The article provides a detailed explanation regarding the various voltage regulator wiring configurations used in motorcycles. The article was submitted by Mr. Abu-Hafss.
Technical Specifications
After working on different voltage regulators, I feel to share my findings on your blog so that other people may also get benefit. Please insert the diagrams appropriately in the article. I will update further by providing examples of each type.
Thanks and regards
Abu-Hafss
UNDERSTANDING WIRING OF MOTORCYCLE VOLTAGE REGULATORS
Motorcycles are usually equipped with permanent magnet AC generators. The magnitude of the voltage produced by these generators depends upon the RPM of the engine. Despite these generators are specifically designed to produce about 13-15VAC at high RPMs, they do require a voltage regulator to provide a safe voltage for battery charging and for the electrical system. These generators could have single-phase or a three-phase winding. No matter the winding is single-phase or three-phase; all voltage regulator units have two parts i.e. Rectifier Section and Voltage Regulator Section. Here, we will only discuss various types of voltage regulators and not their internal circuits.
VOLTAGE REGULATORS FOR SINGLE-PHASE GENERATORS
1) 2-pin Regulator: This type may be found on some small bicycles which do not have battery and only have Head Lamp & Tail Lamp. Since the incandescent bulbs work well on AC voltage, there is no rectifier section in this type of regulator. The circuit inside the unit regulates the AC voltage coming from the generator to 13.5 – 14 VAC for the bulbs. This regulator is basically an AC voltage regulator.
2) 3-pin Regulator: This type may be found on some motorcycles. In this system, we see that one end of the winding is grounded to the chassis of the bike, which is connected to the negative terminal of the battery. The other end of the winding supplies AC voltage to the rectifier section which converts it to DC voltage. Then it enters the Regulator section which maintains the output to an ideal 14.4V for charging a 12V battery (or 7.2V for a 6V battery) and powering the electrical system.
3) 4-pin Regulator (A): This type may be found on some motorcycles. In this system, both the ends of the winding go to the Rectifier section which converts AC to DC voltage and then the Regulator section regulates to 14.4V as discussed above.
4) 4-pin Regulator (B): This is the most common type found on motorcycles with single-phase winding. In this system, the stator has dual windings. One supplies power for charging the battery and for the electrical system. The other supplies power exclusively for the Head Lamps and the Tail Lamps. This type of regulator unit is basically a combination of 3-pin Regulator and 2-pin Regulator. The 3-pin Regulator section provides 14.4V DC for the battery and the 2-pn Regulator provides 13.5 – 14V AC for the Lamps.
VOLTAGE REGULATORS FOR THREE-PHASE GENERATORS
Three-phase windings are two types i.e. Y-type and Delta type.
The working principle of a regulator for three-phase generator is the same as 4-pin Regulator (A), but of course, the internal circuitry would be quite different.
An example of such 3-phase regulator can be seen in the article: motorcycle shunt regulator circuit using SCR
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Hello, I have a question I hope you can help me with. I’m trying to upgrade/improve the charging system on an old Briggs&stratton 15hp engine. While looking for info on voltage regulators I came upon your article. It has the single phase style similar to your example #4 with 2 charge coils both grounded on one side, but one goes to the headlights with no regulator, other goes to charge the battery with a single diode, also no regulator. I believe this is half bridge rectification? I’m hoping to run both coils in full bridge rectification. My idea was to isolate the grounded side from the ground and run both sides through a motorcycle style voltage regulator. Being it has 2 charge coils and would like to utilize both, would I run them in parallel or series? Or am I overlooking something completely? Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thankyou for your time.
Hello, I am not an automobile expert but electronically your suggestion seems feasible. You can isolate the ground connections of the two coils and use bridge rectifiers across both the coils separately, then make the grounds of the bridge rectifiers into a common line and join it with the bike’s body. You can also make the positives common to run them in parallel.
Thankyou very much, I hope to Attempt this soon. Your help is much appreciated.
No problem!
please circuit in pic this 1) 2-pin Regulator:
It is a shunt regulator, it is shown as a block diagram only.
Hi
i would like make comments on Using Digital Potentiometer MCP41xx With Arduino but it is not possible make comments.
I would like digital potentiometer ( if possible 3 ). I would like use it for 3 phase 12 v motor controller.
I would like digital potentiometer with function when come power from controller to run 12 v, 3 phase i need start run speed from zero rpm to nominal rpm and stay this speed until power is switched off
I have 3 phase controller with manual potentiometer and i would like have digital with this function.
Can you help ?
Hi, sorry, I won’t be able to help you with this project because my Arduino knowledge is not good, and moreover the article was not written by me, it was contributed by an external author
Hi, I need a circuit for my VW beetle alternator. The original avr has stopped working. I want a circuit that could regulate output 12.6 v to 14.7v by controlling the rotor voltage. I don’t want to put a voltage regulator on B+. In the market magnetic type cut-out from NEW ERA are available, but these are not efficient to charge battery.
Hi, If possible I will try to post a new article soon regarding car alternator regulator, please stay tuned for a few days.
Dear Swagatam
Thanks for your attention and sorry to interrupt you once you have asked to wait. Let me share with you something as I have studied this subject a bit. A motorcycle generator can not be compared with car alternator because a bike has a permanent magnet as a rotor you know well.
I am sharing two avr circuits that I could find best in the available pool. Circuit with mosfet is working in my car as I made it few days back. I used IRF 4905 instead as advised in the circuit due to non-availability .The reason why I am not satisfied is that my alternator turns hot more than normal specifically when headlights are ON yet, voltage on battery are well regulated 13-15v. I fear I will cook my alternator after few days. Another problem I find is that for warning lamp I must supplement the circuit with another circuit.
