Stella - 1977D survivor, back on the road.

[DanielBlack]

Thank you gentlemen, it's been a good day covered in grease. Plenty of it, as you've seen on the bike. What you didn't see was the brunch of biscuits and sausage gravy my wife plated up. Grease inside and out.

All-dressed chips, I'm intrigued. And just because you've asked so nicely, here's a video to start the conversation.

Dash lights and run lights with ignition switch.

Turn signal switch operates the respective side's relay and switches it to a flashed power source.

Old 'Lights' switch operates the 4-way hazards. Switching both sides to the flashed source.

Headlight is switched off while in neutral. Hi/Lo is still operated by stock switch.

Brake light has a modulator, but the video segment doesn't show it too well. At least on my phone's screen.

The fuses are main (R), switched (Br), lights (L), ignition (R/W). The relays under the seat are switched (Br) and ignition (R/W). In the old regulator spot under the L side cover are L & R Turn (Ch & Dg, respectively), Hazards (L/B), and headlight (Sb).

Still to do, wire in the headlight's pilot light so the reflector is filled when the headlight is off. Possibly add in the dash charging idiot light off the safety relay.

 

[DanielBlack]

An auditory tour of Stella at idle with a better view of the brake light near the end.

 

[Mailman]

Ha! That's pretty cool! Your bike sounds so good.

 

[DanielBlack]

Thanks, Bob. You'll get there very soon, now that you're riding. You've set yourself up well by doing extremely thorough prep work. Fine tuning is probably all you'll need. You still have to sync and we're both working out our jetting. Oh, and your E-advance on the bench will help! And besides, I heard your bike and it already sounds really good!

By the way, photo essays inspired by @Mailman.

 

[MaxPete]

Nope - poutine (aka heart attack on a plate) is mainly a Quebec thing!

Love that tour - and the lighting enhancements Danièl. You're a wizard!

 

[DanielBlack]

Long Island's version is Cheese Fries and Gravy. Available at 3am at any local diner.

 

[MaxPete]

Yes, I'd like an extra large order of fat with a side of cholesterol please.

I can feel my blood slowing down even as I think about it.....

 

[5twins]

Pretty fancy wiring job there. What I'd really like more info on is how you did the voltmeter. I picked up a couple of these and had thought I might put one on a little bracket attached to the instruments, but in that "Stoplamp" spot in the center pod, well, that's better .....

http://www.ebay.com/itm/12V-Car-Mot...9068f50&pid=100005&rk=1&rkt=6&sd=401129320290

It looks like mine will fit up into the center pod with just a little trimming off the mounting ears. Is that all you had to do? Did you add any filler strips of rubber or something around the unit? Or under it maybe to hold it up tight to the lens? Also, what color L.E.D. lighting did you choose? I got red but I'm not sure how good that will show through a red lens. And speaking of the lens, were you able to "erase" the "Stoplamp" label somehow, maybe with solvent on a Q-tip?

You said you pulled power from in the headlight bucket but were you able to get the ground from inside the center pod somewhere?

 

[MaxPete]

....of course, if the voltage reading drops to a low enough value, the thing actually IS a stop lamp.

...sorry, couldn't resist(or).

I'll stop now.

 

[DanielBlack]

Pete, you're rediculous and we love you for it.

5twins, yes. I used an Amazon find, but it looks to be very much the same. Cut the ears off and fit right in. I'm not proud of this, but a few cotton balls behind it keep it pressed to the face. I'll swap those out with some soft foam at my next opportune moment.

I made no modification to the stock lens. It's a complete sleeper mod. Key off, nothing's changed. The lettering doesn't bother the readability, but the diffuser striations do. No matter, if you shift your head a little everything is viewable. I chose red numerals. The red lens cleans up the unlit segments and the numeral pops very well.

I added length to both the power and ground leads for the voltmeter, ran them through their own sleeve and parallel with the existing bundle into the headlight bucket. It's getting its power from Br. Ground is spliced in with all the other grounds up there, running back to the neg battery lug on a 16g wire.

Note: I wish I had added more length to those leads for finger room when getting under the cover. It was a bit of a hassle to get it all together.

 

[MaxPete]

rediculous - LOVE IT!

As for headlight bucket wiring - they sure made that thing small, and I don't see why. It could have been 2 inches deeper and made life A LOT easier.

 

[DanielBlack]

Re-, as in again and again. You never stop!

 

[MaxPete]

OH - I thought you were referring to Lucille's colour scheme.

 

[DanielBlack]

Truly just a typo, but we can ascribe any reading you'd like.

 

[gggGary]

I made no modification to the stock lens. It's a complete sleeper mod. Key off, nothing's changed. The lettering doesn't bother the readability, but the diffuser striations do. No matter, if you shift your head a little everything is viewable. I chose red numerals. The red lens cleans up the unlit segments and the numeral pops very well.

I think a bit of clear epoxy on the back of the lens will clean up the view. My "next" voltmeter version..........

 

[MaxPete]

Well, I have noted that we're finally talking about Stella without having to refer to rectifiers, regulators, batteries etc. and thats good!

How many miles - are you ready to declare victory Daniel?

Pete

 

[DanielBlack]

Indeed! While I wouldn't quite declare victory, I am 250 miles into this Windy Nation rectifier. Looking good, but I do wish I had a better understanding of how the VR291 regulates voltage. My cruising voltage is sometimes as low as 12.8v. But, she fires up reliably.

That said, I'm ****ing loving her right now!

No more dribble, and the conversion to a long pushrod seems to have made the clutch action much smoother. I used to have a bit of a shudder as I let the clutch out on takeoff, now very little, if any. Neutral is easy to find, too.

 

[retiredgentleman]

Cruising voltage as low as 12.8 volts is not normal. What voltmeter are you using to measure that, and where in the wiring does the voltmeter gets its connection?
You still have a gremlin on your bike somewhere.

Edit: I would be interested in knowing what the voltage is between the 2 brushes, while you are cruising. Yes, that would not be easy to measure. You would have to run a temporary pair of wires from the brushes up to a more suitable location, to allow the use of a voltmeter while riding.
If the voltage regulator is below its set point of 14.1 volts, then the voltage at the brushes should be 10 to 11 volts.
If the voltage regulator is at or above its set point, then the voltage at the brushes should be 5.5 to 7 volts.

 

[DanielBlack]

I'm observing my installed dash digital voltmeter. Tapped into switched Br power, a 16g wire direct from its relay in the battery compartment. Ground is a 16g wire carrying all grounds from the headlight to the battery. It sees .18v less than my VOM at the battery.

I don't think it would be too tough to run something from the brushes to my dash meter. I'll give it a try.

My hunch is the rectifier issue is closed and done, a separate issue. I believe the low voltage issue is from my first ownership and likely a weak alternator. Measures fine, barely. But, ...

While I was in there the other day, I took a peek. Note the brittle, cracked epoxy.

 

[DanielBlack]

No, Pete, not quite victory.

But still having fun.