Re-inventing the wheel-- probably

[trackfodder]

I was looking at a Wheezer the other day and noticed it has a battery and a means to charge it for the lights. The thought came to me cocerning the white lighting wire on the Happy Time putt putts.
I am putting one together to sell for profit and would like to put a full-wave bridge rectifier on the wire and maintain a battery with day riding so I could run a meaningful-sized headlamp bulb for night riding. Any of you electrical nerds know of a simple solid state voltage controller to prevent overcharging? How about a source of decent 6V head and tail lights? I'm sure there is a red diode for the rear, but a durable powerful headlight would be nice.

[Finfan]

I suspect a half-wave rectifier would be all you need. I think the white wire is just the other end of the coil from the blue wire. You will also probably have to figure out a way to keep from overcharging the battery. Go for it and let us know how it works!

[Nashville Kat]

Plastic LED headlights w/toggle- bracket and very lightweight- assorted colors at boygofast seller on e-bay-$18 shipped

big 6v generator tail sold separately at bikeworldUSA.com $6

I see some bicycle generators seem to be 12 v now- when did they start to change from 6v?

[xlite]

Originally Posted by trackfodder

I was looking at a Wheezer the other day and noticed it has a battery and a means to charge it for the lights. The thought came to me cocerning the white lighting wire on the Happy Time putt putts.
I am putting one together to sell for profit and would like to put a full-wave bridge rectifier on the wire and maintain a battery with day riding so I could run a meaningful-sized headlamp bulb for night riding. Any of you electrical nerds know of a simple solid state voltage controller to prevent overcharging? How about a source of decent 6V head and tail lights? I'm sure there is a red diode for the rear, but a durable powerful headlight would be nice.

A full wave rectifier will not work and I think using the white wire at all is a bad idea.

[Bikeguy Joe]

Care to elaborate on that one xlite?

[xlite]

Originally Posted by Bikeguy Joe

Care to elaborate on that one xlite?

As previously mentioned these bike ignitions are marginal at best and only use half (typically negative) of the magneto cycle. You may get away with robbing power from the other (positive) half but a full wave will steal from both. Even with half wave I had to switch lights off to start the engine and plug gap had to be decreased or it would not run at all.

Now I have nothing connected to the white wire and use LED/AA bike light for illumination and choke to kill the motor.

[Scotchmo]

Originally Posted by xlite

As previously mentioned these bike ignitions are marginal at best and only use half (typically negative) of the magneto cycle. You may get away with robbing power from the other (positive) half but a full wave will steal from both. Even with half wave I had to switch lights off to start the engine and plug gap had to be decreased or it would not run at all.

Now I have nothing connected to the white wire and use LED/AA bike light for illumination and choke to kill the motor.

Xlite – I have done a number of tests on my half wave system. It does not affect the motor or spark in any noticeable way. In my charging system, there is no affect at all at low speeds or starting since the battery provides the EMF and not the white wire. When the motor finally gets going faster, it will deliver a voltage that is higher than the battery voltage. But by then the motor is producing so much power that you would never notice any load that the charger might draw. It is only 1 or 2 watts max out of 1500 watts.

[xlite]

Originally Posted by Scotchmo

Xlite – I have done a number of tests on my half wave system. It does not affect the motor or spark in any noticeable way. In my charging system, there is no affect at all at low speeds or starting since the battery provides the EMF and not the white wire. When the motor finally gets going faster, it will deliver a voltage that is higher than the battery voltage. But by then the motor is producing so much power that you would never notice any load that the charger might draw. It is only 1 or 2 watts max out of 1500 watts.

Yes, possible the battery makes a difference. However I'd go nuts switching such a system around the various bikes I use regularly. For me a simple bike light in my backpack does the job. Rarely ever get caught out after dark so never worry about charging/discharging. Same batteries 3 yrs now.

What's 1500 watts? Not the magneto.

[Scotchmo]

Yes, simplicity is good. I’m always torn between simplicity and functionality.

The 1500 watts is what the motor puts out. I could have said 2hp since we (in the USA) are more accustomed to using horsepower when referring to mechanical power. Both are measures of power and can be interchanged with the appropriate conversion factor. 1hp=746watts