3 amp charging coil wiring to rectifier/regulator

#1
So I have 2 coils, each is 3 Amps with a single wire on each. I believe this means it's a half wave and one end of the winding is grounded to the coil itself which is then mounted and chassis grounded.

I want to run 2 full wave 12v scooter/gy6 4 prong rectifier/regulators. One to charge the battery and one to power some led headlight and tail lights.

I believe that entailes me removing the grounded end of coil winding which will give me 2 floating leads from each coil of AC power. The rectifier has its own ground out of those 4 terminals but not sure if it gets grounded to chassis.

Am I on the right track here with my plan? I need the help of electrical gurus to wire this.
How can I be sure I am buying full wave off eBay and not half wave rec/reg's?
 

bikebudy

Banned - Must pay $500
#2
I know if your rectifier has its own ground, it itself does not need to be grounded.

The rectifiers ground will need to go to chassis at some point.
 
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MB165

Active Member
#3
that should work, the reg doesnt need to be grounded. i have a few, if ya want em pm me.
the regulator has 4 terminals:
pos ac
ac neg
 
#4
So I have 2 coils, each is 3 Amps with a single wire on each. I believe this means it's a half wave and one end of the winding is grounded to the coil itself which is then mounted and chassis grounded.

I want to run 2 full wave 12v scooter/gy6 4 prong rectifier/regulators. One to charge the battery and one to power some led headlight and tail lights.

I believe that entailes me removing the grounded end of coil winding which will give me 2 floating leads from each coil of AC power. The rectifier has its own ground out of those 4 terminals but not sure if it gets grounded to chassis.

Am I on the right track here with my plan? I need the help of electrical gurus to wire this.
How can I be sure I am buying full wave off eBay and not half wave rec/reg's?
You are correct, if you can unground the coils and arrive at two wires per coil, you have a few possible ways to connect this.

As you mention, you could run two separate full wave rectifier/Voltage regulator units. You might not have much Voltage at idle and low RPM.

Another way to go is connecting the two coils in series, and have double the AC Voltage feeding a single full wave rectifier/Voltage regulator. You would power everything from a battery. Every GY6 full wave device I have tested needs a battery to work correctly. The 1/2 wave devices may not care about a battery. A GY6 regulator has 4 terminals (two AC inputs, a DC ground and positive DC out).

A Kohler 15 Amp rectifier/regulator is for sure full wave and dependable, and works with or without a battery. It will make about 14 Volts when you rev it up. The body of the regulator is ground.

Jon
 
#5
You are correct, if you can unground the coils and arrive at two wires per coil, you have a few possible ways to connect this.

As you mention, you could run two separate full wave rectifier/Voltage regulator units. You might not have much Voltage at idle and low RPM.

Another way to go is connecting the two coils in series, and have double the AC Voltage feeding a single full wave rectifier/Voltage regulator. You would power everything from a battery. Every GY6 full wave device I have tested needs a battery to work correctly. The 1/2 wave devices may not care about a battery. A GY6 regulator has 4 terminals (two AC inputs, a DC ground and positive DC out).

A Kohler 15 Amp rectifier/regulator is for sure full wave and dependable, and works with or without a battery. It will make about 14 Volts when you rev it up. The body of the regulator is ground.

Jon
I have not unwrapped the coils yet, but I see the end of one wire soldered to coil housing. Is there a middle wire also ?

I plan to use a small motorcycle battery with 18ah since the bike is electric start. So if I want to run some led lights off the battery, I believe I still need a regulator to avoid possible dimming. I did purchase 9v-30v leds so really it shouldn't be a problem but I want to do it right the first time.

So if I do it in series, what's the benefit of 2 coils if lights run off the battery? Then I would only need the coil or coils to recharge the battery?

I am open to the best way for what I want to do, run all around multivolt LEDs and recharge my battery correctly.
 
#8
"I have not unwrapped the coils yet, but I see the end of one wire soldered to coil housing. Is there a middle wire also ?"

Unknown. Photo?

"I plan to use a small motorcycle battery with 18ah since the bike is electric start. So if I want to run some led lights off the battery, I believe I still need a regulator to avoid possible dimming. I did purchase 9v-30v leds so really it shouldn't be a problem but I want to do it right the first time."

If you have the Kohler regulator, those LED's should have no problem. Most LED setups already have a regulator built in. Just connect to the battery and go.

