Convert AC/DC bike to ALL DC.

[rahulya007]

AC-DC conversion.

Hi Sajjt,

Thanks for your reply. My scooter is not AC/DC from birth, the modifications have been done just a year and a half back. So if you leave apart the current DC setup, it is all AC only. DO you still feel that the stator coil modification should help me? Secondly there's no RR as such fitted by Honda, are you referring to the bomb charger that I have put for battery charging ? I had been to a winding mechanic, but as per him, the rewinding will not increase the current. Pls. suggest.

I have not faced any focusing problems on my bike as you have mentioned. My HB also falls completely on road and does not come up to chest level .It might be a case with some people who do not adjust their headlights or who do not have knowledge that headlight can be adjusted. Apart from that will there be any problem fitting the HID. I am planning to buy an RE Electra by Oct and have already inquired with a dealer in Delhi (Royal Enfield Zone - Distributors and Exporters of Royal Enfield Bikes, Spare Parts and Accessories from New Delhi, India :: :: :: :: Extensive range of spares and accessories for Royal Enfield Bullet, Electra, Machismo, Thunderbird, Standard) about the fitment of HID on Electra. Hence I was thinking of fitting the HID on my Eterno before fitting it in brand new Electra to get the feel of HID.

[Shreeni0403]

Hi Sajjt,

Thanks for your reply. My scooter is not AC/DC from birth, the modifications have been done just a year and a half back. So if you leave apart the current DC setup, it is all AC only. DO you still feel that the stator coil modification should help me? Secondly there's no RR as such fitted by Honda, are you referring to the bomb charger that I have put for battery charging ? I had been to a winding mechanic, but as per him, the rewinding will not increase the current. Pls. suggest.

I have not faced any focusing problems on my bike as you have mentioned. My HB also falls completely on road and does not come up to chest level .It might be a case with some people who do not adjust their headlights or who do not have knowledge that headlight can be adjusted. Apart from that will there be any problem fitting the HID. I am planning to buy an RE Electra by Oct and have already inquired with a dealer in Delhi (Royal Enfield Zone - Distributors and Exporters of Royal Enfield Bikes, Spare Parts and Accessories from New Delhi, India :: :: :: :: Extensive range of spares and accessories for Royal Enfield Bullet, Electra, Machismo, Thunderbird, Standard) about the fitment of HID on Electra. Hence I was thinking of fitting the HID on my Eterno before fitting it in brand new Electra to get the feel of HID.

Well I think what Sajit said was, even after focusing the light the glare will be thrown upward a bit more in Honda vehicles. AFAIK that is true in case of Unicorn and Dio but not Activa and Eterno, and what you said saying headlight even on High beam falls on road is from drivers side not upcoming vehicle . And 1 more thing no matter how low you focus, HID is like lightning on upcoming vehicle.

I pity the mech who said coil rewind wont increase the power.

I somehow feel its better you convert to full DC rather than having few in AC and few in DC. Rewind the coil, feed the entire coil power to DC RR (preferably PIAGIO APE's bcz its tried and tested. No idea about bomb ) and from DC RR unit to battery. Rewire it so that all your electricals work from battery.

[rahulya007]

HID in Eterno

Thanks Sajit and Shreeni for your reply.

I am relieved that the winding can be done and power can be increased which was my feeling right from the beginning but I was disappointed by the winder and started thinking that he might be correct. Due to complete AC circuit, there will not be a RR apart from the battery charger I have now. I am considering you are asking me to change the charger with a APE RR after rewinding the coil, right? In that case, I'll have to re look at the electrical thing again to make the scooter complete DC.

About the HID, I can understand what you are trying to say about the glare in the eyes of the oncoming driver. But technically, I should not have any problems fitting that in my scooter and I should be able to do it on my current battery setup itself which is 12V 9A Sonic. correct me if I am wrong.

Thanks & Regards,
Rahul K

[sajjt]

Hi Sajjt,

Thanks for your reply. My scooter is not AC/DC from birth, the modifications have been done just a year and a half back. So if you leave apart the current DC setup, it is all AC only. DO you still feel that the stator coil modification should help me? Secondly there's no RR as such fitted by Honda, are you referring to the bomb charger that I have put for battery charging ? I had been to a winding mechanic, but as per him, the rewinding will not increase the current. Pls. suggest.

