Powerdynamo brings new ignition & light 
to your vintage motorcycle

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Assembly instructions for system 70 85 999 00

 Version 21.11.2008

 


IMPORTANT:

 Please read these instructions fully before starting work on your bike or any modification on the supplied system. Also, please note the remarks on the information page for this system.
If you have no expertise for the installation have it done by an expert or at a specialist's workshop. Improper installation may damage the new system and your motorcycle.
Before you order a system, please check against the section "you should have received those parts" whether all parts wanted are in the kit. You might want to order a puller tool, light bulbs, fuse, horn, flasher unit etc.
Never use anything other than  a puller tool M27x1.25 to pull the new rotor again. In case of damage to the rotor as a result of use of other (unsuitable) tools and facilities, the warranty claim expires! 

If you have access to the Internet, see those instructions online. You get larger and better pictures by clicking onto them and possibly updated information. System list at http://www.powerdynamo.biz

 


Check packing
and rotor!

 The rotor is sensible to blows during transport. We therefore double pack the material (box inside box). Should the system have been despatched to you via a reseller and arrive not packed like this, please inform us.
Before assembly, please always check the magnets (try to push them aside with your fingers). After impact the glued in magnets might have broken loose, sticking to the rotor however by magnetic force, so that one does not notice right away. During run there would be considerable damage as a result.
Before putting the rotor to the engine, please make sure that its magnets have not collected metal objects such as small screws, nuts and washers. That equally would lead to severe damage.
The new rotor may be pulled again with the supplied puller M27x1,25 (part 70 85 899 99) to prevent damage to the M12x1 threading.

Note: Never use a claw puller, a hammer or any other device, that could break the magnets off.

You should have received those parts!

Take the top plate of the new generator unit off (the plate will hold your original cover, 2 screws M4x25).

Do not take the stator coil off, you only risk to damage the wires underneath it.
Make sure your motorcycle is secured, preferably on an elevated work bench and that you have good access to the dynamo side of the engine.

Disconnect your battery and take it out of the motorcycle. Note that you will be installing a 12 volts system, so you will either need a 12 volt battery or you can use the option of driving without. You will still have to replace all lightbulbs to 12 volt ones. The horn may stay at 6 volts. For driving without a battery, please observe our information on driving without battery.

The first step, old parts will be taken off the bike!

Disconnect the wires from the old dynamo.

Unscrew the dynamo housing and take it off. Pull the rotor off the crank. (Insert a 8mm pin into the rotor and screw the original holder screw behind. It will pop off the crankshaft.)

The magnet on top of the engine will no longer be used. It may remain for optical reasons or can be removed (or used to house the new coil - see below).
Have a look at your new rotor. You will find on its circumference a protrusion. This is for giving the impulse and for measuring crank shaft revolutions. Note that ignition does not actually happen when that protrusion passes the pickup (sensor), but sometime later, as the information has to be processed by the advance unit.

Identify the first hole in the rotor top left to the protrusion (here circled in red). This will serve as a reference point for timing later on.

Have a look into the new generator housing. You will see there a pick-up (sensor) module hidden in the tower.

You will also notice a little of a holder screw M5 (holding the tower) protruding out of the casing. (If the tower is not installed, there will be a hole anyway.)

This "landmark" will serve as a timing mark.
Place the new generator unit onto the engine, in the same place the old unit was sitting.

Fasten it with the provided 2 flathead bolts M8 (hex key 5mm) (horizontal holes for these bolts). No need to worry over the fact that the old system was held by 4 bolts.

Unbolt the tower and shift it a along the wire away from the housing (without pulling the wires through fully) so that the sensor unit beneath is accessible.

Put the front holder bolt M5 back. It will assist you with timing.

Remove the spark plugs out and turn the crank to Top Dead Centre (TDC) position.

Use the inspection hole to verify. (The marking in the picture is artificially amplified.) Note that you do not use the ignition marking ZP.

Now:
  • remember the rotor hole (circled red in a picture above) serves as a timing mark,
  • remember the bolt serving as a mark,
  • verify again that your crank is in TDC position
  • place the rotor carefully onto the crank, so that the middle of the mentioned rotor hole aligns with the screw as shown here (white chalk used to clarify this in this picture)
When in this position screw the rotor down with the supplied special bolt M12x1x35 and the washer. Make sure not to move the crank position.

Now turn the rotor, so that the protrusion arrives next to the sensor.

Then set the gap between the protrusion and the sensor to 0.5mm using a feeler gauge. To adjust that gap, loosen (only a little) the 2 screws holding the sensor at its base and move it accordingly. Then tighten the 2 screws down carefully.
Tighten the screws down, even if the gap is correct. The sensor is only loosely secured on delivery!


Sensor and protrusion have to be correctly aligned! 		Now with the rotor set, check that the protrusion runs (about) the alignment of the sensor and not outside its track.

There are some incorrectly machined after-market crankshafts and there is a possibility that your KS750 has one of these after-market replacement or even a BMW R75 crank shaft. In this case it will be a problem, as it will be impossible to generate a spark, even if it is a little difficult to see, be sure to check the alignment.

