Sort of OT PM gen voltage reg question

[whatsnext]

Hello All, I've got an old Honda NC50 Express that someone has gutted the wiring on. The ingition system is seperste from the lighting coil and is working fine. I've got a single wire that gives the AC output from the lighting coil. The other wire of the coil goes to ground( I guess). I get about 18VAC at idle and up to 40VAC at high revs. Even using a big diode to make pulsating DC results in too much voltage and my 12V bulbs still blow at high revs. So, what I need is a simple voltage regulator to keep my peak voltage below about 15 VDC pulsating. I don't want to put a battery into the mix. Someone suggested the Lucas system, where a zenier diode shunts to ground, but I can't find a schematic and I never really trusted Lucas. I'm old enough to remember guys on Brit bikes carrying a pocketful of zenier diode so that they could see at night. All I need is to keep the light from blowing I really don't care if they dim at idle.

Thank you in advance for any help, John.........

[windrules]

Don't know if this would work,you can buy small 12 volt regulators which you might be able to run in parrallel.I use them for a stable voltage to run LED strings off of.They will work up to about 28 volts but maybe too light for this application by themself but maybe 4 or so in parrallel may work.these things are only a dollar or two each.

Regards,

Mos

[TomW]

windrules;

 maybe too light for this application by themself but maybe 4 or so in parrallel may work.

You could add a pass transistor [or two, three, etc] to boost current handling up into very high values.

Pretty common trick and a google search should kick up a schematic of the principle behind those.

Cheers.

TomW