Voltage Regulation, Re: 1959 Starflite

[mogems-yahoo-com]

My last posted ques. may be confusing. Here goes. What voltage regulator is used on a #50519 50hp V-4? It, I believe , uses a 22AMP max. "A"
circuit generator. Is there an electronic upgrade available? Thanks, George 4TSQ

[jw-in-dixie]

Don’t know, but does it have a regulator? Some outboards do not – they must always be connected to the battery which is the regulation. On a long run you may need to turn on a radio or lights to prevent overcharging.

JW in Dixie

[garry-in-michigan]

The output of the generator on the 33, 35, 40, 50, 60, & 75 horse motors was limited to 10 amps. Further, not being an alternator, they did not produce the 12 volts until 1500 to 1750 RPM. Harley Davidson has a regulator that fits this discription.

The alternator for these was designed by Motorola. A brushless electronic system that had a designed continuous output of 35 amps. I saw 40 amps for a while when I put in a dead battery. This dropped to a couple amps when the battery became fully charged. Parts for these were expensive when they were being mass produced. Today? A new motor might be cheaper.

[legendre]

Any generator of Type A or B will +require+ a regulator to operate. Otherwise, there’s nothing to control the current through the field coil.

(ETA: Hey wait a second, that’s not a generator at all.. it’s a "balanced load" (aka cut-throat) DC charging system, with a simple single-phase alternator feeding a full-wave bridge rectifier. It does not use a regulator.)

[garry-in-michigan]

You are right. That is the (Expensive) Motorola Alternator used on later Starflite motors. The 1958 & ’59 50 horse models did not have this. They had to do with a generator kit.

[mogems-yahoo-com]

WHOA! HOLD UP! GUYS, allow me to start over giving all facts at once.
1. The original Engine DID NOT have a generator from the factory.
2. This guy bought a used generator & belt from an Evinrude back yard shop/collector. The gen. was tested @ a generator shop, belt is good.
3. This guy bought & installed the correct pulley for a "V-belt" drive gen.
4. At this juncture this guy wants to buy a solid- state voltage reg. to be mounted in an appropriate position for air flow over the heat sink.
5. This guy does NOT want a Mechanical/points reg.(we have plenty good old Harley one on the shelf).
6. This guy needs a Part # for solid-state (electronic) volt/reg. that he can just go & buy or order on-line.
7. TRUTH BE TOLD- "This Guy" is a close friend & co-tennant & my bodyman. PLEASE RELEASE ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!! George 4TSQ

[mogems-yahoo-com]

P.S. Thanks for all the feedback. I read this forum w/coffee every morning just to get myself in gear! George 4TSQ

[legendre]

A couple appropriate answer(s) are near the bottom of your "Re: 1959 Starflite V-4 50 HP" thread.

As for a make / model, my friend uses the Podtronics regulators on all of the motorcycle systems he updates – and they do make both 6V and 12V negative ground versions. Talk to Bob Kizer at Podtronics and see if they apply to your system, but I don’t see why they wouldn’t.

http://www.podtronics.net/DC_regulator.htm

ETA: I need to mention something. You said you have a Type A generator.. but as I understand it, all of the Podtronics modules are built for Type B systems (B has one side of the field coil tied to ground). Check with Bob, but I’m pretty sure that you will have to modify your gen. to work with his module, if in fact it’s possible to modify it as required. This mod is regularly performed on some or all of the Lucas generators that he commonly sells modules for – my friend just did another one of these last week, and had to make the change.

If your gen. can’t be modded for a Type B system, you may have to look elsewhere.

[frankr]

There IS a solid state regulator for old Harleys that will work. Yes it is a ten amp DC generator. Type A field circuit. Do not use a higher amp regulator unless you want to burn up the armature.

O don’t have the numbers with me but of you search eBay you should find it. As I recall it fits Sportsters of the ’60’s

[legendre]

quote FrankR:

There IS a solid state regulator for old Harleys that will work. Yes it is a ten amp DC generator. Type A field circuit. Do not use a higher amp regulator unless you want to burn up the armature.

Using a regulator with a current rating in excess of 10A will not necessarily burn up the armature. In theory, it should be perfectly permissible to use a 15A or 20A regulator on a 10A generator.

But if you do so, the regulator will not limit the current to 10A. That is, if you impose a load in excess of 10A – like an accidental short-circuit – the regulator will not save you from your error, as it’s perfectly OK with delivering more current than the gen. can safely sustain.

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