Goat

So, Final update. Fitted the new slipper clutch to the mag part of the magdyno. Bike now makes 22v at fast idle when bridging the Field and Output terminals - Perfect Connected up regulator and bike now charges battery at 13.5 - 14.4v at fast idle. - Perfect Case closed

For anyone that is following. I think i may have cracked it. I pulled out the dynamo again to bench test with my old Harley regulator. I setup some mickey mouse setup with my drill: Thought i'd try running it unregulated with the drill. I get 2 volts on the D terminal with nothing connected. This is good, and this is what it has been doing. But if i connect the F to the D and give it a spin. I get 20+ volts out. Wooh, this is what i have been expecting all along. I did a bit more mickey mouse wiring, and got it charging my battery at 13.6 volts on the bench. Not bad for something build in 1949. Cool. So the generator is A OK, and producing healthy voltage at a relatively low RPM of the drill. Perfect.. But why doesn't this work like this on the bike!!? I know there is a slipper clutch inside the magneto, this is incase your dynamo locks up, it doesn't bust all your timing gears etc. The metal disc that the stars ride on looks very worn. And its concave... This doesn't look right (well i thought this was how it was meant to be when i had this apart last time) Turns out its meant to be flat: So it looks like this has been slipping as the dynamo loads up. I could feel it loading up with the drill so it def starts to work harder when it starts generating! I have ordered a new one of these slipper surfaces. Hopefully it gives enough clamping force for it to run like a champ. I'll also use the Harley regulator, as i tried it with the magic box modern solid state one and its as dead as a doornail. Lets go back to tried and true 30s tech.

Another pointless update. Still been playing with this. Noticed resistance across brushes was quite high, and checked that brushes were seating properly (they weren't). Gave them a quick sand to get better contact and it now has about 2.5 ohms across the brushes all around the armature. So that's promising. Tried running it bridging F and D. Starts at about 12v then drops down to 6v or so. Doesn't seem to increase as revs increase. When wired like this (unregulated) Its meant to rise quickly then be pinned to max output (over 20v) at around 1800 rpm. What confuses me, is if I disconnect everything from the mag, run the bike, I get around 2v from the output, which is exactly what its meant to do, and if I connect 12v straight to the field the output shoots up to 23v!. Again, perfect! So not sure why its not shooting up to over 20v if I connect output to the field. Its meant to go into "runaway" mode, where voltage on the coil makes more magnetism, and the extra magnetism makes more voltage. I wonder if there is something wrong with my bridging wires? Though I can't see how this could be a problem. What really confuses me, is that it is similar behavior to before I replaced the armature. Except It would only output 1.5 odd volts with terminals bridged. But shoot to 20+ if I put 12v on the field. So its better than that, but still not where it should be. Its only half working. Fuck I don't know. Its literally the simplest thing ever, but still doesn't work. And following every troubleshooting guide isn't helping, as my symptoms don't align with anything in the guides (voltage starts off high then drops off). Everything in the troubleshooting guides is either it works or it doesn't, not it kinda half works. No wonder Lucas has a shitty reputation.

Eyl b ther

Oh awesome! Glad this turned up here. I was all geared to bid on it at the end of the auction but then it was withdrawn. Wondered what happened to it! Keen to see the build/tidy up. Love these little honeys. PM me if you ever want to sell

Small update, Wired it up as per regulator instructions. Still nothing. 99% sure its not the regulator. As it doesn't even produce max power when running unregulated (connecting Field And Armature output). Am pretty sure the regulator is poked anyway. (like everything else electronic on this bike). Might try throwing more money at it with a new field coil, as that's the only thing I haven't replaced. New brushes, brush plate, armature, bearings. Literally the only thing I haven't replaced is the field coil. Whats another hundred bux eh. Will dig out my old points style Harley regulator and see if I can use this to regulate.