I have not faced any focusing problems on my bike as you have mentioned. My HB also falls completely on road and does not come up to chest level .It might be a case with some people who do not adjust their headlights or who do not have knowledge that headlight can be adjusted. Apart from that will there be any problem fitting the HID. I am planning to buy an RE Electra by Oct and have already inquired with a dealer in Delhi (Royal Enfield Zone - Distributors and Exporters of Royal Enfield Bikes, Spare Parts and Accessories from New Delhi, India :: :: :: :: Extensive range of spares and accessories for Royal Enfield Bullet, Electra, Machismo, Thunderbird, Standard) about the fitment of HID on Electra. Hence I was thinking of fitting the HID on my Eterno before fitting it in brand new Electra to get the feel of HID.

Rahul, AC+DC means lighting will be on AC and other things like indicators, horns, starter motor etc will be on DC, and without any RR ur batt wont charge, RR - regulator cum rectifier unit. Same one u r reffering as batt charger. Its factory fitted one, which is to be replaced with a higher capacity RR for a DC conversion or even for a batt charge boost. We dont know anything about this so called Bomb charger, pls post a pic of it atleast we can see the thing in real Anyway its proved that not adequate to support the additional charging, so go for converting the whole thing to DC type, more easy and simple than part DC.

I agree with Shreeni, bcz Ive noticed many times the Honda scooters have a very poor beam focussing as its positioned too high. If u check this from an oncomers point of view u'll understand what I meant. Thats what I said if u install an HID to ur scooter with stock height, its a real killer. So be prepared to receive a wide range of wild greets from oncoming traffics.

Well I think what Sajit said was, even after focusing the light the glare will be thrown upward a bit more in Honda vehicles. AFAIK that is true in case of Unicorn and Dio but not Activa and Eterno, and what you said saying headlight even on High beam falls on road is from drivers side not upcoming vehicle . And 1 more thing no matter how low you focus, HID is like lightning on upcoming vehicle.

I pity the mech who said coil rewind wont increase the power.

I somehow feel its better you convert to full DC rather than having few in AC and few in DC. Rewind the coil, feed the entire coil power to DC RR (preferably PIAGIO APE's bcz its tried and tested. No idea about bomb ) and from DC RR unit to battery. Rewire it so that all your electricals work from battery.

The mech may not be kowing of swapping of RR, so in that case, he's right as the charging rate will be same.

Thanks Sajit and Shreeni for your reply.

I am relieved that the winding can be done and power can be increased which was my feeling right from the beginning but I was disappointed by the winder and started thinking that he might be correct. Due to complete AC circuit, there will not be a RR apart from the battery charger I have now. I am considering you are asking me to change the charger with a APE RR after rewinding the coil, right? In that case, I'll have to re look at the electrical thing again to make the scooter complete DC.

About the HID, I can understand what you are trying to say about the glare in the eyes of the oncoming driver. But technically, I should not have any problems fitting that in my scooter and I should be able to do it on my current battery setup itself which is 12V 9A Sonic. correct me if I am wrong.

Thanks & Regards,
Rahul K

If u keep half stock and half DC then its gonna be complex as u've to keep the stock RR + another high cap rr to boost the batt chrging. Dont know much about Honda coil, but as per Shrees Uni system, there should be only one coil which is to be rewinded with a higher guage, re route the coils with a seperate wire to the APE RR ( go for the OEM only else, u may have undesired after effects, Shree can share the experiences for more details) After doing this ur bike will be ready for the HID for hrs.

[Shreeni0403]

The mech may not be kowing of swapping of RR, so in that case, he's right as the charging rate will be same.
.

No yar.. Bomb charger is again a RR used in few auto's so it has to have better charging.. Came to know recently. 2 stroke auto's didn't ve battery still auto wala used to ve battery, there they were using it.. So charging rate has to be high in it.

