Ammeter Faulty

[dave55]

Hello everyone , then that covers me depending which bit of world you live in  I have thought for a while my 55 A10 plunger gf  was not charging correctly . While riding home a few  weeks ago at night I  got on the motorway and all lights went out, pulled on to hard shoulder and with engine still running checked nothing showing on ammeter, no lights at all working not even brake light or horn. After about 5 minites a feeble flicker on the tail light, and glimmer on sidelight . Rev engine and lights got brighter so I set off and got home.
After a good read on here I checked ammeter terminals and found one to be a tad loose, removed terminals and cleaned and re fitted them and tightened up, all has been well until last week and it happened again but this time ammeter bouncing all over the place and lights  very faint. I have checked ammeter again and found it to be needle come adrift from its pivot points and seems to have broken apart inside , so as its a sealed unit will need to be replaced
I have cleaned dynamo with alcohol land cotton buds , checked battery and found it to be a Cyclon 6v about as big as a small yoghurt pot.
Checked under regulator cover and still has original type in there.
After much reading on here my questions are is this regulator ok with the type of battery fitted ?  dynamo seems to be charging as head light get much brighter when engine revved , so I am hoping problem is just down to dodgy ammeter.
I have just read that it was normal to bridge ammeter terminals on the race bikes of the day in case of ammeter failure, so am I right in assuming I can remove dodgy ammeter and bridge terminals together and run bike like this until a new ammeter arrives without causing any damage ?

Thanks in anticipation.  Dave.

[duTch]

 I will be tentatively guessing and say yes it's ok to do that, as the ammeter is just a gauge in lieu of a straight connection... ...tentatively
 Having said that, it would also be a good idea to check ALL connectors, including the battery and genny/dynamo output (D/F) terminals, and the internal genny stuff like the commutator.....again having said all that maybe the battery is just completely farqued 

[bikerbob]

I have a cyclon battery on my A7 and was advised that with a cyclon you should only use an electronic regulator such as the DVR2 or similar.

[Black Sheep]

It does sound like you have an intermittent contact somewhere - or even a sticky dynamo brush. The ammeter needle falling off shouldn't make any difference. Inside the ammeter is a fairly sturdy copper coil which should not break. I would ditch the tiny battery and fit a 5Ah lead acid one. You should really fit the biggest capacity battery you can. It smooths out the wiggly amp supply to the lights and it gives you a chance to get home after dark should the charging fail.

[Triton Thrasher]

Yes, I'd try shorting out the ammeter and see if the charging comes back.

[Rex]

I have just read that it was normal to bridge ammeter terminals on the race bikes of the day in case of ammeter failure, so am I right in assuming I can remove dodgy ammeter and bridge terminals together and run bike like this until a new ammeter arrives without causing any damage ?
Thanks in anticipation.  Dave.

Well you could, but there's really no need to, as an ammeter has got a heavy shunt connected across the two terminals already as part of it's construction.  Whether the ammeter still operates is irrelevant...the shunt will still ensure the current is passing into/out of the battery.

[Triton Thrasher]

I have just read that it was normal to bridge ammeter terminals on the race bikes of the day in case of ammeter failure, so am I right in assuming I can remove dodgy ammeter and bridge terminals together and run bike like this until a new ammeter arrives without causing any damage ?
Thanks in anticipation.  Dave.

Well you could, but there's really no need to, as an ammeter has got a heavy shunt connected across the two terminals already as part of it's construction.  Whether the ammeter still operates is irrelevant...the shunt will still ensure the current is passing into/out of the battery.

The wire inside the ammeter can break.

[Rex]

The shunt connection can't.

[Triton Thrasher]

The shunt connection can't.

Just watch me.

[Angus]

I can verify that a broken ammeter can stop charging. When I first had the A7 back it suddenly stopped charging, I traced it through and eventually shorted across the ammeter terminals and charging returned. I disconnected the nearly new 'made in England' ammeter it and ran it with the wires joined together while a search for a new better made one, it kept the battery charged fine. Bought an new 'better quality' 'made in England' ammeter and fitted it. It shows a discharge and a charge, but even with paying a high price for an ammeter when on the road the needle jumps all over the place (it has no damping adjustment)

[rocker21]

to stop the ammeter needle bouncing about we used to drill a small hole in the plastic body and fill it with a thin non conducting oil that came out of a transformer and then sealed the case up again and you had a nicely damped needle that could be read when on the move.

[Greybeard]

I don't recall where I bought the new ammeter I fitted to my bike, (probably Draganfly) but it does not waggle about.



Possibly useful for night time riding: Somewhere in the forum I wrote up putting an LED gizmo that shines through the side of the ammeter. The device shows red for discharge, amber for balanced and green for charging. It works fine on my 6v machine.

[coater87]

to stop the ammeter needle bouncing about we used to drill a small hole in the plastic body and fill it with a thin non conducting oil that came out of a transformer and then sealed the case up again and you had a nicely damped needle that could be read when on the move.

 I dont think you have to use transformer oil. I would think canola oil, cotton seed oil, "maybe" even a vegetable oil would work. I know they are all pretty good dielectrics, and its not like we are talking thousands of volts here. There is no doubt real transformer oil would be the best, but last time we bought any it was kind of hard to find, had to buy a bunch, and it was pricey.

 You want to avoid used transformer oil, thats where PCBs come from.

 Lee
 

[Triton Thrasher]

Seriously guys,  any damn oil has the same electrical properties inside a 6 or 12 volt ammeter!

[coater87]

Seriously guys,  any damn oil has the same electrical properties inside a 6 or 12 volt ammeter!

 you take all the fun out of playing mad scientist.

 The oil just has to be really thin, too thick and it might strip the needle off the little pin thingy.