Good day everyone. I am in need of a little guidance on the conversion. I have watched a few YouTube videos and have a basic understanding on how this works, but I have a few questions. I got a full wave 50 amp 1000 volt bridge rectifier to the conversion to dc. Hooked one of the wires from the stator to the AC marked side on the rectifier and the other wire coming from the stator caddy corner. These are the readings I have from the stator. One is at idle and one full throttle. I then measured the DC side and these are my readings. Again one is at idle and then full throttle. My question is how big of a led light can I put on it? I had one leftover from my grandsons go kart that's 72watts. I hooked it up and it lit up ok at full throttle, but at idle there's a lot of flickering like it's still on AC power, and it's pretty dim at idle. The stator isn't putting out much at idle so I'm wondering if that's as good as it's going to be at low rpm. I also saw something about a capacitor I could hook up, but I don't know which one to get that will help tone down the flicker. Thanks
Led conversion Massimo 200 mini bike
- Thread starter Rdhdfmn
- Start date
This doesn't answer any of your questions but I have a suggestion: go rechargeable. I bought 4 rechargeable LED headlights at $18 each to use on 2 e-bikes (2 lights per bike). No wiring or other components to deal with and they are very bright with a fairly long run time (seller claims 3.5 hours on highest of 3 settings but I haven't tested that claim). Both e-bikes have a factory LED headlight but I want to be able turn night into day ahead of me when/if needed/desired. Using 2 of these lights, one can be used and the other saved as a reserve, or run both. In my case, using 2 of these 3-mode lights in addition to the factory headlight (powered by the e-bike's battery via voltage reduction), I have many combinations to choose from.
Here is the light I bought. Note the 40% off coupon that makes the price $18. If you attempt to buy multiples, only one will get the discount. I noticed that when I went to checkout and changed the quantity to one. Then, I ordered another one the next day, and the next, and the next, to get four of them at the discounted price. This light has a USB-C charging port, I use a Samsung fast charger and it doesn't take too long to charge one (I fully charged each of them when I got them but haven't needed to recharge). The light is easily/quickly removeable for charging away from the bike. For anyone concerned about charging away from AC power, a pocket-size (largish pocket) power bank / jump starter ($50+/-) with a USB port would probably charge one of these several times. I've had a 400 Amp one for six years, used only as a jump starter, many times, and it has been amazing. I recently bought a larger 4,000 Amp one that I charged and put back in the box, a just-in-case item. I also have a power bank with 110V/600W AC outlet (and other ports) that I bought mainly for emergency situations (to charge phones, laptop PC, flashlights, etc.) but I also use it to charge e-bikes. It can be charged from a 110V receptacle or from solar (I bought a folding 100W solar panel in case of extended power outage). Well, after stumbling down that long rabbit trail, here is the light. If it doesn't appeal to you, there are countless other rechargeable LED headlights to choose from.
LED Headlight
Almost forgot, a rechargeable LED taillight is included!
Here is the light I bought. Note the 40% off coupon that makes the price $18. If you attempt to buy multiples, only one will get the discount. I noticed that when I went to checkout and changed the quantity to one. Then, I ordered another one the next day, and the next, and the next, to get four of them at the discounted price. This light has a USB-C charging port, I use a Samsung fast charger and it doesn't take too long to charge one (I fully charged each of them when I got them but haven't needed to recharge). The light is easily/quickly removeable for charging away from the bike. For anyone concerned about charging away from AC power, a pocket-size (largish pocket) power bank / jump starter ($50+/-) with a USB port would probably charge one of these several times. I've had a 400 Amp one for six years, used only as a jump starter, many times, and it has been amazing. I recently bought a larger 4,000 Amp one that I charged and put back in the box, a just-in-case item. I also have a power bank with 110V/600W AC outlet (and other ports) that I bought mainly for emergency situations (to charge phones, laptop PC, flashlights, etc.) but I also use it to charge e-bikes. It can be charged from a 110V receptacle or from solar (I bought a folding 100W solar panel in case of extended power outage). Well, after stumbling down that long rabbit trail, here is the light. If it doesn't appeal to you, there are countless other rechargeable LED headlights to choose from.
LED Headlight
Almost forgot, a rechargeable LED taillight is included!
So your full wave bridge rectifier is fine but remember you are converting AC into pulsed DC so the lights will flicker. You can add a electrolytic capacitor across the DC lines to act as a smoothing filter to reduce the flickering however at idle it will still flicker. You failed to mention what engine or the type of AC lighting coils you are using. Some if the Tecumseh's coils were not in phase with each other so using a full wave bridge did not work well and required just one diode for each coil. A 5000 MFD 35V electrolytic cap should help.
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Hmmm... Looking at that handlebar, it wouldn't be ideal with the light I suggested, the light doesn't pivot left/right, but there's an easy solution, replace the handlebar with one that has a 7/8" OD cross-bar/brace, or add a 7/8" cross-bar to the existing handlebar (you could fit and weld in a cross-bar or there are clamp-on ones available for around $15 and up on Amazon). I bought two BMX handlebars (pictured below) with 7/8" cross-bar braces for my e-bikes but bicycle handlebars wouldn't be knurled in the right areas for your motorcycle type risers (clamps). I chose that particular bar because it offers a lot of real estate (straight 7/8" tubing) for lights, phone mount, whatever. Obviously, the easiest option for you would be a clamp-on brace, just make sure to get one that's a length that will work with your handlebar.
Thanks for explaining things. It helps understand how it all works. So if I wanted to just put a small battery on it, run the light off of the battery, and use the stator to recharge the battery, how would I wire it up? Just run the wires from the stator through the bridge rectifier and straight to the battery, and the from the battery to the headlight switch?
Stator wire and lamp SWITCH wire both go to positive side of the battery. Switch has power always. Lamp only has power when switch it on, whether engine is running or not. When engine is running, battery is charging, whether lamp is on or not.
I hope that makes sense.
If there is no switch, lamp will kill battery because you can't turn it off.
I hope that makes sense.
If there is no switch, lamp will kill battery because you can't turn it off.
Stator wire and lamp SWITCH wire both go to positive side of the battery. Switch has power always. Lamp only has power when switch it on, whether engine is running or not. When engine is running, battery is charging, whether lamp is on or not.
I hope that makes sense.
If there is no switch, lamp will kill battery because you can't turn it off.
I hope that makes sense.
If there is no switch, lamp will kill battery because you can't turn it off.