No fire! No smoke! No burning plastic.

riptragle1953

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This time I hooked the red wire to the red wire and by golly it works.
A bit of bother soldering in a new circuit board... does Lucas have a sweat-shop in China perhaps?
 

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roy the mechanic

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I'm not sure about china, last time I spoke to an American customer , mentioned the prince of darkness, the reply was- "I thought that brits drink warm beer because Lucas made your fridges!
 

grahamsharrock

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A little bit about Lucas (Loose Unsoldered Connections And Splices)

ELECTRICAL THEORY BY JOSEPH LUCAS


Positive ground depends on proper circuit functioning, which is the transmission of negative ions by retention of the visible spectral manifestation known as “smoke”.
Smoke is the thing that makes electrical circuits work. We know this to be true because every time one lets the smoke out of an electrical circuit, it stops working. This can be verified repeatedly through empirical testing.

For example, if one places a copper bar across the terminals of a battery, prodigious quantities of smoke are liberated and the battery shortly ceases to function. In addition, if one observes smoke escaping from an electrical component such as a Lucas voltage regulator, it will also be observed that the component no longer functions. The logic is elementary and inescapable!

The function of the wiring harness is to conduct the smoke from one device to another. When the wiring springs a leak and lets all the smoke out of the system, nothing works afterward.

Starter motors were considered unsuitable for British motorcycles for some time largely because they consumed large quantities of smoke, requiring very unsightly large wires.
It has been reported that Lucas electrical components are possibly more prone to electrical leakage than their Bosch, Japanese or American counterparts. Experts point out that this is because Lucas is British, and all things British leak. British engines leak oil, British shock absorbers, hydraulic forks and disk brake systems leak fluid, British tires leak air and British Intelligence leaks national defense secrets.

Therefore, it follows that British electrical systems must leak smoke. Once again, the logic is clear and inescapable.

In conclusion, the basic concept of transmission of electrical energy in the form of smoke provides a logical explanation of the mysteries of electrical components especially British units manufactured by Joseph Lucas, Ltd.

And remember: “A gentleman does not motor about after dark.”

Joseph Lucas “The Prince of Darkness”
1842-1903

A few Lucas quips:

The Lucas motto: “Get home before dark.”

Lucas is the patent holder for the short circuit.

Lucas - Inventor of the first intermittent wiper.

Lucas - Inventor of the self-dimming headlamp.

The three-position Lucas switch--DIM, FLICKER and OFF. The other three switch settings--SMOKE, SMOLDER and IGNITE.

The Original Anti-Theft Device - Lucas Electrics.

If Lucas made guns, wars would not start

Back in the ‘70s, Lucas decided to diversify its product line and began manufacturing vacuum cleaners. It was the only product they offered which did not suck.

Q: Why do the British drink warm beer? A: Because Lucas makes their refrigerators.
This has been referred to as the smoke theory when the smoke comes out its finished, cooked or done for.

cheers
Graham
:eek:
 

riptragle1953

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Non-VOC Member
Poor Joe.... he gave them what they asker for.

My theory on Lucas motorcycle electrics places a lot of the blame on the motorcycle industry. Bert Hopwood's book "Whatever Happened
to the British Motorcycle Industry" is positively a "must read" for us British bikers of any make from the old days.
Now.... can you really see the sales agent for (say) Beezer going to the Lucas company and asking for the best dimmer switch they
can design and make? Never happened.
Instead they wanted the cheapest piece of crap that would last until the buyer of the machine got it off the sales floor.
Joe gave them exactly what they asked for: the cheapest! And, naturally HE got all the blame. Poor Ole Joe.
I love the "smoke theory" above.
 
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mercurycrest

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I always thought Lucas was crap, having owned Brit bikes, an Anglia and and a Series 1 XJ6! Then, I was introduced to Bosch via, an R-90, a 180 Jota, and a couple of Audis (a 5000 and a 200). The R90 ate alternator rotors like they were candy, I felt like I was the tester for Laverda's experiments with ignition systems and the Audi's?....Plain and simple, electronic nightmares! Hell, I had better luck with the Commie ignitions on my old CZ Moto Cross bikes than that Bosch junk!!
Old Joe wasn't all that bad and at least his stuff could usually be repaired.
Cheers, John
 

Monkeypants

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Ive heard of Lucas breaker points lasting 60,000 miles with a few touch ups. I put 20,000 miles on the well used set that came with my OZ Rapide, then thought it wise to renew them. The high quality, rather expensive Japanese replacements failed after four hundred miles.

After that experience I bought every set of NOS Lucas points I could find, ten sets in all , enough to wear out the rest of the bike and myself

Glen
 

riptragle1953

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Non-VOC Member
I restored a lot of Lucas equipment. Although a pain to rebuild... mags with new ceramic condensers...and if the windings were sound: were fine.
Really, the great thing about that magneto was it's compactness..... fits anything.
As it was a 180 degree design.... some efficiency had to be sacrificed for 50 degree twin. Even at that:they worked!
 
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