Just When I Thought I Was Done With Upgrade $$$

Status
Not open for further replies.
Dan1950

Dan1950

1974 MK II Roadster
VIP MEMBER
Joined
Aug 19, 2021
Messages
1,456
Country flag
I originally wanted to go with LED lighting to reduce stress on my charging system. It seems that given the fact that I have a 3 phase stator, I will be doing just the opposite.

gortnipper said:
If you are moving to LED lighting, and if you have a LED headlight (?), and since you have no e-start, you likely are running hard with a 3-phase stator. Your Podtronics will fail (dont ask how I know). Consider one of two options - a normal output stator, or a MOSFET reg/rect.

granttiller.com

Your Bike’s Charging System - Regulator/Rectifiers and Alternators

A walk through how the charging system works on a classic brit bike with a deep dive into different aftermarket regulator/rectifiers
granttiller.com granttiller.com

granttiller.com

Grant Tiller | Exposing the Market Leading Regulator/Rectifier

article written by Jean Des Rosiers I am rebuilding my café racer and adding an Alton electric starter, since space is at a premium, I opted for a Ballistic lithium battery.These batteries require a slightly higher voltage than standard or AGM lead-acid batteries.I read that some got on quite...
granttiller.com granttiller.com
Click to expand...

I found this on eBay

Just When I Thought I Was Done With Upgrade $$$


Now it occurs to me that I may have to make changes to my charge warning light.
 
My old single phase alternator, with original bridge rectifier & zener diode keeps my battery charged reliably with the headlight on at all times.
Britbike electrical shortcomings have been misunderstood for a LOOOOONG time...
 
concours said:
My old single phase alternator, with original bridge rectifier & zener diode keeps my battery charged reliably with the headlight on at all times.
Britbike electrical shortcomings have been misunderstood for a LOOOOONG time...
Click to expand...
What was pointed out to me was that with my 3 phase alternator and all LED lighting the "short" type Podtronics regulator would be pushing so much current to ground that it would be putting a lot of stress on the stator/regulator. This unit "opens" the circuit when the set voltage is reached instead of sending it to ground. (short)

Just trying to make what I have work better.

Another thing I like about this product is that it is an off the shelf Polaris part.
 
There has been some quite heated debates about this subject in the past. I am not going to venture any opinion, but what I will say is that if you do go for one of those Shindengen mosfet R/R units make sure it's genuine, as 90% sold on Ebay are forgeries. If it has a stainless plate on the back it's genuine, if not it's the other. [EDIT] And if it's cheap it's fake.

Regardless, you can very easily replace the charging light with an LED version which will give you more information. The most recent thread on this here:

www.accessnorton.com

Mk3 and Mosfet Regulator/ Rectifier

Hi all, I am completing a rebuild on a Mk3 that I had to fit a Trispark Mosfet Reg/ Rectifier to, I am interested on your thoughts on my problem and what I have found- I have had the bike running for about 3 weeks but my Ignition light would not go out [new warning light assimilator that I...
www.accessnorton.com www.accessnorton.com
 
Dan1950 said:
I originally wanted to go with LED lighting to reduce stress on my charging system. It seems that given the fact that I have a 3 phase stator, I will be doing just the opposite.



I found this on eBay

Just When I Thought I Was Done With Upgrade $$$


Now it occurs to me that I may have to make changes to my charge warning light.
Click to expand...
IMHO the best change you can make to the silly "is the rotor spinning light" is to delete the assimilator and install madass140's oil pressure switch connected to the red indicator.
 
cliffa said:
There has been some quite heated debates about this subject in the past. I am not going to venture any opinion, but what I will say is that if you do go for one of those Shindengen mosfet R/R units make sure it's genuine, as 90% sold on Ebay are forgeries. If it has a stainless plate on the back it's genuine, if not it's the other. [EDIT] And if it's cheap it's fake.

Regardless, you can very easily replace the charging light with an LED version which will give you more information. The most recent thread on this here:

www.accessnorton.com

Mk3 and Mosfet Regulator/ Rectifier

Hi all, I am completing a rebuild on a Mk3 that I had to fit a Trispark Mosfet Reg/ Rectifier to, I am interested on your thoughts on my problem and what I have found- I have had the bike running for about 3 weeks but my Ignition light would not go out [new warning light assimilator that I...
www.accessnorton.com www.accessnorton.com
Click to expand...
It is genuine. There's a video that give all of the identifying features of the genuine part and this has all of them. It is a Polaris OEM part.

www.ebay.com

Shindengen SH775 Series 12 Volt Regulator Rectifier Upgrade for sale online | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Shindengen SH775 Series 12 Volt Regulator Rectifier Upgrade at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!
www.ebay.com


And yes, I found the thread you referenced and will consider the voltage monitor LED.

Eclipse Battery Voltage Monitor | SparkBright

The Eclipse is a waterproof, auto-dimming voltage indicator with a bright three colour (green/amber/red) LED.
www.sparkbright.co.uk www.sparkbright.co.uk
 
Where or how does one source the male fittings for it?
 
