[greasegum]

Greetings!

I bought a 95 "Enfield" (royalty free) about a year ago and this forum has been a great resource. So huge thanks to all the members.

I've had electrical issues since day one but pretty much have them sorted out with LED's and a headlight off switch. But for a few months I've noticed my ammeter gives me very, very little movement.

However, a few nights ago my scuffed-up clutch cable partly shorted out on one of the elec. contacts on my horn. It was dark and took me a while to figure that one out. Point is, the ammeter pegged out to positive and killed the electrics, but it was the first time in while I knew the ammeter was working at all.

To cut a long saga short, is there precedent for ammeters getting less sensitive over time? Should I replace it? Or is there some electrical reason why it's less functional than it should be?

My casquette is an egregious rat's nest and I'm hoping to do a complete rewire this winter, so would be good to address this weirdness, too.

Thanks.

[Stanley]

From what I've seen, the RE ammeter is often vague and only moves slightly or flaps around like crazy. Mostly used to judge TDC, you can get a replacement ammeter from our host and see what it does. It's easy enough to change.  My Minda swings almost imperceptably. I bought a tiny digital voltmeter on eBay for a few dollars and keep wondering where to hide it on the bike, just to monitor charging conditions.

[Blltrdr]

I would check the battery. Also check grounds. Any kind of load once the bike is switched on will lessen the movement of the ammeter needle. Do you have points or EI? The other thing to remember is the older Bullet had a crap charging system and doesn't put out much amperage. As long as the ammeter needle is swept to the positive side with rpm's at 2k> you should be fine. Keep your battery on a tender especially if your taking short trips around town because your battery will most likely not be keeping a full charge on the short rides. If you do plan on a rewire I would suggest a high output charging system upgrade like a Sparx.

[mrunderhill1975a]

If you have installled LED lights (stop lights, turn signal trafficator lights etc.), the LEDs will draw very little current, so, there will be very little movement of the ammeter which measures that small current. To test your ammeter, put in an incandescent 1156 bulb in you tail/stop light socket. Then, with the key on, activate the brake light, this should cause the ammeter to deflect 5 to 10 degrees of arc.