Misc: Charging Systems Series ‘C’ Rapide Battery Not Charging

timetraveller

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VOC Member
Just to ensure a full understanding. The Alton replaces the dynamo and fits in the same place. It produces the 12 volts to charge the battery. It plays no part in the ignition system other than to keep the battery charged. You could use a coil and distributor, if you could find the parts, or any other ignition system which is either self contained or requires 12 volts.
 

Jonathan Lambley

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VOC Member
VOC Forum Moderator
This is my regulator on my Alton
 

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ClassicBiker

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VOC Member
I had a RITA with a JG on a Miller converted to 12 volt. That did not work very well. The RITA sucked up more electrons that the JG and Miller could make. So over to an Alton. Which was good during the day but after an hour or so night ride the turn signals wouldn't flash. So now an Alton and a BTH.
Steven
 

Robert Watson

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VOC Member
That's where I had mine until one day on a VERY hot day in Northern California the whole plot stopped charging......... Sitting out there in 100+ degrees trying to cool down and then get at the regulator only to discover a wire unplugged from the regulator convinced me in this case to take function over form and it is now mounted where it is all accessible!
 

BigEd

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VOC Forum Moderator
That's where I had mine until one day on a VERY hot day in Northern California the whole plot stopped charging......... Sitting out there in 100+ degrees trying to cool down and then get at the regulator only to discover a wire unplugged from the regulator convinced me in this case to take function over form and it is now mounted where it is all accessible!
I am particularly interested to know where Robert has mounted his regulator. The Vincent twin doesn't have much spare space to fit accessories. (No space to spit through looks good.) Why am I particularly interested in a different location for my regulator? A salutary tale follows if you have time to read on.
I have the charging system using a 300+ Watt alternator and separate regulator that I bought from Timetraveller around 2009. It has been an excellent system supplying an abundance of power for over 40,00 miles. My regulator is mounted under the battery tray. It has three wires to spade connections.
I have just refitted the front and back ends of the bike back on to the engine unit after reassembling the engine. I told my wife I was going to go to the petrol station just a mile away for fuel. If it felt OK I would take it for a longer ride to a local bike meet to start bedding in the new pistons. It felt good going to the pumps, no pops, bangs or funny noises.:) Putting the bike on the stand at the pumps I noticed smoke issuing from the battery area. (Thinks to self: "This is not a good place to have a fire!") I quickly pushed the bike away from the pumps and began ripping wires away from the battery. No fire ensued and so erring on the side of caution I decided to push the Rapide back home, only a mile. Almost immediately somebody on a Harley who was on the way to the same bike meet stopped to ask if I was OK. I said I was OK and would get out another bike when I got home and go to the meet.. A little further down the road another guy on a Honda stopped to ask if I was OK. (Only a mile but I was getting less OK. ) He insisted on helping me push the bike home! You meet some great people on a motorcycle.
Moving swiftly on to the why did this happen .......... Back home after the bike meet, I started to check the wiring. No obvious short but what I did find was that there was no continuity in the earth wire to the regulator, still attached at both ends so an internal break. Checking in the fitting instructions there was a note to say that without the earth there is no regulation. I started the engine and sure enough there was 15+ Volts output from the alternator and 15+ Volts unregulated input to the field coils in the alternator rotor. The regulator was fried and so was the battery. Maybe it would be a good idea to make it easier to check the condition of the three wires to the regulator.
On a positive note, I already have a spare regulator bought several years ago. I have a battery on order arriving tomorrow and I took the bike out for a 15 mile run and it still feels good. On second thoughts, it is a Vincent and it actually feels great.:D Now where should I mount that regulator?
 

timetraveller

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
If there is an ammeter in the system that should have been showing that the system was charging flat out. When I first started supplying these systems the pins on the base of the regulator had a certain layout and it was possible to find three pin plugs which would fit over the spade terminals on the base of the regulator. This meant that it was easy to remove the wires and to ensure that they all went back onto their correct terminals. What appear to be the same regulators now have a different terminal layout on their bases so it is back to three individual connectors. I have had several enquiries over the years from people who have lost their original wiring diagrams and have struggled to replace the wires to the correct terminals. The system will not work without the wires being in their correct locations.
The last few kits I have supplied use a different alternator, a Nippon Denso rather than an Iskra. These can produce 40 amps rather than the 30 amps of the Iskra and have the regulator built in. The alternator also has a slightly smaller diameter than the earlier ones. It has proved to be necessary to modify some parts of the old kits to fit the new alternators and as one example one poor potential customer has been waiting for his kit for months. I have been waiting for over seven weeks for some minor parts to be made with a weekly promise that 'next week we will get on with them'. If you read this you know who you are so please accept my apologies for the long delay.
 
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