How hard is it to go battery less?

aussiejohno

XS650 Enthusiast
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Hi guys,

Just wondering how hard is it to go "battery less"? Can I just swap the active wire from the reg/rec to the main red wire on the wiring harness that leads to the positive terminal on the battery?
I have a:

1980 Australian model
new PMA
kick only
indicaters
Cheers
 
I think that may technically work for a bit since you already have a PMA, but based on what I have read you should have a capacitor in there to buffer the electrical system from voltage spikes. I picked up a Sparx capacitor for my bike recently - it cost about $22 with shipping. My electrical experience is fairly limited though, hopefully someone who can give you a more technically correct explanation will come along.
 

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You will have to run a capacitor in place of the battery. Also you should have your lights on a switch so you can turn em off when starting. Not sure how the blinkers will work if that's what you mean by indicators-when the blinkers are on the headlight will at least dim I'm sure.
 
On the 80 US models that have the stock TCI going with a PMA you have to swap to a points ignition or go with an aftermarket ignition.
You already have a PMA, If you are running points then all you need is to swap the battery for a cap.
Leo
 
I would add that my bike currently has no on/off switch for the headlight - it's always on and I am running a capacitor. My bike appears to have gone from 1-2 kicks to 2-3 kicks to start with the deletion of my battery. It's not a big deal for me. I have also noticed the headlight dimming at idle, but again, not a big deal since my XS is basically the opposite of a touring bike.
 
I am also running the Sparx capacitor. I can start my bike as well with headlight and tail on, however I am also running the pamco/pma stator/ignition. I did notice that the ignition needs this capacitor to run properly though..
 
I would say yes you should be good to go. As stated you will get a flickering of the head and tail light at low idle. As soon as you give it some rpms it is fine. Old harleys and other bikes were like this right from the factory. I am not sure on how many lights I would try to draw off the capacitor. I have heard of them lasting a long time to a few days. What indicators are you thinking about ?
 
okay so on my 79 i was looking into going battery less or finding a way to make my system a bit more reliable...which it had been nothing but for roughly 3 years. recently ran into charging problems and have been thinking its the crappy acid fill battery seems as i have ruled out every other component. my system charges just fine when a fresh battery is put in but with no real consistant time frame the battery starts going to crap im currently only running a system with:

Standard Pamco Electronic Ignition
4.5 Ohm single contact point type Ignition Coil
Solid State Rectifier Regulator
crappy auto craft acid fill battery
simple on off switch rated up to 35amps
standard 8 fuse block
headlight and tail light
original 79 stator,rotor,brushes

i know i will have to grab a pma, throw in an on off switch fer light,now as i was reading i would need to add a capacitor in place the battery but should be good with my reg/rect?? or that will need to be switched out as well?? i also fielded the idea with some friends and was pitched the idea that making the system battery less could mean a dramatically reduced winding/rotor life due to constant high voltage flow though the wires?? any feelings on this?
 
If you get a pma kit it will come with a new regulator. As far as long term reliability, pma systems have been around for years powering batteryless bikes.
 
With a PMA you need a PMA reg/rec. The PMA uses a Permanent Magnet To excite the stator to make electricity. The PMA puts out it's full output all the time. The reg bleeds of the extra electricity through a resistance to ground.
On the stock system it uses battery voltage to create a magnetic field to excite the stator. The reg controls the power flow through the rotor to turn the magnetic field on/off to control output.
No reg can work on both the stock and PMA.
When you go PMA you change both the rotor, stator and reg/rec. Then you decide if you want a battery or cap.
the only ignition that won't work with a PMA is the 80 TCI ignitions. They use a pick up mounted on the stock stator and a magnet in the stock rotor to trigger the TCI. A PMA has no provision for these things. So you need to replace with points or an aftermarket ignition. The Pamco is a good one. The E-advancer model even better.
Leo
 
And what ignition do you have? You need points or a pamco and a pma to go batteryless .

With a PMA you need a PMA reg/rec. The PMA uses a Permanent Magnet To excite the stator to make electricity. The PMA puts out it's full output all the time. The reg bleeds of the extra electricity through a resistance to ground.
On the stock system it uses battery voltage to create a magnetic field to excite the stator. The reg controls the power flow through the rotor to turn the magnetic field on/off to control output.
No reg can work on both the stock and PMA.
When you go PMA you change both the rotor, stator and reg/rec. Then you decide if you want a battery or cap.
the only ignition that won't work with a PMA is the 80 TCI ignitions. They use a pick up mounted on the stock stator and a magnet in the stock rotor to trigger the TCI. A PMA has no provision for these things. So you need to replace with points or an aftermarket ignition. The Pamco is a good one. The E-advancer model even better.
Leo

Hey Leo, I have a Pamco ignition but i fried my Mikes XS Coil and now i am using the standard two coil system, can I hook up the Pamco to the standard two coil system?
 
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