electrical query

[Taid]

Fit an anti sumping tap with a associated switch to turn off the electrics to the ignition

[SPRIDDLER]

Ah you've forgotten I fitted a thorspark Electronic Ignition ......

Ah yes, so you have. I know nothing about the Thorspark. It's difficult to remember all the goings-on with your bike - ( I have enough trouble remembering the birthdays of my wives and kids).

[Steve]

Ah yes, so you have. I know nothing about the Thorspark. It's difficult to remember all the goings-on with your bike - ( I have enough trouble remembering the birthdays of my wives and kids).

Wives after having one you actually wanted more,
Your a better man than me, Gunga Din.

Yes it has been a bit of an Odyssey and after all my hard work I'd left it on its side stand and it left a nice puddle of oil underneath it.
I've now put it on the centre stand to see if that helps.

Either way the AJ is going onto the back burner for a while as I said money is tight and I've got to do the filters, plugs and oil on my triumph before the end of the month as I'm going back to Sammy Millers for their triumph day.
Keep well my friend.

[Steve]

Fit an anti sumping tap with a associated switch to turn off the electrics to the ignition

Wow I'm impressed you've posted this before I mentioned that I had an oil puddle under the bike. Spooky

[spookefoote1956]

By putting the batteries in parallel you have kept the voltage the same but doubled the current (amps) For my two penneth I would only use one battery but keep the other one charged as a get you home. So instead of perhaps 4 - 6 Ah you're knocking out double.

[Steve]

By putting the batteries in parallel you have kept the voltage the same but doubled the current (amps) For my two penneth I would only use one battery but keep the other one charged as a get you home. So instead of perhaps 4 - 6 Ah you're knocking out double.

Ah have I misunderstood I thought that 2 / 6 volt 4Ah translated to one 6 volt 8Ah which just meant it would just take twice as long to run down? Have I got something wrong here and would having the two linked cause the acid sweating problem I've been having?

[SPRIDDLER]

For my two penneth I would only use one battery but keep the other one charged as a get you home.

Agreed, Spooky. I assumed Steve fitted two batteries because the Thorspark required a fair bit of current but looking at their website I see they claim that it only draws 0.30 to 0.50 amps at 6v so using one and having the other available on board would work fine. A battery selector switch (Batt 1, Batt 2) would make the changeover simple.
I'm not too sure but it seems to me that the relatively feeble dynamo output would keep one battery charged to nearer its optimum voltage than if its meagre output was being shared by two batteries.

[spookefoote1956]

Steve, you are correct it does translate to 6v 8Ah. I had a Thorspark, they use minimal power. You need one battery, LEDs. On the Beast I use two batteries because I'm twelve volt, need the amps for the dynastarter and couldn't fit one 14Ah in the tool box.

Hope this helps, Chris

[Groily]

This is what Dr James Smith, author of the superb 'Classic Motorcycle Electrics Manual' has to say on the equally-excellent Matchless Clueless website. I hope I am not infringing his copyright..
I don't think it's at all a bad idea to have 2 x 4Ah on there myself, LEDS or no LEDs, Thorspark or no Thorspark, as 8 Ah should be well within the ability of the dyn to keep it charged - and is below the capacity as original (Lucas PUW-7E) per the extract below.

"The original Lucas PU7E / PUW7E / PUZ7E units were 7 plate batteries (hence the ‘7’ in their model codes) and were listed as 12Ah capacity (at 10 hour rate) and 14Ah capacity (at 20 hour rate). The two different figures are because the actual capacity of the battery depends upon how quickly it is discharged. The faster it is discharged (i.e. the more current drawn) then the lower its capacity will be as more energy is wasted overcoming the internal resistance of the battery itself. Which value is better to go by? Well neither really – a 35W bulb draws just under 6 Amps at 6 volts which would discharge the battery is around an hour, so actually a 1 hour rates would be far more useful to go by, but these are not always provided by manufacturers as they don’t look so good.

However, it’s not that important really so long as you are comparing the capacities of different batteries based upon the same discharge rate. I mention this because some manufacturers or suppliers may quote batteries using a 100 hour discharge rate which make the battery look far batter than it actually is. Faster discharge rates are a harsher measure of battery capacity.

So if your bike is running with 6v electrics, you need a battery rated at around 12 to 14 Amp-hours (Ah) or more to equal the original capacity the manufacturer intended. If for example you have fitted higher wattage headlamp bulbs than standard or electronic ignition, then you may wish to install a larger battery capacity to give you a bit more running time in the event of charging problems. Modern batteries are able to cram more capacity into the same physical size so this is indeed possible."

[spookefoote1956]

If you are going to wire batteries in parallel then do it like this.

Parallel Batteries.png