Misc: Charging Systems Alternators
- Thread starter SteveO
- Start date
OK guys, I just (somewhat belatedly) tried the bulb test. Two wires so connected between them, its an old rear light/brake light bulb. Glowed at tickover, as revs rose got brighter and brighter. Decided to throttle back rather than blow it - so plenty of power output there I believe. So it must be the regulator, despite being brand new? Could it be anything else? Ammeter shows discharge with lights on, so presumably not that.
Nope, I don't think it's that Erik. Just rode it home from the club with lights on, showed clear discharge. Should have more than balanced at speed I was doing.
One of the guys at the club said he'd had this with 5 regulators he'd bought from the same source. He said the fix is that there needs to be power to "prime" the regulator, so to charge battery up fully then take it for a ride. He said the system will suddenly wake up and charge. If not the regulator is u/s.
Back again. After a long and involved testing routine with loads of red herrings I believe I have identified the problem. It is the Alton. The Podtronics was sent to Al Osborn of Norton fame for testing and passed as perfect. This left me back to square one. I retested the Alton using Al's advice, with the bulb. I got a bright bulb between the output wires, but I also got a glow between a wire and earth. This shouldn't happen, it implies the Alton is earthing somewhere. Tests off the bike showed continuity between the wires and straight to earth also, so the stator (virtually new) is dead. Stripping the unit shows evidence of contact on the rotor and one of the support bearings is loose in the case, the other is tight is the case, but evidence of looseness. My conclusion is the whole thing is duff; the rotor is still magnetic, but I wonder if the contact was what unscrewed the central screw? The Case itself may be worn, so there's no point in fitting new bearings. I believe it's possible that all the damage is due to the rotor wobbling in the bearings (clearance between rotor and stator is quite tight. Seeing as the oldest this version of Alton can be is 2009 and the bike hasn't done a huge mileage, does it make sense to fit another (£445 + postage) or pursue a cheaper option? Photos of the innards of the Alton enclosed.
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I have yet to hear of anything better than an Alton, its certainly not perfect but most of the alternative are not either, or need workshop time to fit and then look out of place on a Vincent.
Its not unlike the migration in the sixties from Miller to Lucas the Lucas was better but still had faults but was soon dethroned when an Alton came along.
Most Vincent owners (and Velocette) who use their bikes seem to move to Alton
think its best to stump up
buy a new Alton and its matching regulator
Its not unlike the migration in the sixties from Miller to Lucas the Lucas was better but still had faults but was soon dethroned when an Alton came along.
Most Vincent owners (and Velocette) who use their bikes seem to move to Alton
think its best to stump up
buy a new Alton and its matching regulatorMy preference is for the Nippon Denso alternator that Norman Walker uses for his "Walkernator" conversion, but it does of course deviate from the standard appearance of the Miller, Lucas, Alton.
It is a great shame that the Nippon Denso cannot be made to fit into the standard position, because it is truly a fit and forget unit in terms of reliability and performance, with its built in regulator, it is excellent.
I am not talking about the Nippon Denso unit used with the McDougalator, which is an ok unit, but not as good as the larger unit, both are used on Kubota machinery.
It is a great shame that the Nippon Denso cannot be made to fit into the standard position, because it is truly a fit and forget unit in terms of reliability and performance, with its built in regulator, it is excellent.
I am not talking about the Nippon Denso unit used with the McDougalator, which is an ok unit, but not as good as the larger unit, both are used on Kubota machinery.
@oexing has a setup with a generator and regulator that has possibilities, but requires machine shop modification and I'm not sure if one has been in service. https://www.vincentownersclub.co.uk/threads/kubota-alternator.15647/page-3#post-141635
Maybe someone in that Vancouver lot can say if the mods by the late Johnny Mac to a Kubota were passed along.
Maybe someone in that Vancouver lot can say if the mods by the late Johnny Mac to a Kubota were passed along.