Equally check that the rotor turns freely above the base.
After all of this you have set ignition to correct values. Should you feel after test runs that some modified timing would be advantageous to you, you may change timing to theoretically any value. Be careful the wrong timing may damage your engine.

You change timing by

  • screwing the puller into the rotor, popping it from the crank
  • and (without changing the position of the crank) resetting the rotor at a different angle. Setting it more into a clockwise position will initiate earlier timing, shifting it anticlockwise will make it later. Use small steps only for this.
  • do use a stroboscope to check timing when you experiment!
Put the tower back. Make sure you have set the gap and fastened the sensor screws securely. The curved bottom side of the tower is to go to the back (to give room for the sensor holder).

There is some danger of damaging the sensor wires when setting the holder screws in. Tighten them down carefully and slowly, never use force to set them in. If you meet any resistance, you can sure, you have trapped a wire.

Important advice: Please tight the both screws M5x50 (that hold the tower) only "handtight". Otherwise you could damage the holder plate of the sensor below.

On the engine side, remains only to replace the holder plate back, that you have removed at the beginning, to set the cover on and to screw it down to the plate with the 2 screws M4x25. Should you use a different cover, make sure that the screws have the corresponding length and do not protrude into the rotor.

With the new ignition coil, the advance unit and the new regulator/rectifier have to find a place on the motorcycle. The regulator is well dimensioned and does not need to get direct airflow.
The ignition coil may easiest be fixed under the tank on some bracket (not supplied). 

It is possible (but a little tricky to do) to fit it into an emptied magneto housing. You will have to modify that housing however a little to permit entry of the coil.
Regulator and advance unit may find a home at any place you deem fit.

An easy option (if you opt for driving without battery) is to place them in an empty battery casing.

As the system may work without battery, its an easy place to hide this part.
Before installing the advance unit, have a look at the dip switches on the advance unit. They acticate different characteristics. There are 4 switches activating different advance curves.
The curve made for the KS is activated by switch 2 up to ON and switches 1,3,4 down from ON (that is OFF). It gives 2° from start up to 1,000rpm and than gradually adjusts to a full 40° at 3,000rpm.

Connect the parts as shown in wiring diagram 92xk12:

*

 To facilitate the wire exiting through the often small openings in the engine casing, the plastic plug of the generator's wiring that leads to the advance unit have not been put onto the wire terminal. You should place the plug there only once all has been properly installed on the engine side.

Look for the advance unit with its female plug and the three wires (red, yellow and white).

Put the provided 4-position plug housing onto this plug and insert the three wires (red, yellow and white) from the generator. Make sure that the terminals engage securely in the housing and that you connect:

  • red to red
  • yellow to yellow
  • white to white

Should you need (or want) to get the terminals out of the plug housing again, enter a paper clip from front next to the terminals and push the little barb aside. Than pull the wire out.
*

The second plug at the advance (a male plug) will be connected to the plug at the ignition coil. This two plugs can only be connected in one position. Note the changing colour:
  • red to red
  • white to white
  • blue/white of the advance unit to yellow of the ignition coil
*

Important! Never run the high tension cable(s) and the cable(s) of the advance unit closely in parallel (say in one shielding). This will trigger back coupling that disturbes ignition and might even damage the advance unit.

*

The new regulator/rectifier has a compact plug with 6 positions, of which one is not used (before November 2007 it were two). From November 2007 onwards a female plug cover fitting to this plug is delivered. Into this female plug you have to insert the following wires (which have terminals that snap into the plug):

*

The two black cables leading from the generator ...

... connect to pins 1/4 of the new regulator (from there correspondingly black wires lead inside the unit). It does not matter which wire connects to which of the both terminals (1/4) as they carry alternating current.
* The new brown cable with the round eye terminal  ...

... connects pin 3 of the regulator unit (from there correspondingly a brown wire goes inside the unit) with the negative terminal on the battery or (in case you drive without battery) to ground/earth (chassis).
*

The new red cable with the round eye terminal ...

Take care:
Wrong polarity will damage the electronics!

... connects to pin 5 of the new regulator (from there correspondingly a red wire goes inside the unit). Here your regulated positive voltage comes out to connect to positive terminal of the battery, or (in case you drive without battery) to the positive pin of the main switch (ignition lock, German bikes: pin 51/30).
Make sure that you have a 16A-fuse between battery and vehicle circuitry.

*

The green/red wire at pin 6 of the new regulator ...

 

Remark:
Until November 2007 this wire has been a single wire outside the compact plug.

... is for the charging light. You connect there the wire that formerly did run from the control light to the original regulator.

Sure that this control only functions with a battery present. Should you drive without battery but still connect the wire, you will see that the light glows even as the generator generates voltage. So without battery, do not connect it.
The charge light control function is based on a transistor switch and is an additional function. Even if that should fail, the regulator might still be in ok working condition. Simple check: have the engine running, turn lights on, disconnect the battery. If you have bright lights the unit is ok.
*

Remains the blue (sometimes blue/white) wire at the ignition coil. This is the kill (cut-out) wire.

Note:
Should you experience ignition failures, disconnect as a first measure this blue wire. In  many cases that will permit you to get mobile again (particulars see: technical help)!

