Link To the Podtronic web site http://www.podtronics.net/
Flat Battery Again
- Thread starter brian gains
- Start date
just to confirm the machine does not have standard wiring and is + earth , the battery doesn't appear to discharge when machine is switched off, just over taxed/ under fed when in use.
with a fully charged battery and a 60w bulb it discharged to a feeble glow in approx 1hr 10mins , i calculate that it should have lasted 1.8hrs.
this may be due to a cheap battery and as so often with specials fitting a physically larger battery is not an option.
Will go down LED route which i guess have different bulb mount? and look around for better quality battery.
i guess this was not an inherent issue with the machine from the get go but will sketch what i was supplied with as a wiring diagram. Thanks for bouncing ideas around.
with a fully charged battery and a 60w bulb it discharged to a feeble glow in approx 1hr 10mins , i calculate that it should have lasted 1.8hrs.
this may be due to a cheap battery and as so often with specials fitting a physically larger battery is not an option.
Will go down LED route which i guess have different bulb mount? and look around for better quality battery.
i guess this was not an inherent issue with the machine from the get go but will sketch what i was supplied with as a wiring diagram. Thanks for bouncing ideas around.
So Brian do you ride with Head lights on all the time ?.
LED head lights can have problems of there own , Focus etc.
LED head lights can have problems of there own , Focus etc.
Bill: Yes , headlights on all the time to give m'self at least a fighting chance against myopic car drivers. What is the 'focus' problem with LEDs?.
Attached are my re drawing of electrics schematic and photo of Podtronic regulator?. Things may have progressed, having run the battery down to very low charge on load test, just a glimmer from 60w bulb I recharged it over night and the battery condition on the charger is still indicating weak. I've not run it that low before and the battery has recharged previously , with no issues. I'm guessing this was just a cheap battery fitted to sell the machine so will replace with a knwn make replacement and will consider LED's once I've read up on them.
Attached are my re drawing of electrics schematic and photo of Podtronic regulator?. Things may have progressed, having run the battery down to very low charge on load test, just a glimmer from 60w bulb I recharged it over night and the battery condition on the charger is still indicating weak. I've not run it that low before and the battery has recharged previously , with no issues. I'm guessing this was just a cheap battery fitted to sell the machine so will replace with a knwn make replacement and will consider LED's once I've read up on them.
Well that is not helping your problem,
I don't use lights in the day, But I can see why you do,
Some of the car drivers will have you anyway ?, I have been told if you hit a bump, It looks like your flashing them to come out, But we have to do what feels safe to us.
I thought there was a bulb, Low wattage to use as a daytime running light ??,
Maybe put in the pilot hole ??.
The one I played with didn't have a cut off, So you are blinding the on coming traffic,
Unless you stick a bit of tape on the glass, Like the old days when going to France ?.
As an Old MOT Man I would fail them !!.
Some of the Lads said it's better if you put the bulb more deep in the head light shell,
But the one we did there was no room left !.
I don't use lights in the day, But I can see why you do,
Some of the car drivers will have you anyway ?, I have been told if you hit a bump, It looks like your flashing them to come out, But we have to do what feels safe to us.
I thought there was a bulb, Low wattage to use as a daytime running light ??,
Maybe put in the pilot hole ??.
The one I played with didn't have a cut off, So you are blinding the on coming traffic,
Unless you stick a bit of tape on the glass, Like the old days when going to France ?.
As an Old MOT Man I would fail them !!.
Some of the Lads said it's better if you put the bulb more deep in the head light shell,
But the one we did there was no room left !.
Are you only using 2 wires from the regulator ??,
I am not good at this stuff, but Martyn's shows 4 wires ??
I am not good at this stuff, but Martyn's shows 4 wires ??
well spotted Bill, if you look at the photo there are 4 wires and 4 in the schematic which is a little unclear as it shows two in on either side, the two yellows go to the alternator.
The third black wire goes off to the 15A fuse then to the battery negative not direct to battery as in the schematic and a fourth red wire goes to the battery positive. (positive earth).
Good points about H/L use, maybe using the pilot would / should be ample indication of m/c approaching, then again I met a fellow who leaves his H/L on main all the time, obviously working on the principle if some is good, more is better and too much should be about right.
Now I'm trawling the web for at least a 9Ah battery of minimum dimensions, as I've possibly said previously the machine is assembled so tightly with regards space I doubt you could fit a mouses squeak without major rebuild.
The third black wire goes off to the 15A fuse then to the battery negative not direct to battery as in the schematic and a fourth red wire goes to the battery positive. (positive earth).
Good points about H/L use, maybe using the pilot would / should be ample indication of m/c approaching, then again I met a fellow who leaves his H/L on main all the time, obviously working on the principle if some is good, more is better and too much should be about right.
Now I'm trawling the web for at least a 9Ah battery of minimum dimensions, as I've possibly said previously the machine is assembled so tightly with regards space I doubt you could fit a mouses squeak without major rebuild.
In the 60s We put a sidecar on the Bike,
With a big Car Battery.
Sorry bad joke.
With a big Car Battery.
Sorry bad joke.
Brian, if you do decide to try LED lights bring yourself up to speed on them via the internet before you spend any money.. This is an evolving situation but it is easy to explain what the problem was a while ago. Consider a normal incandescent bulb where the hot/bright bit is relatively small. The reflector can be designed to take this relatively small component and focus ii into a parallel beam. A typical LED is larger and a reflector cannot produce a nice tight beam from an extended source. Instead a lens is used. That can mean that you need two lights, one for main beam and one for dip. It is possible that the latest technology has got round this problem but check up before you commit yourself. Several years ago one of the local riders fitted an LED replacement. The headlight was truly terrible. It could dazzle on coming traffic, illuminate the trees and the nearby road surface and yet totally fail to properly illuminate where he was going.