Have i been a bit foolish.

[Sgtbiro]

Hi Everyone i think i might have been a bit naive but i thought i had converted my Dragonfly to 12V but now i am not to sure,what i have done is put a 12v battery on and replaced the coil rectifier and lamps to 12v and added a Lucas Zener Diode is there is anything more i should have done.

Cheers Kevin..

[eddie]

Kevin,
          You have 3 wires coming from the generator - connect both the yellow and green wires to one side of the rectifier, and the third wire to the other side of the rectifier. The generator will then be providing full output - and the Zenor diode will then divert any excess voltage to earth.

   Regards,
                 Eddie.

[Sgtbiro]

Hi Eddie thanks for the reply i have followed the instructions you gave me the last time i wrote to you about how to wire my bike up, the problem i have is that the bike starts and runs no issues apart from i have no head or tail lights i don`t know if this is my fault (probs) as i might have a wired the main switch up wrong.
On my main switch i have one black wire connected to terminal one, one blue wire connected to terminal six, a white wire connected to terminal seven and a black and red wire attached to terminal eight, does this sound about right.

Thanks kevin..       

[eddie]

Hi Kevin,
              First of all, it sounds as if you have the wiring correct, but just check it again. Assuming you have the Miller wiring diagram for reference - the only difference to change to 12 volt is the wiring between the alternator, rectifier and the main switch. Your wiring should be - Alternator brown to rectifier 1 (as original), disconnect red (rectifier3 to switch3), connect both alt green and yellow to rect3 (all generator output will now go through blue wire to switch6 - making terminals 2, 3 and 4 obsolete). Connect the zenor diode into blue lead. Your bike should now be wired for 12 volt and you should get a charge going to the battery when the engine is running.

  The lack of lights is probably down to a second problem (poor contact in the main switch - probably terminal 6). I'll get back to you later with details of how to rectify it (I need to refresh my memory!!).

  Right - memory refreshed!

  If you have got a poor contact, you will need to dismantle the switch in order to tweek the contacts. As I said, it is probably contact 6 - this is a double decker contact (and the lower part is the one that feeds the lights!).

  Start by pushing out the roll pin that secures the knob, then lift the switch out of the nascelle. On the underside you will find 2 brass nuts (one holds contact 9), undo them and lift the top plate and bezel from the switch. Now, depending on whether you have an early or late switch, you will find there is a steel washer and either a split pin or spring clip retaining the centre drum. Carefully remove the clip or split pin - under the washer there are 2 springs and balls. You will now be able to press the centre drum out of the switch and gain access to the contacts. Carefully tweek each contact to increase it's pressure on the drum. Clean the drum and lubricate it with a smear of Vaseline and push it back into the switch body (you may need a small screwdriver to ease the contacts back as you insert the drum). Push the drum fully home and make sure it has located on the stop on the underside of the switch body. Add a little more Vaseline to the holes before replacing the balls and springs. The rest of the re-assembly is just the reverse of the dismantling.
  Good luck!

    Regards,
                  Eddie.

  P.S. Dont worry if contacts 1, 5 & 6 look a bit twisted - they are like that from new!

[Sgtbiro]

Cheers Eddie once again thank you very much for your help, i will give it ago at the weekend when i have plenty of time and not rushing around.
one quick question will the lights work just off the battery or will i need to start her up.

Cheers Kevin..

[eddie]

Provided the battery is charged up, the lights should work whether the engine is running or not.

   Eddie.