Battery Health & Charging Circuits

Interesting info. Thanks Ron. I'll have to investigate whether the RMStator reg I bought is mosfet or not - it is tiny and has a chip, so I suspect so. this is with the ND Kawasaki alternator i'm running on the SFQ.

When my reg shat itself (possibly because of a total breakdown in the battery - or was it the other way around?!) I fitted the RMStator reg but it was faulty from new (16-25V coming out of the system!) running a new LeFePo, so I ended up fitting a used std ND diode type reg to test everything and it worked perfectly ... so it's still in there. I carry the new warranty replacement RMStator reg when i do long rides, but won't fit it until i have an issue.
 
I had a 69 Triumph Bonney with a Zener Diode - Kick Start only. You could kickstart that Bonney with or without a battery - You need ultimate patience to kick start a Bonney that did not come with a starter and had them DAMN trickle Amal carbs like the Breganzie 750 SFC. My 69 Bonney actually sprained my ankle and threw me over threw the bike at times - Always will love that Bonney ;o)

If you had a dead battery or did not have a battery installed the Zener Diode would do it's job but over heat and burn out in short time.

Of course you need a somewhat functional battery and a starter motor for Mosfets to their thing whether you have a Generator or an Alternator.
 
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Speaking of smoke…. I had a problem with 12v fridge that would stop and start at random. I was almost going to presume it was cactus and look at buying a replacement

I checked the glass fuse protecting it and the fuse looked fine, a tested ok on the multimeter. Tested it again and WTF, nothing?

Looking at it towards light with my glasses on, I could see the finest of cracks (cracked not blown) in the filament. Must’ve been making the occasional connection over bumps, and no connection at other times etc 🤦‍♂️ FFS
 

piranha-bro2 quote "Intermittency is the worst of faults!"​

Like that crappy Lucas Key Switch that came with SF's and SFC's ;o(
 
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piranha-bro2 said:
Intermittency is the worst of faults!
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I was thinking exactly the same the other day when trying to fix an intermittent fault on a mate's BWW R90S. His instruments and lights would occasionally go dark. Probably an earth fault somewhere.

It was actually in fault mode when I started to take it apart so I thought it would be easy enough to find the problem, but when I pushed part of the wiring harness aside to figure out which bit went where, it suddenly came good and worked properly. I'd accidentally fixed it. Evidently it was a bad connection somewhere, and a jiggle of the wiring harness re-connected it. Further jiggling failed to reproduce the fault, and since it was all working again, I was unable to find the fault with continuity checks. So I simply put it back together and he's back on the road. It'll probably happen again, but at least it's not a terminal (ha ha) fault that'll strand him on the side of the road. The electronic ignition system that I'd installed for him a few years ago was unaffected.

I've never been a fan of BMWs. They do things in weird ways, or at least they did in the airhead boxer days (I dunno much about modern Beemers). The brakes are weird, the wiring is weird. They're put together weirdly. And they feel weird to ride.
 
Dellortoman said:
I've never been a fan of BMWs. They do things in weird ways, or at least they did in the airhead boxer days (I dunno much about modern Beemers). The brakes are weird, the wiring is weird. They're put together weirdly. And they feel weird to ride.
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It would make an interesting thread comparing all sorts of bikes. I have an R90S as well, and can attest to some of that. I'm not an engineer, but always felt the evolutionary nature of them results of some of those :mad: moments, like that great looking but #$% fit air filter housing/intake tubes, undoing half the bike to change the battery since the 900 needed a bigger one and they didn't change much on the frame side, and probably having a whole bunch of /5 switchgear and drum brake levers left so all the crap about safety by having the brake cilinder under the tank I felt was marketing speak for trying to cover up the use of all the old setups ;) Just like that excuse for a kick starter... I've had to use it some times in anger, it does work, but that's about it, and then finding out the gearbox drain plug magnet was full of metal shavings -called an expert whose first question was "did you use the kick-start".... turns out the mechanism is made of less than steller quality and will wear down really quick for some reason or other. Was advised to only use it in emergencies only. (given the ergonomics that's about the only use in the first place, no wonder the 90S is the only 5-speed with kick starter, was dropped thereafter)

