Been running the new trike a bit. and a slight problem..

[classicfins]

After getting back in town Friday night with my "new" trike I took a spin around the yard and parked it for the night. I rode it around a few back roads off and on Saturday during the day with no problems what so ever, and had a blast.

However..... Saturday evening my wife and I headed out to a friend's house about 18-20 miles away. It was just getting dark when we got there. We left their house and ran back the 18 miles or so to town running the headlight and driving lights. When I got into town I started to leave a redlight and came off the clutch a little quick and she went dead. Hit the key and it barely spun and then nothing...

We gave it a push and it fired right up, but the amp gauge shows about 15 amps running down the road and right 0-5 amps at an idle. Step on the brake and it drops to a definate 0. Looks like I have a bad voltage regulator... Or maybe a weak alternator, but I'm banking on the regulator 1st.

On the upside... My wife enjoyed her first trip out, and was very comfortable. That's what we wanted, as she has hip and back problems and many things just hurt her too bad the day after. Looks like we will be ok in that dept!

On a quick sidenote, I pulled the seat today to charge the battery and this thing has a LAWN MOWER battery in it! I trimmed away the piece of angle iron the had welded in to get the box back to full size and installed a new full size battery. The amps still look weak, but the new regulator will be in Tuesday so we'll see how that goes.

Doug

 

[ea81slush]

Have you checked the clutch operation to see if it messed with your wiring?

With any vehicle I buy the biggest cranking amps money can buy. I have a second smaller battery to power the fridge and lights of my trailer (van) with a solonoid so it doesnt drain the main cranking battery. But I have auto trans so its good to have reserve power.

 

[rmrc51]

I'm sure once you look into the charging issue and give your new trike a through end-to-end inspection, she's gonna be one sweet ride! I'm sure everyone on this forum tweak their trikes for optimum reliability when they first bring them home. It's not only a safety issues, it also brings you peace-of-mind as well which automatically translates into a more enjoyable ride!

 

[cscsonny]

Not sure what the set up is on your engine or what year,however don't believe an alternator has a seperate regulator.Shure its not running a old style generator?
You could convert to a one-wire alternator and solve many charging problems and have a larger amp output as long as the wiring would handle it,which I would be sure to check 1st.The lawnmower type battery would not have enough amps to run at night with the lights on you mentioned and drained that battery quickly.
Keep us up-dated.
Sonny

 

[Rsw]

Look here…shows the different wiring diagrams between a generator and a alternator. A basic multi-meter will tell you how much volts are being put out. I just rewired mine with 10 gauge wire and put in a new switch. Made a big difference in the brightness of all the lights. Could be just as simple as a corroded wire.


VW TRIKE WIRING

 

[bustedwing]

Nice paint job, once you get the charging system straightened out it should serve you for a long time.Good thing you wer't a long ways from home.Ride safe.

 

[Gorilla]

nice i think the small battery was a big factor.

 

[Rsw]

How does those wind deflectors on the forks work?

 

[classicfins]

How does those wind deflectors on the forks work?

They seem to help.. I've never run this trike without them so I don't know for certain, but they seem to cut out a lot of the buffering I've experiance before..

 

[classicfins]

Didn't have much time to devote to the trike today, but I did toss on the new voltage regulator. I was in a hurry and didn't even think to check and see if this thing has a gen or alt. I was told when i bought it that it had an alternator, but the way the amp gauge reads and the fact that it has the old generator style voltage regulator I'm pretty sure it doesn't.

The gauge fluctuates between 0-15 amps with the lights on, or with them off. I took it out for an hour and 20 minutes late this evening with all the lights on and when I got her home she fired right back up. I'll get more time toward the end of the week to check into it more.