NoisyNorton wrote:
. Slick I want to make sure I am understanding correctly. Will the Podtronic regulate the voltage output from the alternator similar to the 6v set up? Would converting to 12v and just running off the alternator put a strain on the alternator because once he is running lights or other loads will it put out full load?? That is where I get confused with the Podtronic, could you verify please?
The short answer is NO and NO.
The 3 wire 6V system regulated the alternator output by selecting 1/3, 2/3, or 3/3 (full) output. There are 6 coils on the stator .... each of the coils is series connected with the coil diametrically opposite to form 3 pairs. One of these pairs is brought out on one of the three lead wires (dunno which one without consulting my notes which are not with me at present), the other two pairs are parallel wired together and brought out on the other lead wire. The third lead wire is common to all pairs.
Wish I could post a circuit schematic, but cannot where I am. The following will have to suffice:
--------WWW--------WWW------------ lead 1
-------WWW---------WWW------]------ lead 2
------WWW---------WWW-------]
Ok, in the above sketch, a coil is represented by WWW, and ----- represents a wired connection. The two ] are wired together and thus the last four coils are in a series-parallel configuration. The third lead wire is common to all 3 coils on the left side. I am trying to schematically represent my explanation in words above.
I think lead 1 is the green/black and lead 2 is the green/yellow (really does not matter). The headlight (main) switch selected either lead 1, lead 2, or both. When lead 1 was selected, the alternator could only provide 1/3 of max amperage, and lead 2 was an open circuit. When lead2 was selected, 2/3 max amps was available, and lead1 was open circuit. For full output, both lead1 and lead2 were joined (at the main switch).
This was the control method. Basically to wire the alternator into three parts and pick the combination of parts that best matched the load.
The Podtronics is meant to work with all coils in the circuit. A two wire stator simply has lead 1 and lead 2 internally connected, and only lead 1 is brought out, along with the common lead.
Refer to jeandr's post in General Motorcycle Discussion regarding voltage regulators. He shows how the Podtronics works by short circuiting the stator output to earth. In short, the difference is regulation by open circuit (the old original way) and regulation by short circuit (the Podtronics way).
Now to the specifics of your questions:
Converting to 12V is as easy as changing out all the lamps from 6 V to 12V. The alternator voltage is a function of the magnetic strength of the rotor and the number of turns in the coils. The voltage can get very high (1 - 2 hundred volts) if there is NO load or battery in the circuit. Without a regulator or battery, you will blow all the lamps. The Podtronic provides the regulation to clamp the maximum voltage to about 14 V by rapidly shorting/un-shorting the coils of the stator to earth.
With more load (running all lights), the Podtronics has less work to do (shorting/un-shorting) to keep the voltage at 14 max.
The Podtronics strains (your word) the stator more when there is less load as it directly shorts the output lead wire to earth as required to hold down the output voltage to 14. When the load is high, the load strains the stator. The best situation is to have a regulator open circuit the stator to hold the voltage to 14, but this type of regulation poses other problems and I know of no commercially available regulators that work that way. Regardless, as Triton Thrasher says, the stator takes the strain either way.
FWIW .... I have a 2 wire stator on my Atlas with a Podtronics regulator. I have a 2.5 AH battery to keep up the lights at idle. The battery also acts like a capacitor and "smooths" out the regulator. Furthermore, should the regulator fail, the battery will prevent the lamps from blowing. I do not have the original Lucas main switch, and my wiring thus departs from stock.
If I were to wire in a Podtronics unit to a stock Lucas main switch, and with a three wire stator, I would simply plug in the stator wires to their respective color match on the 3-way bullet, and let the Lucas switch send the proper lead wire to the regulator. Lights on is now required in most jurisdictions, and the main switch will connect all the stator coils in the "lights on" position, same as joining the lead wires as Podtronics suggests. With a 2 wire stator, I would connect the stator wire to the green/yellow. If memory serves me correctly, that should deliver full stator output to the lights/battery/regulator when the main switch is in lights on position.
I hope this helps. Feel free to ask again if I failed to clear it up.
Slick