Although I have to knock really, really, hard on unpainted wood, the electrics are one of the things that have caused next to no problems so far -other than the original clock being broken, which they all seem to do.
Still like it, though. Guess I'm just enough of a fan of things to cover the bad things about stuff with love, speak of character, and whatnot like the 75/5 owner I talked to a few weeks ago, who found that bike (got it from new) the best thing since sliced bread. Never really understood that -covering up poor design or quality as "character" or "they all have that".
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@Laverda SF Interesting video's, thanks, I've been through them a bit quickly hopefully this week some more time to absorb it all. :)
 
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piranha-bro2 - Yes your right it was a Bosch Ignition Sx - Mine would constantly loose contact no matter how many times I serviced it. Actually the Lucas Bar Switch Controls worked great and I liked them. They were rugged and did not require relays. All you had to do was clean them occasionally.
 
At least they were easy to disassemble and play with Ron. I went to ND switchgear and ignition ... to go with the replacement instrument bracket once the SF1 pressed steel one inevitably broke. Lucas switches worked but I found them a bit dated, large and clumsy c/w the tidy ND ones that came with the next model (SF2).
 
A mechanic from the shop next door to us in Elizabeth Street was test riding a trident. Gave it full throttle in third from low revs and it jammed at full throttle. Madly trying to find which button was the kill switch until he crashed pulling on the front brake. Do you remember which one it was?
 
Tippie said:
A mechanic from the shop next door to us in Elizabeth Street was test riding a trident. Gave it full throttle in third from low revs and it jammed at full throttle. Madly trying to find which button was the kill switch until he crashed pulling on the front brake. Do you remember which one it was?
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Pull the clutch in FFS. Some mechanic!
 
Two types of fault that require experience skill. Shorted 12V feed, ie "clearing fuses" make up an old headlight lamp ( incandescent ) with fly wires to a cleared fuse or adapted blade type. The headlight will glow brightly indicating a supply to return ( negative battery usual ) which will allow removal of connections or abraded harness to frame. That is one of the least difficult fault or faults to locate.

Intermittent, very much a staged process, if not an intermittent shorted supply, which the above addresses, lighting or ignition possibles. Ignition, electronic self energised test incorporation reduces this location to a methodical process that resolves or absolves various sections. If no self test function, then you have a hard walking road ahead, the cost of a replacement ignition is small compared to the agony let alone the dangerous aspect. Lighting, once again, activate the circuits, slowly engaging the most accessible sections, harness and switches, then into the headlight shell, with slow and deliberate staged mechanical movement application.

The third most important criteria, philosophical in nature, all faults make sense, in the end, there is no weird fault, merely the misunderstanding of what is being observed, unaccounted for interactive fault or combined faults add to the mantra, makes no sense ( yes it does ) and the "weird", euphemism for i dont know what i am doing... harsh, perhaps, someone has to be, a wry smile here if not a smug "have solved every bike fault that came my way" j.
 
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AJ said:
Pull the clutch in FFS. Some mechanic!
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Mmmm had a throttle cable jam carbies wide open on a wide down hill right turn into a uphill drive way, old federation brick fence on either side, perhaps a second or two to react.

Pull the clutch and possible grenade the motor or use the braking effect of the motor ( run stop was ND thank goodness ) over locking the front brake ( steep downhill ) sometimes a long thought process can be done in accident happening time frame. Did get to the kill switch and into the uphill driveway, a modicum of skill and a whole lot of arse... obvious is not always obvious j.
 
Bye the Way Save and Protect them Lucas Switch Handle Bar Screws - The Thread Pitch is Euro Metric Specific - NOT Japanese.

Had them Lucas Switches on my 69 Triumph 650 Bonney, 70 250 Triumph Trophy and my 70 Laverda 750 SF0 - Love them Switches ;o)

Why that cantankerous Bosch Ignition SX would fail on my 750 SF mostly shifting into 3rd probably had a lot to do with harmonic vibration - Imagine passing an 18 wheeler and in the process your ignition cuts out ;o(

I replaced both the Ignition Switch and Head Light Switch with industrial grade Toggles.
 
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iis_iis - Right On - Extremely hard to find that thread pitch today.
May be finding them at Industrial Nuts and Bolts Mining Outlets.
 
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