Alez
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| posted on 20/10/03 at 04:15 PM |
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Fireblade won't charge battery with lights on
Hi guys,
I've just found that my car has exactly the same problem as some of you have been reporting recently: It will charge the battery with no lights
or sidelights but not with dipped headlights or full-beam headlights. My car is a road legal (SVA, so good lights) Locost Fireblade.
I would like to know wether this is just, say, a "feature" of road legal Fireblades, i.e., the standard Fireblade electrics simply
can't provide the required higher power or it is that something needs to be fixed in our particular cars. If it is the former, I could probably
try to design some electronics that may help.
Cheers,
Alex
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Jon Ison
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| posted on 20/10/03 at 04:38 PM |
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Alex, think u will prob find its more likely to be the battery, its the original thats on so it will be ready probably, there not expensive.
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Alez
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| posted on 20/10/03 at 04:48 PM |
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Hmmm.. I'm not sure that a battery in not very good condition would cause the engine to fail charging it.. or try to charge it, that is, put
current into it. It is certainly possible that a good battery could power the lights for a good while so you wouldn't notice it is actually not
charging..
Anyway, thanks for the info Jon.
Cheers,
Alex
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Jon Ison
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| posted on 20/10/03 at 04:55 PM |
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n/p, i have seen this b4 though, i'm no electrician but if the battery is on its way out then the BEC engine seems to struggle to charge and run
lights, i would check the battery 1st, the voltage reg on there is one of the better ones and fairly new so i would,nt suspect that, i think you will
find unlike a normal car if you dissconect the battery once running it will struggle to produce enough power to run the engine and the lights at the
same time, when running "lights on" you need a battery in 1st class condition to avoid voltage drop.
I'm sure some one on here who knows a lot more about the subject will either correct me or explain it better.
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ChrisGamlin
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| posted on 20/10/03 at 05:50 PM |
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The blade electrics shouldnt have any problems powering a BEC's electrical requirements, on the bike it has two 60w main beams just as you do in
the car, and there is very little extra in a BECs wiring that isnt there on the bike, a fog light and twin brake / rear sidelights are about the only
thing I can think of, so a max of about 60w extra draw even if driving along with the brakes on all the time and the fog light on too 
Id have a look at the rectifier, battery and possibly alternator (I have a spare if required), the Haynes manual should tell you how to test all
these.
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Jasper
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| posted on 20/10/03 at 07:19 PM |
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If you do need a new battery then there's a good battery supplier I got mine from on the Yahoo BEC list - let me know if you need his details
and I'll dig them out, they're about £35 rather than the £50+ from the bike dealers.
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ChrisGamlin
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| posted on 20/10/03 at 07:22 PM |
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Jasper, I assume you're talking about Mike at MDS Battery, and I agree, very cheap and good
service.
Chris
[Edited on 20/10/03 by ChrisGamlin]
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Alez
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| posted on 21/10/03 at 09:35 AM |
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Hi guys,
Good stuff, thanks a lot for the info.
Jon, do you have the ref for the regulator, anyway? I'd like to do a quick web search and take the opportunity to learn about it.
Chris, sorry to ask but, what is the Haynes manual? If it's some kind of bible I should have, maybe it's time to order it.
Cheers,
Alex
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Jasper
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| posted on 21/10/03 at 09:40 AM |
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Yup - Thats the chap Chris.
BTW - had a blinding track day at Bassingbourn on Saturday, great weather, car went like a dream all day, and I've now got my dad into it as
well so we can split a few track days between us.
Finally had somebody with lots of 'Seven' experience (one of the instructors) in it who reconned the set-up was spot on and the car
handled really well - so I'm a happy chap.
Thinking of doing Goodwood in November with Motorsport Events - weather permitting - interested? Not gonna book it till very near the time incase the
weather is sh*t.
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ChrisGamlin
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| posted on 21/10/03 at 01:01 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Alez
Chris, sorry to ask but, what is the Haynes manual? If it's some kind of bible I should have, maybe it's time to order it.
Haynes manual is the cheap alternative to a proper manufacturer supplied workshop manual. They arent generally as detailed as a proper workshop manual
but only cost about £15 and are usually pretty good for wiring diagrams and diagnostics etc. You can get them from Hlafords amongst other places (in
the bike section)
Chris
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ChrisGamlin
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| posted on 21/10/03 at 01:04 PM |
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Jasper, my engine is still in bits at the mo and I havent got any trackdays planned until after Xmas now, as I want to save a bit of cash and do a few
upgrades etc. If its the same event that I am thinking of tho (a Saturday 105db day that Easytrack are also promoting) then I will probably pop down
anyway and have a look round as there are a couple of other people going I know
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Alez
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| posted on 21/10/03 at 01:46 PM |
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Thanks Chris, no doubt I'll buy a Haynes manual then.
