am bobbing a 79 roadster (im told) from the weeds, not a complete bike by any means. I got it hardtailed, running (except for major oil leak @ clutch pushrod seal). have mostly wired from schematic found from INXS, but charging system is confuzing me. Im not so sure what the rectifier is to look like. what i think is the rectifier that i have is more than a little scary looking (been hot and wires all cut).
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looking for electric xs guru
- Thread starter 1rarebru
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- electrical
PhatTony
I love twins
The rectifier is located under your battery box I believe unless you moved it. Should look like this. The regulator is located under the left side cover and looks like this. I would guess it's the regulator. If it looks like it got hot forget about it. It's junk. MikesXS and eBay have Solid State Replacements or you could search this site for a cheap alternative.
Where in Nebraska are you from?
Where in Nebraska are you from?
I also have a 16 (soon) year old son, this unit was to be a project to teach his majesty some mechanical skills, but seems that girlfriends and buddys are way more important than building a cool little scoot from the ground up w/ your own handies. nuf w/the rant. I pull wrenches for a living (for United Rentals, fix everything from coffee pots to catapellers) but dont have much other than limited info from a clymer manual 70-78.
PhatTony
I love twins
I'm with ya. I'm sure once you're done he'll want to ride it. 
My oldest has no interest. He can't look at the frame and see the big picture. To him it's only a hunk of metal. Oh well. I guess it's my alone time until my youngest gets old enough for the old man to teach him a few things.
You're right the Rectifier has red wires in it not the regulator. I get typing so fast I forget to proof read what i wrote. Yamaha doesn't make the rectifier anymore, go figure, so if it's toast you'll have to adapt a solid state unit which is pretty easy as it's been spelled out all over this site just do a search. Mikes unit has instructions. The way it sounds you are pretty new to XS's but you might want to look into the Permanent Magnet Alternator conversion. The brush system will fail eventually and this swap has no wearable parts. I've bought all the parts for mine but I'm not on the road yet. Sparx also sells a PMA for 400 bones but I know nothing about it. I had Sparx stuff on my Triumph and it always had enough juice. I had to go the PMA route as I'm eventually going to efi my XS. Why? cuz I'm bored and if I don't understand something I will research and experiment until I do. I'm a whack job like that.
If ya run into problems next spring and ya need my help let me know. I go through Tilden 7-8 times a year to visit family in Verdigre. I'd offer sooner but I'm recovering from surgery at the moment. OH and WELCOME TO THE SITE!!
Long post, I get carried away sometimes
My oldest has no interest. He can't look at the frame and see the big picture. To him it's only a hunk of metal. Oh well. I guess it's my alone time until my youngest gets old enough for the old man to teach him a few things.You're right the Rectifier has red wires in it not the regulator. I get typing so fast I forget to proof read what i wrote. Yamaha doesn't make the rectifier anymore, go figure, so if it's toast you'll have to adapt a solid state unit which is pretty easy as it's been spelled out all over this site just do a search. Mikes unit has instructions. The way it sounds you are pretty new to XS's but you might want to look into the Permanent Magnet Alternator conversion. The brush system will fail eventually and this swap has no wearable parts. I've bought all the parts for mine but I'm not on the road yet. Sparx also sells a PMA for 400 bones but I know nothing about it. I had Sparx stuff on my Triumph and it always had enough juice. I had to go the PMA route as I'm eventually going to efi my XS. Why? cuz I'm bored and if I don't understand something I will research and experiment until I do. I'm a whack job like that.
If ya run into problems next spring and ya need my help let me know. I go through Tilden 7-8 times a year to visit family in Verdigre. I'd offer sooner but I'm recovering from surgery at the moment. OH and WELCOME TO THE SITE!!
Long post, I get carried away sometimes
Verdigre...alas I know it well. go through there half a dozen times a year. love that area. back to the bike, like everybody else I am trying to do this build as cheap and old schoolish as possible. the head light I made is off an old M tractor, 4" dia, was 6v but alittle grinding, a couple set collars, and some welding and presto chango its hallagen.
As far as your regulator and rectifier go, Pamcopete has developed a replacement set up that costs about $30 to $45 to do. I think they are listed in the tech section of this site. I know they are in the electrical section over at the Garage.
The regulator you can get at any parts store. The rectifer parts from Radio Shack. Lots of people have built and are using them with much success. I'm one.
Getting the alternator working right is the second most important part of building your electrical system. The igniton is #1. With out a good alternator your bike will only run for short periods, until the battery goes dead.
Once you get the alternator working, and the ignition working then adding the headlight, tail light, brake light, turn signals horn. Thats the easy part.
Studying a good diagram will help you understand just how everything works.
I like this one. It shows how the point get wired, the electronic ignition. The old style reg/rec, the later combo reg/rec. Just swap the boxes with your parts into the right places.
The Pamcopete upgrades will hook in in place of whats there. He also has an igniton setup that swaps right in also.
The regulator you can get at any parts store. The rectifer parts from Radio Shack. Lots of people have built and are using them with much success. I'm one.
Getting the alternator working right is the second most important part of building your electrical system. The igniton is #1. With out a good alternator your bike will only run for short periods, until the battery goes dead.
Once you get the alternator working, and the ignition working then adding the headlight, tail light, brake light, turn signals horn. Thats the easy part.
Studying a good diagram will help you understand just how everything works.
I like this one. It shows how the point get wired, the electronic ignition. The old style reg/rec, the later combo reg/rec. Just swap the boxes with your parts into the right places.
The Pamcopete upgrades will hook in in place of whats there. He also has an igniton setup that swaps right in also.
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