I've decided I want to put a full 12v lighting system with turn signals, brake lights etc back on the trike and was wondering how I could do it without having to take a battery pack off and charge it all the time. The last time I had a full set of lights on it was when I was using an electric motor system and I could just tap off from the batteries for that.
So far the only thing I can think of is either mount some solar panel somewhere on the trike or add a generator somehow to keep the battery for the lights charged.
The solar panel is pretty much a no-go from the beginning due to cost so that left me with the generator option. There isn't any simple way I could see to get electricity at the voltage and current level needed from adding an extra coil near the flywheel and it's magneto magnet. There is not enough space to mount one inside the engine cover I could see.
That left me with an external generator of some sort the engine could turn. I think the simplest way would be to drive a small motor with a hard rubber wheel mounted to it from the outside of the clutch bell. That thing gets a bit hot so it would have to be some sort of high temp rubber.
So what I'm going to try out is a simple hinged motor mount that will bolt onto the side of the engine that would allow the rubber wheel to come in contact with the clutch bell. A small spring on the hinge will keep it in contact.
I have a box full of small dc motors to work from. I think I'm going to try a motor from one of the small 12v kiddie cars first. They are designed to turn at high speed and have heavy wiring compared to most motors in that size. If I use a rubber wheel 1/3 the size of the clutch bell the motor will turn at a max of about 13000 rpm at the trikes full speed. It should be about 6-7000 at my normal riding speeds. Hopefully that should be plenty of output to keep a small 4.5 amp 12v lead acid battery charged as I won't need but a couple of amps. I might have to use a voltage regulator to keep from overcharging it.
Here is an overlaid drawing of the engine. It shows where the motor would be mounted and how.
Lee
So far the only thing I can think of is either mount some solar panel somewhere on the trike or add a generator somehow to keep the battery for the lights charged.
The solar panel is pretty much a no-go from the beginning due to cost so that left me with the generator option. There isn't any simple way I could see to get electricity at the voltage and current level needed from adding an extra coil near the flywheel and it's magneto magnet. There is not enough space to mount one inside the engine cover I could see.
That left me with an external generator of some sort the engine could turn. I think the simplest way would be to drive a small motor with a hard rubber wheel mounted to it from the outside of the clutch bell. That thing gets a bit hot so it would have to be some sort of high temp rubber.
So what I'm going to try out is a simple hinged motor mount that will bolt onto the side of the engine that would allow the rubber wheel to come in contact with the clutch bell. A small spring on the hinge will keep it in contact.
I have a box full of small dc motors to work from. I think I'm going to try a motor from one of the small 12v kiddie cars first. They are designed to turn at high speed and have heavy wiring compared to most motors in that size. If I use a rubber wheel 1/3 the size of the clutch bell the motor will turn at a max of about 13000 rpm at the trikes full speed. It should be about 6-7000 at my normal riding speeds. Hopefully that should be plenty of output to keep a small 4.5 amp 12v lead acid battery charged as I won't need but a couple of amps. I might have to use a voltage regulator to keep from overcharging it.
Here is an overlaid drawing of the engine. It shows where the motor would be mounted and how.
Lee