If u keep half stock and half DC then its gonna be complex as u've to keep the stock RR + another high cap rr to boost the batt chrging. Dont know much about Honda coil, but as per Shrees Uni system, there should be only one coil which is to be rewinded with a higher guage, re route the coils with a seperate wire to the APE RR ( go for the OEM only else, u may have undesired after effects, Shree can share the experiences for more details) After doing this ur bike will be ready for the HID for hrs.

Sajit - Eterno is ALL AC bike by default That is where you have messed up.
It doesn't come with a battery at all.

[Shreeni0403]

Thanks Sajit and Shreeni for your reply.

I am relieved that the winding can be done and power can be increased which was my feeling right from the beginning but I was disappointed by the winder and started thinking that he might be correct. Due to complete AC circuit, there will not be a RR apart from the battery charger I have now. I am considering you are asking me to change the charger with a APE RR after rewinding the coil, right? In that case, I'll have to re look at the electrical thing again to make the scooter complete DC.

About the HID, I can understand what you are trying to say about the glare in the eyes of the oncoming driver. But technically, I should not have any problems fitting that in my scooter and I should be able to do it on my current battery setup itself which is 12V 9A Sonic. correct me if I am wrong.

Thanks & Regards,
Rahul K

Can you get us the stock wiring diagram so we can help out on how to rewire to get all DC without any hassles.

[rahulya007]

Eterno All AC - convert to DC

Shreeni,

You are absolutely correct. Eterno is all AC by birth. Honda did not put a battery in it like they did on Activa and all the new breed of scooters from honda and its competitors. Even the horn was like an auto rickshaw or the old bajaj scooters, you can say - the keekee type. In the initial days when Eterno was not to be seen on road too much, people used to give side like they did with an auto rickshaw.. It's pity for Honda that they did not provide a battery and secondly that the production of this marvel has been stopped. I guess Sajit must have cleared his thinking of what i mean by Half AC and DC.

About the diagram, can you tell me whether such diagrams are in the manuals or I need to look at the actual stator motor and post the pics here for your understanding. I don't think it'll be available on net as well...if you know some url where it can be available, do let me know. Meanwhile, my servicing is due now and i'll be going to the service center this week end. will try to get a look of the stator coil and post the pics here.

Bomb charger is shaped like a mini can of coke with the terminals coming out of it from the top like a bomb and hence the name I guess. This name has been given by the auto parts dealer from where i got this and it was funny to hear such a name . I have personally seen this charger on many auto rickshaw's and I am sure this is a heavy duty charger and so I may not be required to go for a APE RR at least initially. It has also got a nut bolt fitment on it to fix it. Currently I have it fixed under the seat along with the battery.
will try to post the pics of the bomb charger as well...

Regards,
Rahul.

[sajjt]

Shreeni,

You are absolutely correct. Eterno is all AC by birth. Honda did not put a battery in it like they did on Activa and all the new breed of scooters from honda and its competitors. Even the horn was like an auto rickshaw or the old bajaj scooters, you can say - the keekee type. In the initial days when Eterno was not to be seen on road too much, people used to give side like they did with an auto rickshaw.. It's pity for Honda that they did not provide a battery and secondly that the production of this marvel has been stopped. I guess Sajit must have cleared his thinking of what i mean by Half AC and DC.

About the diagram, can you tell me whether such diagrams are in the manuals or I need to look at the actual stator motor and post the pics here for your understanding. I don't think it'll be available on net as well...if you know some url where it can be available, do let me know. Meanwhile, my servicing is due now and i'll be going to the service center this week end. will try to get a look of the stator coil and post the pics here.

Bomb charger is shaped like a mini can of coke with the terminals coming out of it from the top like a bomb and hence the name I guess. This name has been given by the auto parts dealer from where i got this and it was funny to hear such a name . I have personally seen this charger on many auto rickshaw's and I am sure this is a heavy duty charger and so I may not be required to go for a APE RR at least initially. It has also got a nut bolt fitment on it to fix it. Currently I have it fixed under the seat along with the battery.
will try to post the pics of the bomb charger as well...

Regards,
Rahul.

Yuck, till date I was not lucky to know that Honda is having another 1970 model scooter in terms of horns may be a competition with hamara Bajaj Chetak or even with Vijay Super or our old goody Lambretta with tiiiiiiiiiirrrrrrrrrrrr........ tiiiiiiiiirrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. horn? All I knew was this one is with gears and Activa is gearless, my updation is outdated.

