I've got the diode on order from Retrobikes. In the meantime I decided to work on my seat, it had collapsed and the seams on the cover were ripping out. It isn't a stock cover, but I like it, so a friend resewed the seams. If it doesn't last I'll get a new cover later, it's not that hard to change.
The internals of the seat is something else. As usual I got into working on it and forgot about taking pictures. The pan was rusty, but not a deep rust. I've cleaned it off and repainted it. The foam is put in there on edge, looks like a fish-bone pattern with spaces between the ribs. The ribs are glued in, and most of the glue had come loose allowing the foam to fall over. I decided to take some high density foam from Jo-Ann's (which is not nearly as high density as the original) and put in between original pieces, gluing it all in place. Last time they had removed the batting from on top of the foam and added another piece of foam. I removed that and used quilting batting, 3 layers. I just put the cover back on and it seems good. More comfortable to sit on, but a long ride will let me know it I did the right thing. I should be able to give it a good test next week.
Swap meet find- 67 Scrambler restoreInstalled the new diode and did a voltage check. With a fully charged battery, running at 55 mph- 16.8 volts lights off, 16.5 volts lights on. I went for 100 mile ride today, lights on, most highway, but probably 20 or so in town (Sacramento) with plenty of stop lights at 25-35 mph. When I got home I let it set for a couple hours and checked the voltage, about 12.5 volts. I'd say the system is working well.
As to the seat repair, it felt a little hard to start with but by the end MY end had settled in well. Not necessarily the most comfortable, but much better than it was. 63 CA78
Hey Stan, some foam that I have noticed is the mats that kids do tumbling class on, also the 1 inch blue floating pool mats (think high tech air mattress), that las example is something I have sat on for a long time and never felt through. I wish I had done some running voltage on my bike, but I think the 16.8 is going to boil the water out, maybe thats how my bike was when running, cause I did add water often. If you want a cheep way to figure out a solution, I would try hanging some extra lights and retest just to see how much of a difference you see. 14.5 is the best running voltage to try for.
I'll keep that foam in mind if I have to go into the seat again. The foam I added was simply to keep the original foam in place, I wasn't intending to add too much firmness. It seem to work okay. It would be nice if they'd made it a springed seat like the CA77, but I'm sure they had their reasons. Possibly a space issue or just a cheaper way to build it?
I agree the voltage seems high. I'll keep an eye on the battery fluid level and see how it goes. My CA77 runs at 17.6 volts, but I have an AGM battery in it. I've put about 1900 miles on it like that and no problem with the battery. That is also a larger battery (9AH vs 2AH) so that might make a difference. I would have gone to an AGM for this one, but couldn't find one to fit. Another possible reason for the voltage difference is the PO put an LED tail/brake light on the CA77, plus it is running one coil instead of two. Adding lights might be an option if there is a problem. I've considered rigging up an ammeter on the battery and running it to see what is actually going into it. I'll have to see what I can come up with. 63 CA78
Stan In my clymer book it shows how the light switch works with the light switch off, then how when you turn on the lights it powers the light as well as yellow and pink hook together to increase charging. So If you leave the headlight switch in the off position, but power up the lights by hooking black/white, green and brown together, now your lights will come on with the key, but you charging system will be in low output. then your running voltage might be lower.
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