@terry nope, you should have seen the barriy-d wiring on this thing. It had some "fancy" electronic ignition, which was blown. Replaced that. Still ran like a turd and was impossible to start. Tracked down an original magneto. Now its a 1 kick bike. Just wish the charging worked. @ kicker Interesting, i was just bridging the two terminals and measuring that voltage... Following the steps 5, 6 and 7 here: https://www.matchlessclueless.com/electrical/lucas/testing-lucas-dynamo/ Will try connecting up the fancy regulator as per its instructions and see if that works. Requires rewiring of the dynamo weirdly, as its currently setup as per most internet instructions. And it motors in the correct direction when you put 12v on it. Again, this is what internet says is a good setup... That write up above implies that it needs battery voltage to get up to full generation. Other sources seem to think it can work fine without a battery. (My harley dynamo and regulator produces a steady 13.8v at idle without a battery) Theres nothing to them, so i cant really figure out whats gone wrong.

Looking at the wiring diagram for the regulator, I haven't wired it up properly when i tested it. Will have a crack on wednesday and see if that helps. Wonder if the regulator has been damaged (either by me, or by previous owner). However, the fact it still doesnt generate enough voltage to require regulation has me scratching my head. A bit too late now to go and fire it up.

One of these. But 12v. Was on the bike when we got it. Don't even know if it works. http://www.britcycle.com/products/332/332_02bc.htm

Thats why i'm confused! To test them, you connect output to field, then take the voltage between that and ground. This is the where i get 9v. The regulator is meant to pump voltage into the field coil to increase the output. When you bridge the output to the field it does this and is kinda exponential. The more voltage to the field coil, the more voltage is output. But this seems to peak at 9. It should be 20+ volts. Connecting field to 12v should be like the dynamo running at max juice (i believe). And yeah, when i do this i get 23v output. So its like its not exciting itself. If i dont connect the output to the field, it outputs like 1 or 2 volts. Which is correct, as this is only relying on the residual magnetic field in the field coil core. The idea is that this is enough to magnetic field to generate some voltage which is fed back into the field coil, to make a stronger field to generate more electricity. But it doesnt seem to be doing this properly. It is generating. But not enough. All the guide i can find on the inter web say either it doesnt generate, it generates 1 or 2 volts, or it works. Mine isnt the first two, but its not working fully either...

Just went and did that. I get 23v output if i put 12v to the field coil... I connected it all up with battery and regulator and i dont get anything above battery voltage out. I have no idea whats wrong

Havent done that yet. I did that to the dynamo pre rebuild and it was cranking out a healthy 20v at fast tickover. Could it be the field coil thats chooched? IDK. I thought 9v on the field would be enough to make all the magnetism it needs...

That usually required if there is zero voltage output and no shorts internally. I gave it a flash anyway, same diff. I flashed it the other way and it makes a negative voltage. So magnet is working correctly. Just output it low.

That the guide i've been using. Seems super useful. Although now my output readings are not in any of his lists. Looks like there are 3 options. No voltage output, 1-2voltage output, or working fine. Mine was 1-2volts first which pointed to armature. So now with new armature it somewhere between option 2 and 3. Its making voltage, but not the required output. So now i've got no idea what's wrong with it. After I put it all together, I popped 12v on it and it seemed to motor fine, in the correct direction too! I did the resistance checks, and i'm getting about 6ohm on the field and about 6 ohms through the output. So the resistances seem to check out fine... I'm just running unregulated for testing just to see the max voltage it can produce. If I connect it to the regulator I get about 2volts out of the regulator. Its one of these modern solid state regulators for dynamos. Wondering if this is poked also. Maybe it will work if I connect it all up how its meant to run etc. Will try that tonight. Im gonna rage quit on it for a bit now. I was really hoping this would fix it. Its not like it will be ridden at night. And now its got a mag, it doesn't need any charge to run. So perfect for sunday rides. I just really wanted everything on it to be all working properly.... maybe need to look for another dynamo for testing purposes.

UPDATE! So, i ordered a new 12v armature. It turned up and i put it in today. It makes voltage! However, it only makes between 6 and 8 volts at fast idle. Goes up to 9v if you give it a rev. Its like its geared for 6v. Could they have sent the wrong armature? It should be making around 20v according to the internet. Anyone have any suggestions? The field coil wouldn't effect the voltage output would it? Like it it still had a 6v field coil, would that half its output? Its a bummer dealing with some previous owners messing around. Can't take their word for whats been done. I'm all out of ideas now. A bit disheartening.