Shree's right, if u could post some pics of stator coil and the RR sockets close ups it would be fine to make a conclusion. Are, whats ur intention? Gonna kill others with ur HID laser gun? If u go to an auto spare shop u'll come to know many funny terminologies like this bcz they are the best in giving nick names for the easy reference. Yes, I've seen many autos with bigger 14A batts, so the charging rates should be high, but will that be enough for an HID? With a 14AH they use HL and stereos, where as u've got only 9AH to fight with. Its better to measure the charging rate Rahul, it should be around 5A avg, else, u will be left in darkness for long city rides atleast.

[rahulya007]

Honda Eterno

Hi,

What you say is true, in the age where we have Activa's and other global leaders entering the market, it is not good on Honda's part to launch scooter with keekeeeee horn. But if you leave the horn apart, the remaining vehicle is a gem. With the reliability of Honda and a solid built quality, this vehicle can take hell lot of load without any problems. The average is much much better than the Bajaj's and LML's etc. I am using this scooter for the last 6.5 yrs now and have nothing to complain apart from horn.. The engine is rock solid and absolutely maintenance free..100 times better than Bajaj's breed of scooters.

I am very particular about somethings and want it the way I want it. Even for this Eterno, I am not seriously thinking of fitting an HID kit, although I have not stopped thinking completely either. I am planning to get RE Electra UCE this year and hence not much interested in doing major enhancements or upgrades, although I'll definitely do the rewinding of the coil and make the circuit full DC, if you guys can help. I think even 9A battery should be capable enough to power the HID for hours..provided the charging is proper.

My plan is to put the HID on the Electra since I have already inquired with a RE spared dealer and he has confirmed that HID can be put on Electra with no major modifications. My purpose of buying Electra is for long distance journeys where powerful headlight is a must.

Would like to know your take on this.

Regards,

Rahul K

[Shreeni0403]

Yuck, till date I was not lucky to know that Honda is having another 1970 model scooter in terms of horns may be a competition with hamara Bajaj Chetak or even with Vijay Super or our old goody Lambretta with tiiiiiiiiiirrrrrrrrrrrr........ tiiiiiiiiirrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. horn? All I knew was this one is with gears and Activa is gearless, my updation is outdated.

Shree's right, if u could post some pics of stator coil and the RR sockets close ups it would be fine to make a conclusion. Are, whats ur intention? Gonna kill others with ur HID laser gun? If u go to an auto spare shop u'll come to know many funny terminologies like this bcz they are the best in giving nick names for the easy reference. Yes, I've seen many autos with bigger 14A batts, so the charging rates should be high, but will that be enough for an HID? With a 14AH they use HL and stereos, where as u've got only 9AH to fight with. Its better to measure the charging rate Rahul, it should be around 5A avg, else, u will be left in darkness for long city rides atleast.

Dude yup true that Honda didn't provide battery with this scooter but frankly speaking its one of the best engine Honda ever made. Its smoother than Unicorn and powered by 150cc mill. So its much powerful too.

Hi,

What you say is true, in the age where we have Activa's and other global leaders entering the market, it is not good on Honda's part to launch scooter
.
.
.
where powerful headlight is a must.

Would like to know your take on this.

Regards,

Rahul K

Ahem !!! RE's can take load of only Halogen 55/60w on DC, if its AC/DC setup then you can go upto 90/100w.
If you are planning for 35w HID then easily any new RE can support due to enormous power generated from its coil and whopping 14aH battery in it.

Regarding wiring diagram of Eterno - it should be available in your manual or atleast the service manual available at service centers. You can get that page xeroxed and then scan and upload it here..

[theguitarfreak]

I would like to change the stock bulbs of my Apache 180 to 55/60w Osram Night breaker. My stock setup is 35/35w. So what are the mods that i have to do if i have to put the night breaker? Will my current battery be able to take the load?

[rahulya007]

Eterno Stator Coil.