AVR1:
AVR2:
The second circuit is attractive for me as it accommodates the warning lamp. I have not made it yet as I find one flaw in it which can mislead while driving. The power Darlington is getting supply from warning lamp in series and connected with small diodes to supply the rotor. In case the lamp is fused or some how wire is broken, there is no supply for rotor and obviously nothing from three diodes from stator. As such the result is your car stop on the way when battery drains.
Both the circuits have -ve ground for rotor, this is my requirement. I would like if a modified version is developed.
Regards
Dear Anwar, if the alternator is heating up that means it is getting overloaded. According to me there cannot be an external way to correct the over heating. the only way is either to upgrade the alternator with the higher wattage one, or reduce the load connected with the alternator.
In the second design if the lamp does not seem reliable, you could probably replace it with a calculated high watt wire-wound resistor, and add an LED across it as shown below:
Let me know if you have any doubts or clarifications.
Dear sir, is there a difference between the two yellow AC wires and the white and pink wire found on 4 pin rectifiers/regulators. Does the latter have a sensor for the loading currant. With no load the latter gives only 5 volt if there is no load. Connected to a bulb the load currant rises.
Richard, if you are referring to a bridge rectifier module, the yellow wires are for AC input, pink could be the positive DC output and the white could be the negative DC output
Hello Swagatam and thanks for an informative article.
I have a mid 1980s Yamaha FZ750 which has been heavily modified for race use, including the replacement of the OE lead acid battery with a modern LiPo battery for weight saving purposes. The original reg/rec circuit is functioning normally but does not regulate with the accuracy required by the Lithium battery – the charging voltage can rise to 15.2V at maximum revs, whilst the battery manufacturer specifies an absolute maximum of 14.8V.
Since the battery is situated directly beneath the rider’s primary reproductive organs, I would like to improve the regulation in order to reduce the chances of an unpleasant experience… Would the circuits in your links be suitable? Also, would it be possible to ‘daisy chain’ one of your regulators between the OE regulator and the batttery? This last question because the OE reg/rec circuit is mounted on the end of the generator and it would be difficult to make a replacement to fit in the available space.
Many thanks,
Gavin
Hello Gavin, you can try the second last circuit from the following link, and connect it between the existing regulator and the battery
https://www.homemade-circuits.com/motorcycle-full-wave-shunt-regulator/
Before installing you will need to modify the 4k7 resistor value to ensure that the output never exceeds 14.8 V. For this you can feed a 15 or 24 V DC input rated at 500 mA from an adapter across the DC supply lines of the circuit, and then adjust the 4k7 resistor until a 14.8 V is fixed at the output. The 4k7 resistor could be replaced with a 10k preset for this adjustment
Hello swagatam good to meeting you at this wonderful site just question can I apply this kind of regulator to a wind mill for ac generator thank you any answer bye bye
Thanks pendon, it is possible to use the concept in windmills provided the regulator is a shunt type regulator designed to shunt the excess voltage from the input source to ground.
I have a 1980 200cc Honda Benly twin with 6 volt electrics. It has a single phase alternator which produces up to 50volts AC (maybe more if I really revved the engine!) The voltage rectifier/regulator is u/s and I cannot source an alternative. It has 5 wires. : 2 from the alternator, 1 from/to the battery positive, 1 to ground, (Negative) and another also to the battery positive when the ignition is turned on. If I cannot find a replacement, is there any way of wiring two 12 volt units in series to do the job? Perhaps there is another make of bike with a single phase 6 volt system that would be suitable. I would appreciate any help.
I am not sure about the 5th wire and why it goes to the battery along with another wire, so effectively two wires are shorted with the battery positive.
If charging the battery from the alternator is the main purpose, you could try building and installing the last circuit from this article, it should do the job for you:
https://www.homemade-circuits.com/motorcycle-full-wave-shunt-regulator/
Hello, good afternoon, thank you very much for your quick response. You recommend the circuit with lm741, but I do not understand … The generator of the bike has one. Voltage output between 60 to 90vca.
From already thank you very much
Hello, please see the diagram inside the video.
For the LM741 also you can replace the 6 diode bridge with a 4 diode bridge and feed the input to it from the single phase alternator.
Hello, sir, good afternoon. You could make a voltage regulator circuit for my motorcycle .. It’s simple phase, and the generator voltage is 60 to 90 vca … It can be with some operational amplifier for more precision. From already thank you very much.
Pd: please have to be quite robust … Because I already change 3 and always burn.
Hello Carlos, you can try the circuit which is shown in the VIDEO presented in this article:
https://www.homemade-circuits.com/motorcycle-full-wave-shunt-regulator/
You recommend the circuit with LM431 and tip147 so that the voltage of the motorcycle is well regulated and can charge the battery …
Thank you.
If you have a 12V battery it will be 14V, for a 6V battery it will be 7V.
Hi, thanks for the quick response .. But my motorcycle is simple phase
For single phase just replace the 6 diode bridge rectifier with a 4 diode bridge rectifier circuit.
Hello good afternoon, please I need a regulating circuit from 100vca to 13vcc well stabilized. From already thank you very much.
Atte: Carlos
Hello Carlos, you can try the last circuit from this article:
https://www.homemade-circuits.com/motorcycle-full-wave-shunt-regulator/
I wonder what system is used for Yamaha outboard motors?