Modern reg inside MCR2 box??

[Derek.stratton]

hi, has anyone changed out the inside of the original regulator box and put a modern reg/rec unit inside??
im riding a 1948 VH500 ariel which is neg earth, I have purchased a modern 6v reg unit (- earth) from feked and installed it a couple of days ago.
my dynamo is working correctly, I have the correct wiring. F-green, A- amp (batt), D- yellow, E- black (earth). but I cant seem to get any movement in the + direction on the amp meter?
also im not getting anything coming back in to the battery.
has anyone installed one of these before?? or has anyone got any ideas for me?
cheers
Derek

[MARK.WALSH]

Derek
I have something similar on my 600cc panther. I had the same problem as you on fitting it but found it did work providing I gave the engine a large handful of revs to activate it. Obviously this is something you don't want to do on an old slow reving single.
I did eventually wire up a flick switch which I must admit I would have to check where it ran from as it was so long ago when I fitted it , but it has been a very reliable fit and forget modification. I think it was a bypass to the dynamo or battery which when operated bought the unit to life. (a bit like when you short a dynamo to get it operating)
I might be able to check it out over the weekend if you are still having problems.
Also your battery does need to be in good condition and charged to some extent
Mark

[Dave.Barkshire]

Although I resist putting upgrades on old bikes the regulator is the one exception as I've struggled with the mechanical units and have fitted regulators on several bikes over the years. Not all were successful. The one which has worked very well for me can be seen on the page below. So long as it is fitted correctly it should work very well and without any fiddling. I always get fat current even at low revs.

http://www.aoservices.co.uk/index.htm


Whilst we're on the subject, I've also had very good experiences with gel batteries. When I first tried them I was sick of lead acid batteries dying after a few years and tried a battery from Maplin which was a budget option but it didn't seem to charge well on the bike. Nowadays I tend to buy the more expensive batteries for bikes. They seem to last forever and hold a fat charge with no maintenance. I usually get mine from Paul Goff

http://www.norbsa02.freeuk.com/

[john.nash]

that looks like a wassell regulator



I thought that required you to change the dynamo wiring inside ?

I been using this guy:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/6-VOLT-NEGATI ... 2ca074309f

[Derek.stratton]

Hi, thanks for the replays lads.
Just an update, double checked the wiring, polarised the Dynamo again. Started the bike and now I am getting positive movement on the amp meter.
But... When I give the bike a rev the amp meter goes up towards 6 amps.
Put the multimeter on the battery and held the bike on about 3000rpm, the battery is getting about 8 volts. To much??
Took it out for a ride around 35-40mph amp meter on about 4-5amps
50-55mph amp meter on 8 amps..
I think I'll be replacing the regulator???

[admin]

50-55mph amp meter on 8 amps..

On a "short" dynamo (so stuff like E3N, E3HM, E3H,E3MD, E3AR) then the nominal rated output, I think, is 8amp.
Either your regulator isn't regulating current OR your battery is truly f*cked (i.e. the regulator is running the dynamo flat out to try and charge it)

Here is the lucas mechanical regulator guide:

http://www.arielownersmcc.com/members ... r_MCR2.pdf

8v could be an expected result (although perhaps at the upper range), for these regulators, so it's not that much of a worry. As the dynamo can put on well in excess of 8v, then the regulator is working in this respect.

[alan.moore]

I note you say you checked the wiring and polorised the Dynamo again....is it possible it was wrongly polorised when regulator was initially fitted?. If so I think that may well fry part of the regulator.

I think that 8 volts when charging is a bit high, the nominal voltage per cell should be 2 volts and a max of 7.2 when fully charged is correct. If the battery is fully charged (and is in good condition) then with no lights on 4 to 8 amps flow through the battery seems way out...There should be very little if any current flow if the battery is fully charged. I would think that trying to push that amount of current through a fully charged battery could well cause the battery to fail, and likely result in excessive gassing. The modern AGM batteries are practically sealed (they have a failsafe vent) but I have read reports of them bursting when grossly overcharged.

I have seen many reports on Brit bike forums that the Wassell 6v regulator can be problamatic.

[ray.tolman]

Hi Alan,
Here are some photos of a V-Reg 2a mounted inside the smaller Lucas MCR1 on my 1937RH.

Ray

[alan.moore]

Ray
Thanks......that's a nice tidy fit. I am a long way from electrics on the '39 but will put it on the list

[simon.holyfield]

Hi Alan,
Here are some photos of a V-Reg 2a mounted inside the smaller Lucas MCR1 on my 1937RH.

Ray

I have exactly the same arrangement on my SQ4. Works perfectly with the big dynamo. Not quite as neat!

http://ariel-square-four.blogspot.co.uk ... /V-Reg?m=0