Hi,
Today I got my Eterno serviced and had informed my mechanic that I had to take pictures of the stator coil and hence he has to open the coil after the washing. To our surprise we found hell lost of dust stuck to the magnet and the coil winding at least 2/3 mm thick. Its been 6.5 years and I had never thought of opening the coil. Neither did the mechanic told me to do so to clean it up. I have managed to take some snaps of the coil winding but unfortunately left my data cable in office and hence cannot upload the images today, will do it tomorrow.

Meanwhile, I had also been to the winder I had mentioned in my previous post. He also looked keen on providing me information and said, yes we can do the rewinding of the coil He told me that after rewinding, put a 3 phase RR, the one used in HH Karizma to have more power.

Gurus here, Pls. let me know whether what he says is true to what extent. He said that I don't need to short any wires as such, I can take the two wires which are used for the headlight and join them along with the other two wires which provide current to the remaining electrical like blinkers, tail light, odometer lights etc which will increase the power being supplied to the battery charger.

Pls. comment.

Regards,
Rahul K

[sajjt]

Hi,
Today I got my Eterno serviced and had informed my mechanic that I had to take pictures of the stator coil and hence he has to open the coil after the washing. To our surprise we found hell lost of dust stuck to the magnet and the coil winding at least 2/3 mm thick. Its been 6.5 years and I had never thought of opening the coil. Neither did the mechanic told me to do so to clean it up. I have managed to take some snaps of the coil winding but unfortunately left my data cable in office and hence cannot upload the images today, will do it tomorrow.

Meanwhile, I had also been to the winder I had mentioned in my previous post. He also looked keen on providing me information and said, yes we can do the rewinding of the coil He told me that after rewinding, put a 3 phase RR, the one used in HH Karizma to have more power.

Gurus here, Pls. let me know whether what he says is true to what extent. He said that I don't need to short any wires as such, I can take the two wires which are used for the headlight and join them along with the other two wires which provide current to the remaining electrical like blinkers, tail light, odometer lights etc which will increase the power being supplied to the battery charger.

Pls. comment.

Regards,
Rahul K

Rahul, what was the effect of cleaning the stator coil? Any improvement?
After rewinding there's no need of a 3 phase RR as the Honda is using a 1phase alternator, converting it to a 3 phase, results cant be guranteed, rather go for the 1 phase and APE RR if u want to convert it to full DC. Rewind it with a higher guage wire, in case of Pulsar, 19g is mostly used as its a sure fit after winding with a thicker wire. Like that u can try with him.

AC RR may have the the coil grounding with the stator body which is to be isolated for full bridge rectification, else, u wont get the max out of the coil. And apart from this, u cant rely on the stock harness to feed the new RR as there may be internal groundings within the harness, so use seperate wire to feed the RR and take the out to the batt. Rest is routing the stock power wire from the batt, but as a full AC alt, ur switch key may not be having the batt switch within the ign switch, which u may need to buy one else, ur batt circuit will be on will be always open irrespective of engine running or not. For all these mods wire cutting is required, but there may be other options too. Let the others comment.

Anyways, post the pics of the stator coil with a macro function cam for better quality pics.

[rahulya007]

Eterno Stator coil pics

Sajit,

Sorry could not take my camera with me to the garage to take macro pics. Although I have taken some pics, check whether they are clear enough to understand the circuit.

The cleaning of coil has not increased the current to a great extent, but the smoothness has surely increased. I checked yesterday night with a multimeter since I was expecting a current increase after cleaning the coil but was disappointed. Probably the current to the current AC lighting has increased.

About the switch, I have put Activa's ignition switch which comes with 4 point connector as against Eterno's switch which comes with 2 points only. Incidentally, my switch had a broken handle lock and had to change it anyways. Did the job almost an year back and the battery current is cut-off when switch is turned off.

Find the attached pics and let me know what can be done.

Last pic is the charger (bomb charger, as I was referring to in my earlier post)

Regards,

Rahul K

[Puneet1]

What type of RR does RTR have ? single phase or 3 . how to tell ? also whats the small black thing in pic 2 [it has one two connections] . also the Current coming from coil gets split into two connectors in Pic 4 , is this for headlight and RR ?

RTR has 100w coil
RTR wire diag. Convert AC/DC bike to ALL DC. - Page 10 - xBhp.com : The Global Indian Biking Community