"So if I do it in series, what's the benefit of 2 coils if lights run off the battery? Then I would only need the coil or coils to recharge the battery?"

You get decent Voltage at idle, which will keep the battery charging and the lights bright. The battery adds stability to the lights, keeping them lit more fully if idle Volts drop enough to make dim lights. It also means on regulator handles both coils.

"I am open to the best way for what I want to do, run all around multivolt LEDs and recharge my battery correctly."

An 18 Amp hour battery is huge in terms of powering LED's. Your LED's will be the same brightness at all RPM's.
 
#9
Thanks for your help, I wanted a smaller battery but in the gx200 Electric start manual it said it was minimum size. I did try it after doing the mock up and motor turned over in 1 quick crank. Only thing I don't like is battery is heavy. Size is ok, 6x6x4

Have you used smaller batteries on electric start with lights?

So I'll go with Kohler since the terminals are labeled and the Chinese rectifiers are a crap shoot as to which one you get and the wiring.
 
#11
Have you used smaller batteries on electric start with lights?

Also if I run in series, how many wires do I end up with?
Try the 12 Volt battery for a UPS. In cheapest form, its 12 Volt 7 Amp hour. Better versions are the same size with 8 and 9 Amp hour ratings.

5 Wires: one wire linking the coils, two wires from coils to regulator, and two wires to the battery.
 
#12
Try the 12 Volt battery for a UPS. In cheapest form, its 12 Volt 7 Amp hour. Better versions are the same size with 8 and 9 Amp hour ratings.

5 Wires: one wire linking the coils, two wires from coils to regulator, and two wires to the battery.
You lost me on the wiring part..... How do I wire the coils in series?
And what 2 wires are going to the battery? A positive and negative?
 
#15
At minimum you need to unground it, then measure for a lack of continuity between coil winding and ground.

If this is one of two coils, depending on winding direction and flywheel magnet spacing, you may or may not be able to connect the coils in series.
 
#16
At minimum you need to unground it, then measure for a lack of continuity between coil winding and ground.

If this is one of two coils, depending on winding direction and flywheel magnet spacing, you may or may not be able to connect the coils in series.
Yea that's 1 of 2 coils I have. Please explain about why direction makes a difference. So will I know if I can connect in series?
 
#17
Each coil generates AC power. In order to connect the coils in series, the back-and-forth Alternating Current generated in one coil has to "align" with the current generated in the second coil. The coils have to be "phased" properly for either a series or parallel connection to work. You cannot control how the phases are generated, that is fixed by the design. You can control how the ends of the coils are connected, which controls whether the coils are in phase with one another, or fighting.

Most likely both coils are alike, with the same wind direction. This will probably cause you to parallel the coils, or rewind one to the opposite polarity for a series connection.

You can:
study a lot more about dynamo construction
or
check the outputs using an oscilloscope
or
do some low RPM trial and error tests using an AC Voltmeter to measure output.
 
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#18
Each coil generates AC power. In order to connect the coils in series, the back-and-forth Alternating Current generated in one coil has to "align" with the current generated in the second coil. The coils have to be "phased" properly for either a series or parallel connection to work. You cannot control how the phases are generated, that is fixed by the design. You can control how the ends of the coils are connected, which controls whether the coils are in phase with one another, or fighting.

Most likely both coils are alike, with the same wind direction. This will probably cause you to parallel the coils, or rewind one to the opposite polarity for a series connection.

You can:
study a lot more about dynamo construction
or
check the outputs using an oscilloscope
or
do some low RPM trial and error tests using an AC Voltmeter to measure output.
Oh I see, these are cheap Chinese coils. I wonder if it's easier to run them seperate?
You mentioned awhile back if I ran them seperate I wouldn't get much at low rpm .....is there something I can do to change that?
 
#19
I'd go cheap and easy first. Unground both coils. Connect labeled wires to the coils and insulate. Route wires away from flywheel so you can run the engine and test Voltages, see what you have to work with. Let measurements indicate the best plan.
 
#20
I'd go cheap and easy first. Unground both coils. Connect labeled wires to the coils and insulate. Route wires away from flywheel so you can run the engine and test Voltages, see what you have to work with. Let measurements indicate the best plan.
do you mean try them in series? Or just unground them and hook up all 4 coil wires to the rectifier?
I ordered the one above genuine Kohler 15amp
 
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