also seems to imply that a common brown/blue wire comes off the rectifier and goes to the battery, the capacitor (long dead and gone), the power point (I never use) and to the ignition switch. This part seems normal and understandable. Virtually all the replacement box schematics show the boxes two output going (a) to ground and (b) the ignition switch/battery; by passing the rectifiers and zeners. I got that, but don't know what to do about the Ignition Warning Light Unit box - don't want to fry things up - hence my plea for help.

Click to expand...

The assimilator shouldn't cause any problems if you are only replacing the double Zeners and rectifier with a modern reg/rec unit.

Re: Electrically challenged -- MKIII zener/rectifier replace

There is also another option---but you do as you wish here--most people have different methods of doing this -when I upgraded to electronic ignition and a podtroncs unit---I disconected the zeners, the blue 2MC cap and the warning light assimulator devise. I did install a simple volt meter to monitor the charging system and went merrily on my way. The zeners of course are no longer needed with the solid state voltage reg/rec unit----the 2MC cap will not function as intended with the electronic ignition demands and the warning light assimulator--just another cog in the wheel and more wires to and fro. Whenever you have time and want to clean up your harness--just start removing those loose wires. Do tape up the connectors so they don't short out in the mean time. The RED wires that you see in abundance here and there are another issue---I have eliminated many and have gone to a common ground point to simplify.

Re: Electrically challenged -- MKIII zener/rectifier replace

L.A.B. said:

...

lbridges said:

Assuming I understand it, ...

Click to expand...

Battery power is supplied to the warning light through the white wire (white = main ignition circuit) the warning light remains lit until the assimilator senses alternator output when it interrupts the lamp's (white/brown) connection to earth/ground. The white power wire to the assimilator is necessary because the Mk3 type is a transistor triggrered unit unlike the earlier electro-mechanical 3AW unit.

Click to expand...

Thanks. I didn't think it through enough to recognize the function and therefore that it needs to see the AC and not DC current - that was the part I wasn't grasping.