Dan1950 said:
What was pointed out to me was that with my 3 phase alternator and all LED lighting the "short" type Podtronics regulator would be pushing so much current to ground that it would be putting a lot of stress on the stator/regulator.
Click to expand...
Glen ( @worntorn ) debunked that myth here a couple months ago by measuring the temperature rise of his alternator and regulator under real life running conditions. Even with low demand (no lights) and mixed highway riding the stator and Podtronics were well within safe temperature limits. Whatever amount of "dumping current to ground" that these things do is not the cause of failed or cooked alternators.

The Shindegen (used on Polaris) devices are arguably the best on the market. I'm using their MOSFET shunting version. They have Schottky diodes which have much lower forward voltage drop than silicon which means more output at lower RPM. I chose shunt rather than series because the series control devices (MOSFET's) would be another source of voltage drop that would reduce output at low RPM, where we need it most.

There are also reports from knowledgeable sources (like Boyer) that say series regulators can potentially (pun :p ) put high voltage spikes on the power system should the battery become disconnected. I don't want to take that risk.
 
I have gone almost full circle in the last 20 years - LOL

RM21 - Rectifier/Zener

Sparx 3-phase - Sparx Reg/Rect

Alton - Podtronics (and all LED's)

Alton - Rectifier/Zener
 
maylar said:
Glen ( @worntorn ) debunked that myth here a couple months ago by measuring the temperature rise of his alternator and regulator under real life running conditions. Even with low demand (no lights) and mixed highway riding the stator and Podtronics were well within safe temperature limits. Whatever amount of "dumping current to ground" that these things do is not the cause of failed or cooked alternators.

The Shindegen (used on Polaris) devices are arguably the best on the market. I'm using their MOSFET shunting version. They have Schottky diodes which have much lower forward voltage drop than silicon which means more output at lower RPM. I chose shunt rather than series because the series control devices (MOSFET's) would be another source of voltage drop that would reduce output at low RPM, where we need it most.

There are also reports from knowledgeable sources (like Boyer) that say series regulators can potentially (pun :p ) put high voltage spikes on the power system should the battery become disconnected. I don't want to take that risk.
Click to expand...
Yes, I'm on to worrying about other things, no more charging worries.
One interesting note- when I became interested in Invertor Tig welders about ten years ago, the companies and users were blaming the early failures of those machines on MOSFETs.
It's still true that you cannot give a MOSFET welder away. All of the major welder Manufacturers have moved away from MOSFET and now use IGBT.
Then onto the Norton Forum and the MOSFET regs are seen as an ultimate reg upgrade. I don't think these MOSFET regs have been available for very long though, have they? The Trispark offering is a fairly recent thing isn't it?

So far so good, I haven't seen a failure reported here yet, unlike the welder experience on those forums.
Then again there has been great reliability from the original regulators as well as squillions of Podtronics regs.
There have been one of two Podtronics failures mentioned, but the total numbers of Podtronics in use must be enormous.
I'm using 5 here. The eldest one wore out a BSA Super Flash (very rare bike) and is now on my Super Rocket. That Pod has worked perfectly for 22 years.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: baz
take care when buying those connectors , as the FH one are different from the SH .........some have horizontal spades , the other are vertical , so different furkawa connectors .
 
Schwany said:
Dan, Revival Cycles has regulator kits you might want to look at.

As pointed out, Glen gave this subject had a good workout before you showed up.
Click to expand...

marshg246 said:
IMHO the best change you can make to the silly "is the rotor spinning light" is to delete the assimilator and install madass140's oil pressure switch connected to the red indicator.
Click to expand...
I think I will do that. I already got the sender unit from you.

Perhaps I'll opt for the 5mm Eclipse voltage indicator LED and place it between the light switch and turn indicator warning light. It only requires an 8mm hole.
 
$100 USplus $35 shipping, plus the connectors need to be sourced.
You would probably be better off buying this from Walridge Motors. Prices are in Canadian $, so about $130 US plus shipping.

TRI-SPARK MOSFET 20 AMP RECTIFIER/ REGULATOR Part No VR-0030 $165.00 (Reg $185.00)
 
Stephen Hill said:
$100 USplus $35 shipping, plus the connectors need to be sourced.
You would probably be better off buying this from Walridge Motors. Prices are in Canadian $, so about $130 US plus shipping.

TRI-SPARK MOSFET 20 AMP RECTIFIER/ REGULATOR Part No VR-0030 $165.00 (Reg $185.00)
Click to expand...
$110 shipped from eBay
www.ebay.com

Shindengen SH775 Series 12 Volt Regulator Rectifier Upgrade for sale online | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Shindengen SH775 Series 12 Volt Regulator Rectifier Upgrade at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!
www.ebay.com

I sourced some connectors for $29.14 shipped.

Plus, this is an OEM part for Polaris UTVs
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

Britstuff
I thought It was clutch slip, but I think it actually may be a gearbox, (1st gear) issue?
2 3
Replies
42
Views
1,639
mdt-son
M
Back
Top