Also, if required, this will hopefully help: https://www.police.govt.nz/can-you-help-us/stolen-vehicles

For another $900 rattle can rebuild, returned not operational and with parts missing?

I believe for re-registrations. You need a signed stat dec declaring your ownership. (I haven't actually re-registered something thats just lapsed, I've only done fresh import registrations). Have a chat to your complaince place of choice, either vinz or vtnz, maybe AA? and tell them what you want to do and they should be able to tell you the papers you need. As far as the check goes, I think they will require you to do a brake declaration. (I've had to do this for every vehicle I've registered, for both bikes and a cars). You can fill this out yourself and sign it. Basically says "I declare that this is the condition of the brakes". You should budget new pads atleast. Again, ask your compliance place of choice, as they have different style of forms with pretty much the same shit in it. Anything else, I'm pretty sure its just a good old wof check. You've got 20 working days to fix stuff just like a wof. They could be super picky with rust/underside damage, and if they find any, chances are they will want a repair certification. I haven't needed one of these, but these are $$$. So best case scenario, it will be an expensive wof. Worst case, it could be a nightmare. hah. Yay for our re registration process! Though I think the most painful hurdle is the paperwork. And the fact its in carjam provides the most important piece - proof of previous registration. Just need to make sure they will be happy with a stat dec declaring yourself as the new owner. I'd def check this with the compliance place you use, as everyone seems to have conflicting requirement. I've been told this is all that's required from my local VTNZ. New import vehicles require different stuff.

Kilim!

I've found a 12v armature for 100gbp shipped. So will get that on the way. 99.9% sure the field coil is fine. Which it should be as the bike hasn't been used much since the conversion (apparently). Plus I'm scared to take the old field coil out as previous butcher mechanic had really given the retaining screws a hiding. Need a whole heap of other small bits n bobs too, but can't find a single place that has everything which is a pain. So have to double up on 25quid shipping. Will get a new brush holder plate and brushes at the same time. Hopefully make it a legit lightning machine. Will report back once I've acquired and installed new gubbins for thread closure. Thank-you my bros

Thank you my friend.

Chair my dudes. High resistance cant be good tbh. That matchless site is really good. Thats what ive been following to get to this point. But yeah, everything there points to armature being chooched. Might just fork out for one of those. To start with anyway....

Yeah. Reploarised. Seems to hold enough magnetic magic to make 1.5 to 2 volts. But wont climb more than that by itself. 12v on field coil and it goes hard. But still wont keep itself going if i take the boltage off the field coil

It may come as a shock, but I am having some issues with a lucas dynamo. Wondering if anyone on here could shed some light on my situation. Its a Lucas E3L dynamo from 1949. At some point in its life its been uprated to 12v with a new field coil and a new armature. Both look pretty ham. Bike is -ve Earth. The problem i'm having is that it only makes around 1.5v at idle (and only climbs as high as 2 volts as revs increase). This is measuring voltage between D and ground. If i connect the F (field) and D (Dynamo output) together and measure the voltage between these and ground its around 0.5v. If I put 12v on the F terminal, I get 20v output. This is to be expected as its got a good magnetic charge to generate against. So it looks like it's not making enough juice to self excite. Connecting F and D is meant to feed output into the field coil making more magnetic field thus increasing output. So this is how you test them. What i've checked: Stripped and cleaned. Sanded commutator, tidied up brushes etc. Runs as a DC motor when connected to battery F & D to 12v. Ground to body. (runs in correct direction too - clockwise) Field coil is about 5.5 ohms. So that seems fine. Putting 12v on field coil makes a real strong electro magnet! Armature seems to be between 26 and 160 odd ohms across the windings (each pair on the commutator). This seems high compared to internet literature, i should be seeing about 0.6ohm. Nothing is open and nothing is direct short... so it seems all good asides from high resistance values. Seems to be about about 26 ohms between ANY sections of the commutator (are these meant to be isolated from eachother except for the opposite side??) So yeah, not sure whats going on. Could be the armature? Has anyone had any dabblings with dynamos/generators.? INB4 its lucas so replace it with modern stuff etc. I'd like to keep it OG as she's 70 years old this year! Chair

I can pick you up G. Wherever the evening takes us.