Bob M - wiring question

In your diagram below, will that work for a 12v system? I'm going to have my VR as a saddle mount, so not sure if that makes a difference. I'm getting a custom harness made that will work with a mag, but for now I have a distributer, and will wire it up with regular wires to recharge the 12v battery with my 12v generator, and run the 3 lights. I just wanted to make sure I could use this diagram as a go-by.

Thanks

No reason it shouldn't, Mike. With the ignition out of the picture, all that matters is that the genny, regulator, battery and light bulbs (DON'T forget the light bulbs!) are 12v.

Two thoughts . . .

Pay attention to whether your regulator is polarity sensitive. If not, no problem. If so and there is a choice, at 12v I'd opt for the negative ground if it were mine.

You might not need much in the way of a custom harness. Look at BobM's #4 diagram, but I think you could go with the harness for the magneto setup and simply swap the wire that would normally run from the Field terminal up front on the cutout relay back to the 4-position switch, and use that wire from the Load terminal on your regulator back to the fuse in your setup. Then all they'd have to make up as "custom" would be the Field jumper between the genny and the regulator.

A reputable company would charge you that way -- their standard magneto harness plus one wire. Don't know where you're shopping for the harness, but some would tack on a pretty severe custom charge.

I've had two good experiences with Agri-services (wiringharnesses.com) and from what I hear Brillmans's is on a par with them in terms of quality of goods and bein' good folks to deal with, too.

Mike - That diagram works fine for 12 volts! Just pay attention to system ground polarity as Scotty mentions in his post (some regulators are polarity sensitive and will be so marked; others don't care and will work both + and - grounded).

Tip: Many (most?) 12 volt regulators do not have an "L" terminal as in the diagram. If this is the case with yours simply relocate the "L" wire onto the regulator's "BAT" terminal.

In that case (the lack of an L terminal), could he run just a jumper from where the BAT wire connects with the ammeter, and then down to the fuse, the same as it runs from the ammeter to the switch in a mag/relay setup? That instead of doubling up on the BAT terminal on the regulator and having to run two wires back?

Speaking of fuse, does the new style light control have a fuse internally, or do I have to add one somehow? Here is a picture of the kind I'm going to get.

Idf it were me I would not use a harness for a magneto. If you use a wire harness for battery ignition there are only two changes you need to make.

1) Use an ignition switch for a magneto. You need to do this anyway no matter which harness you use. The wire from the switch to the magneto is the same as the wire from the switch to the ignition coil.

2) On the wire that is to run from the ammeter to the ignition switch, use tape to insulate the connector that is designed to connect to the ignition switch so it doesn't short on anything and tape it to the harness. If it is a separate wire it can be left in the light switch box.

With the battery ignition harness it is much easier to go back to battery ignition if you want to make the change in the future.

I've got the correct ignition switch for a magneto waiting for the magneto. I'm getting a custom cotton braided harness for the aesthetic and historic value.