6v Cells for my Comet

[Graham Smith]

I've been reliably informed there's a company called Cyclone who advertise in Old Bike Mart, who sell 3 x cells that would fit inside an original type battery box.

Does anyone have their telephone number?

 

[Len Matthews]

6v. battery

Burlen Fuel Systems can supply a similar battery pack, lots of VOC people use them.

 

[nkt267]

http://www.norbsa02.freeuk.com/goffybatteries.htm have a look at this site for Paul goff and you can see the batteries for yourself and compare the price to Burlens.Pauls price is for 2 batteries and you only really need 1 for 6 volt or 2 connected in parallel for 6 volt but higher storage capacity.Dig out your old battery or buy an empty shell,use nice soft packing to stop them bouncing around inside.they hold a charge for ages if the bike is unused for a while. Brothers meteor has been in my garage,unused I'm afraid, for 3 years and the lights still work.Don't offer to buy the Meteor as he is not selling.

 

[Ian Savage]

I've been using these for a while but I have found they can fail quite suddenly. An 8amp/hr totally failed on Jenny's 'A' in France and I've had two 5 amp/hr loose cell, fortunately both were paralleled so the voltage only dropped to 10v from 12v still was able to have lights etc.
Ian

 

[Graham Smith]

OK - I've taken Len Matthews' advice and have ordered a Burlen Fuels System 6v dry battery, and I'm looking forward to getting it.

On my old 'wet' type 6v battery, it used to 'grow' some horrible type of corrosion/fungus type stuff from the terminals.

I always made sure I put Vaseline on the terminals after charging it up.

Do you reckon this 'growth' means there's something else wrong with my electrical system?

I'm using a dynamo.

 

[nkt267]

I'm pretty sure it means your dynamo is charging 'cos you don't get it otherwise Seriously I think I read somewhere that the material used in the connections coupled with moisture causes this corrosion.If you remember old car battery connections a lot of them were lead to match the terminal posts.

 

[Graham Smith]

Anyone who knows me will know that I'm not the best Vincent mechanic in the world, so any offers of help will be gratefully received...

I've now received my 6v Burlen Fuel Systems Battery. It certainly looks a cleaner solution that a 'wet' type battery.

I've got a replica 'empty battery box, so do I just drop the dry cell battery in there, pad it out with foam, and connect up? If so, is there anything else I need to do?

How do I check to see the battery's being charged, and also, check it's not being over-cooked!?

 

[nkt267]

The Burlen that I put in the brothers Meteor went into a hollowed out battery box.I fitted an inline fuse to it which is nicely hidden inside.A bit of 'rubbery stuff'(technical talk that)underneath it so that it cannot chaffe through with vibration,and a bit of packing around it and it will be fine. I think it will be difficult to check if the battery is overcharging as the ammeter is not a very accurate device,assuming that your bike is wired as per normal and shows discharge and charge depending on speed and load(lights etc).If you have Lucas type regulator then you could get overcharging.Electronics in MY experience have been great,apart from the old Hitec which did cook batteries.

 

[b'knighted]

Hi Graham,

Re:"How do I check to see the battery's being charged, and also, check it's not being over-cooked!?"

Having just fitted coil ignition to my Comet, I noticed that the old battery was not able to supply power to the lights and the ign system for starting. I fitted high brightness, low wattage, LED sidelights and a Sprint 12AH Gel battery encased in 3 sides and lid of an old exide rubber battery. It was all assembled and stuck together with silicone sealant.
To check voltage and charging I have fitted a Battery Status Monitor from AO Services.

http://www.aoservices.co.uk/data/bsm.htm

I have fitted it (a 10mm led) between the headlight and bracket behind my tax disc, leaving it visible to rider but totally unobtrusive as its ribbon lead is taped to the headlight shell and the 5/8" electronics box and connections are inside the headlight.

It runs through its colour range once connected, then settles to indicate voltage. It is sensitive enough to then change colour as the ignition is turned on. I am that impressed that I have another to fit to my Knight, possibly repalcing the redeye in the ammeter. Only two wires to connect, red and black and it doesn't blow up if you get them wrong!

Not standard, but discreet enough to get away with and it saves worrying about flat battery or overcharging and saves having to check things with a multimeter.

Cheers, Ian (See you at the SW Autumn Meet?)