Cheers,
Alex
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Jasper
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| posted on 21/10/03 at 02:01 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by ChrisGamlin
If its the same event that I am thinking of tho (a Saturday 105db day that Easytrack are also promoting) then I will probably pop down anyway and
have a look round as there are a couple of other people going I know
Is on November 21st, a Friday, and I think it's just their event. The Easytrack one is the next day. The Motorsport one has a 98Db limit, and is
£149. The Easytrack is £179 with a 104 Db limit. I think I'll take my car down there for an accurate noise test this week.
[Edited on 21/10/03 by Jasper]
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ChrisGamlin
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| posted on 21/10/03 at 02:56 PM |
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You'll be lucky to get on at Goodwood on a 98dB day!
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Alez
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| posted on 22/10/03 at 09:39 AM |
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Sounds good!
I'm using a bike battery, didn't know others were using car batteries (I don't quite understand why you would want to use one
anyway).
I'm very very new to this all, got my car 2nd hand very recently (just a couple of weeks ago really) but would like to learn as much as possible
now.
I'll be buying the Haynes manual for the Blade this weekend to look for hints on the battery charging issue. Actually, I need to learn how car
electrics work at all first, but I'll surely get back to you with any progress.
BTW, is this a problem you are experiencing lately or it has always been there and you probably didn't realize because the battery was new and
healthy enough to withstand quite some lights-on time?
I now copy this U2U text and put it in the relevant discussion I started a couple of days ago, as it may be of interest to others.
Cheers,
Alex
quote:
hi.
I posted a similar problem - are you using a car battery or a bike battery?
Get in touch to see if we can both sort our problems ?
matthew@farend.co.uk / www.farend.co.uk
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ChrisGamlin
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| posted on 22/10/03 at 10:24 AM |
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Most people I know are using a bike battery without any problems.
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MK Goldrush
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| posted on 22/10/03 at 11:37 AM |
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Most people I know are using a small car battery without any problems.
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ChrisGamlin
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| posted on 22/10/03 at 12:28 PM |
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Well if you dont get any problems with a bike battery, you aint gonna get any problems with a car battery now are ya! The only problem with a car
battery might be huge understeer caused by all that extra weight  
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Alez
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| posted on 22/10/03 at 02:00 PM |
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We need a front engine, rear battery design now!
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ChrisGamlin
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| posted on 22/10/03 at 02:17 PM |
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LOL, just in case anyone didnt realise, that was said purely tongue in cheek
Having said that tho, a bike battery is a cheap way of saving weight, a car battery can weigh up near 10kgs or so, yet the bike battery I have is
about 2kgs and works fine.
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Peteff
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| posted on 22/10/03 at 04:10 PM |
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My mate has a Moto Guzzi and the battery on that is as big as a car battery but costs twice as much.
yours, Pete.
yours, Pete
I went into the RSPCA office the other day. It was so small you could hardly swing a cat in there.
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ChrisGamlin
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| posted on 22/10/03 at 04:32 PM |
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Im not entirely sure of the relevence there Pete, but thanks anyway 
My Yuasa 9Ah battery from MDS cost about £22 inc vat, so you wont get a car battery much cheaper. If you speak to Mike Field at MDS (who's an
RGB Racer when he's not flogging batteries), and mention the Yahoo BEC list, he'll usually be able to do you a deal thats cheaper than
advertised on their website.
Chris
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Alez
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| posted on 22/10/03 at 04:42 PM |
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Aaah, good memories this brings! I used to have a BIG Moto Guzzi, 2 x 500cc, a tour bike which I stripped to make it look more like a classic street
bike. Pushing it was actually more difficult than pushing a Locost, I remember that well. Still, when it was working, it was a real pleasure to drive,
so harsh and rebellious and quite dangerous as well. A couple of pics of the one I had here:
http://212.73.32.211/hosting/0001c/alez/m1.jpg
http://212.73.32.211/hosting/0001c/alez/m2.jpg
Oh and yes, the battery was huge, not to mention the starting motor etc.
Cheers,
Alex
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ChrisGamlin
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| posted on 22/10/03 at 05:14 PM |
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Which car did you get in the end then Alez, Ive just twigged that you are talking about owning a car
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JoelP
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| posted on 22/10/03 at 06:17 PM |
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he he!!! it said in the first post that he had a locost blade! mr Isons i believe?! lol
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