pamcopete
Ride.Enjoy.Life is Simple
You guys are way over my head. Pamcopete can you turn me on to one of those magic relays you mentioned with hookup instructions? Are you guys saying what I have will work??? I was thinking I would want something like 12.5 volts at idle and 14.5 at high revs.
Pamcopete you were right The VOM was indicating .3ohms.
Two many... I have gone through cleaning all the wiring rear of the tree. Still ready to go after the headlight and handlebars.
Your goals of 12.5 and 14.5 are nominal, but where are you measuring? If you read my post you should understand that the battery voltage will always be higher than the brown wire regulated voltage at high revs, so at the battery you should add at least .5 Volt except at idle because at idle it's the reverse because the alternator is not contributing to the load, so you should expect 11.5 at the battery at idle due to the internal resistance of the battery and at least 15 Volts at high revs due to the loss across the ignition switch. If you are measuring at the brown wire, then these readings would be different by .5 Volt, or 11 at idle and 14.5 at high RPM
This low voltage at idle is also a problem because in your typical riding profile in town, you do a lot of stop and go, so when stopped the alternator is not contributing and in fact the regulator is at its maximum current output to the rotor and it gets this current from the battery. The headlight is the big current hog and when waiting at the red light, the headlight pulls the battery voltage down. When the light changes and you increase the revs, the alternator starts to contribute to the load and provide a paltry 2 Amps to charge the battery, so quite often the battery is not completely replenished due to gear shifting and the slower speeds in town, so as the day progresses, the battery ends up with a net deficit when you wheel it into the garage. The next morning you add to this deficit when you load the battery with the starter, so as the week progresses, the battery is barely breathing. This is why I recommend that you put the battery on a trickle charger overnight, every night.
However, on two of my bikes, including the '81/H, I have installed yet another magic relay that turns the headlight off when I shift into neutral at a stop light. This reduces the draw on the battery by half, so I stand a better chance of recharging the battery just from normal riding.
Here is a pic of the "magic" relay that I use for these mods.
These are available at most auto supply stores for about $5. You will need the 5 terminal type for the neutral headlight mod. You can use either the 5 terminal type or the 4 terminal for the regulator brown wire mod.
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