another 6v lighting turn signal

[james65]

I have built and tested most of this system. However I am looking for input to optimise the circuit. Values ect.

The system uses 4-21 led lights. The lights are bright and cheap($4 including shipping).

These (modifed) lights have two brghitness levels 9-21 leds. In the dual headlight setup they are full time 2 x 21 leds. they blink off for turn sig.

The 2 rear lights work this way. 9 led runing lights(blink off for turn), all 21 x 2 for brakes.

Yes I realize that the HT coil will not keep the battery fully charged.( however it stretches availiable lights on time to 10 + Hrs.)

 

[james65]

Relay version

This is the relay version, also up and running. This one uses the NE555 for the pulse generator!
Added a Incandesant headlamp for extreme weather conditions.

 

[james65]

The lights

Here is a pic of lights/turn sig/brake light

 

[rudge_whitworth_1951]

Hi Neat Lighting

That's sweet. Nice job on that lighting and the battery box looks good to. Im a bit behined the times on the HD coil. I had thought about if maybe I could add another wineding to my coil just for battery charging. I started with an English bike that has a dynohub, and most of them the magnets are flat because people didnot know how to disassemble them the right way to servise the barings. I just casted a new 20 pole rare-earth magnet for it and it produces alot 6 volts 1. amp at 5 mph, 10 volts 1.7 amp at 15 mph and on. Im running 2 Creed XRE's LED's 560 luminas (vary bright and carfully installed in the orig. dile-O-light head lamp), backlighting my speedometer and volt meter, 2 tail lights and turnsignels,and break light, pluse charging 5 1/2 D nimh batterys. The battery holder is a rechargable maglight with the light head sawn off makes water-tight with a good switch (see picture of my bike).
Now the top of the line lights in the 40's and 50's that came with the Sturmy Archer Dyno-hub had intergrated switch to flip from battery (park-light position)or hub or off, simply by using a big diode between this switch your charging the battery no matter the position and the batterys regulate the voltage with exception if you turn off the switch on the flashlight housing (great because diodes arnt perfect) the dyno output has to have a brigged rectifier because its output is AC. I understand that your bike is not well suited for this aplication but would work well on many.

 

[Dilly Bar Rob]

Quick question - why does everyone seem to use just a single diode for rectification (halfwave) in the charging circuit?

It does give you the benefit of a)being simple b)allowing you to use chassis as ground (without modification) c)charging the battery with pulse current...But at the same time you are blocking/discarding the other halfwave that could be "flipped" and used to double charging capacity using a bridge (fullwave) rectifier.

Is there something I am missing here?

Here is a crude schematic (very crude, LOL ), first is single diode second is bridge rectifier :

 

[james65]

Rob,
Using the other half of the wave has an negative impact on on the ignition system IE: poor or non-existent spark. Using half wave neg. gnd. has little or no effect on the ignition.

Russ(James65)

 

[Scotchmo]

Rob,
Using the other half of the wave has an negative impact on on the ignition system IE: poor or non-existent spark. Using half wave neg. gnd. has little or no effect on the ignition.

Russ(James65)

Right on.

If you short the output of a full wave bridge, you kill the engine. If you short the output of a single diode, no problem. Try this: Hook up a single diode to the white wire. With the engine running, short it to ground. If the engine dies that is the half cycle for the spark. Switch the direction of the diode and try again. If the engine keeps running, that is the half cycle that you can use to charge a 6v battery.

 

[Dilly Bar Rob]

Thanks for the insight guys, I figured there must be some logical reason as to why everyone uses just one diode...

Would this happen even if the windings were separated (ie not connected to each other at all) yet on the same core (sorry cant remember,getting a bit rusty...)? Are the coils wound separate (overtop each other) with a common end (black wire) or is the white tapped of of few windings of the ignition's coil (if so then thats very poor coil design IMHO, either that or the white wire really IS intended just for a kill switch like some say).

Too bad there isn't enough room to add another "decent" output coil, it can be done but I think the main problem is getting a well sized/shaped core to fit in there...

 

[james65]

Rob,
I have seen post by people that have bought the mini gen on e-bay. Most have had good luck with it, however a few or at least one could not make it work due to the way their winding was polorized. It is a second coil that you add to your magnieto. Look up Normans posting he has been doing some good work on them and might save you a lot of time.

Later James65

 

[Scotchmo]

Thanks for the insight guys, I figured there must be some logical reason as to why everyone uses just one diode...

Would this happen even if the windings were separated (ie not connected to each other at all) yet on the same core (sorry cant remember,getting a bit rusty...)? Are the coils wound separate (overtop each other) with a common end (black wire) or is the white tapped of of few windings of the ignition's coil (if so then thats very poor coil design IMHO, either that or the white wire really IS intended just for a kill switch like some say).

Too bad there isn't enough room to add another "decent" output coil, it can be done but I think the main problem is getting a well sized/shaped core to fit in there...

I short the blue wire to kill the engine. The ignition coil (blue) and lighting coil (white) are wound on the same core and have a common ground. It is the cheapest possible way to do it. You could try separating the windings completely by isolating the grounds but I doubt that it would help. A separate core (magnetically and electrically) might be the best way but I don't think it is worth the trouble. The white wire trickle charger works OK as is and it is already there.