Solid State Upgrades to the Charging Sytsem?

I went right from my early 12V coils to 6V coils and the Sure fire Pazon, no resistor plugs or wires and it's working fine. I'd stick with the points if mine weren't worn out and I can't hold any gap to speak of. Then we could have a thread on bushing the AAU and improving the ramp.



Dave

A testament to the toughness of the original Lucas 12V electrics:

A number of days ago I was running around for quite a while on my Norton which is running all vintage components, the alternator, zener, and rectifier are all old parts scavenged off parts bikes many years ago. I saw a neighbor out in his yard and stopped to BS a bit. After the bike was shut off I noticed that the lights and horn were not working, luckily the bike runs a mag so I started it back up to ride home.

On the way home everything worked fine, the lights and horn. When I parked the bike and took off the battery cover, I discovered that the only old bit of wiring I had used when I rewired the bike, an inline fuse adapter with two old 14 gauge leads coming out of it had lost the lead going to the negative battery terminal, it had simply cracked where it was soldered. I soldered a new lead onto it, connected the battery and all was fine again. Apparently the entire output of the Lucas alternator simply bled off through the zener diode while I was riding, except for whatever the lights needed to work, which I usually always keep turned on. Nothing burned or melted.

I will confess that the old unregulated 6V AC Lucas systems with no zener to sink excess voltage into will fry things if they are run without a battery! I accidentally started a 6v Norton up sans battery once and blew every bulb out along with melting the amp gauge like a styrofoam cup in a campfire.

The 6V bikes can be converted to 12V simply by tying two of the three alternator wires together, tying the rectifier output to a zener on it's way to the battery negative, and swapping a 12v battery and bulbs in, pretty simple upgrade that Lucas used to sell in kit form in the mid-60s to owner's of older bikes.

Also a plug for running a magneto. I know the Commandos had a capacitor to help things along when the battery was lost, but how well do the Boyers and all the other black-box gizmos run with no battery present? I never heard that they liked low voltage or being started from a capacitor. Minus black boxes or a battery ignition, all you are using the battery and charging system for is a few lights....

wah64apache said:

pete.v said:

Ok here we go.

On non Estart unit a 200 watt stator and a 200 watt Reg/Rec unit and a 14 ah battery of your choice is awesome.

Thanks Pete. Do you know any 14AH battery that will fit in the commando fastback bat box?
Cheers, Frank

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I have a 72 Commando and this one, XTA14AHL-BS, from Batteries Plus fits like a glove. Although still functional, I replaced it with a (although I am inclined to PM you with this info because someone will surely jump in with comments) Shorai LFX14L2-BS12. You can find these for under $140

how well do the Boyers and all the other black-box gizmos run with no battery present?

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Well with black box analog 'boayah' which goes bonkers backing fire advanced about 10.5 v I have a few times kicked off and a handful of time pulled to 20+ mph to get going when Peel threw here battery right out though the side cover to never find cover again, but ran fine as long as kept rpm up on the roll and racer like blipping at stops. Peel retained the blue can so don't know it that mattered or not. If the phase of the alternator pulses matched the interval of coil charging then don't need a capacitor-accumulator-condensor to act as another small 12 v battery to discharge to fill the alternator gaps.

I never had much problem W/the stators or rotors of the alternators, but the rectifiers & zener diodes left a LOT to be desired.

What problems did you have with the rectifier/Zener? Still have the originals on my '72. Never had any issues, charges the battery just fine.

pete.v said:

I have a 72 Commando and this one, XTA14AHL-BS, from Batteries Plus fits like a glove. Although still functional, I replaced it with a (although I am inclined to PM you with this info because someone will surely jump in with comments) Shorai LFX14L2-BS12. You can find these for under $140

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Thanks Pete.
I also have a 14 AH Shorai on my KTM 640 Adventure. I know there are nay sayers out there but all I have to say is after two years in Arizona's heat and plenty of forays in the dirt it is still going strong. I think using the Shorai charger may be the key.

Since I am going with all the recommendations you have made along with others (Pazon, Dyna coil, copper wires and NGK caps on Iridium plugs along with the Mik 34mm single carb. And now the 200w stator with the Podtronics Reg/Rect and 14AH battery along with cleaning and updating all electrical connections and a new ignition switch...do I need to keep the capacitor? Cheers, Frank

[/quote]
I have a 72 Commando and this one, XTA14AHL-BS, from Batteries Plus fits like a glove. Although still functional, I replaced it with a (although I am inclined to PM you with this info because someone will surely jump in with comments) Shorai LFX14L2-BS12. You can find these for under $140[/quote]


Pete, I take it your comment is in reference to my posts on the subject, all of which were intended to be helpful to other Norton/British bike owners.
If people dont understand the idiosyncrasies and requirements of the Li batteries, they will likely have a problem. It is clear from many of the posts that a lot of purchasers did not understand actual AH capacity of their batteries, or voltage requirements. I didnt either until a problem arose.
So the info provided, tho perhaps unwanted by some, was just general info on Li Batteries and some specific requirements as detailed by Shorai and others ( mainly minimum voltages)

Glen

10-4 Glen.
I think that if going pure with all that it encompasses then stay away fro the LI. If electrics are upgrade and all wiring is in good nik then the LI is much less riskier. If there is fault in the system, it will surely show at the battery, LI or not.