 Connected to ground - it will stop ignition!

This type of wiring is used in motorcycles which originally already had magneto ignition and therefore switched off by shortcircuiting against ground.

Those vehicles have by design a main lock (or some kill switch) that connects a pin to ground when in OFF position (German bikes: pin 2). The blue(/white) wire of the ignition coil will be connected here. In that way the cut-out works like previously.
* Screw the high tension (ignition) cables ...

Please do not use any spark amplifying cables, such as "Nology supercables" or "hot wire". This will disturb the system and possibly damage it.

 ... into the ignition coil and pull over the rubber seals before mounting the coil (it will be easier).

Please do use the cable arriving with the pack and not any old cable.
You will be doing yourself a favour to treat your bike to new spark plugs and spark plug caps (preferably some between 0-2kOhm). Plenty of problems are to be traced back to "apparently good" (even completely "brand-new") sparks plugs, terminals and cables.
Do not use spark plugs with an intern suppression resistor. NGK (e.g.) offered such spark plugs coded with an "R" (for resistor).
*

 

 
 

In our twin outlet coils both ends of the secondary go to the spark plugs.

Typical resistance between both exits is 6.2kOhm. Both exists fire at the same time (as many twin systems do). Sparks will be polarised however at a 180 degrees difference which might manifest when you strobe it.

Ignition will only work correctly if both plug terminals are connected. You may not test one side with the other open (not sitting on the mounted spark plug). This is because (effectively) each exit uses ground from the other. That means also that both plugs are working in serial, adding resistances, so better use low resistance spark plug (resistor) sockets and make sure they are good. If in doubt, measure resistance on a hot socket (warm it up before measuring).

Is the flow from ground of one side via spark plug there, via coil, to the other spark plug and its ground interrupted you get no spark - on neither side. If you really want to test only one side, put the HT wire of the other to ground (earth it) than it will work. Sometimes a coil deprived of its ground from the other side searches for a substitute - with some solid fireworks around it to the chassis.

*

Finally - and before installing the battery and before the first attempt to kickstart - please re-check carefully all connections and fitments with the wiring diagram. Do check battery and light bulbs for correct voltage (12V).

Should something not work, please consult our trouble-shooting guide on our homepage. As a first step disconnect the blue wire from the coil and re-test.
* IMPORTANT: During crank shaft repair the dynamo shaft is often machined and gets shorter. The result is a rotor sitting lower, possibly touching now with its rivets the stator coil. The result is a destroyed stator and ignition failure.
For more detail and how to check see (online) here.

 

Important safety and operating information

#

 Safety first! Please observe the general health and safety regulations motor vehicle repair (MVR) as well as the safety information and obligations indicated by the manufacturer of your motorcycle.

#

 Ignition systems generate high tension! With our material right up to 40,000 Volts! This may, if handled carelessly, not only be painful, but outrightly dangerous. Please do keep a safe distance to the electrode of your spark plug and open high tension cables. Should you need to test spark firing, hold the spark plug socket securely with some well insulating material and push it firmly to solid ground of the engine block.

#

 After installation, please check tightness of all screws, even those preinstalled. If parts get loose during run, there will be inevitably damage to the material. We pre-assemble screws only loosely.

#

 Give the newly installed system a chance to work, before you start to check and test values, or what is worse is to apply changes to customize the firing point before running the system.
Our parts have been checked before delivery to you. You will not be able to check much anyway. At any rate do refrain from measuring the electronic components (such as ignition coil, regulator and advance unit). You risk severe damage to the inner electronics there. You will not get any tangible results from the operation anyway. Bear in mind that also your carburettor, your spark plugs and spark plug sockets (even if completely new) might be the reason for malfunction. The general experience with our systems is that the carburettor will have to be re-adjusted to lower settings. Should the system not start after assembly, first disconnect the blue cut-off wire directly at the ignition coil (or in some cases advance unit) to eliminate any malfunction in the cut-off circuitry. Check ground connections carefully.

#

The spark of classic, points based ignition systems has with about 10,000 Volts with little energy and looks therefore yellow and fat (hence it's visible). The spark from our system is a high energy spark with up to 40,000 Volts and therefore very sharp (needle thin focused) in form, and blue in colour, which makes it not so visible. Furthermore you get spark only at kickstart operated speedss and not by pushing the kicklever down slowly with your hand (as you might get with battery based ignitions).

#

 Systems using a twin outlet ignition coils have a few percularities. Please observe that during tests on one side, the other has either to be connected to an fitted spark plug or securely earthed/grounded. Otherwise there will be no spark on either side.

#

Never do electric arc welding on the bike without completely disconnecting all electronics.

#

 Electronics are very sensitive to wrong polarity. After work on the system, do check correct polarity of the battery and the regulator. Wrong polarity creates short circuits and will destroy the regulator, the ignition coil and the advance unit. As a rule, wiring will always be colour to colour. Instances, where colour differs between wires it is expressly mentioned in our instructions.

#

 When you handle the new rotor, take care not to damage its magnets. Refrain from direct blows to the circumference of the rotor. When transporting never put the rotor over the stator. Observe our information relative to transport of the material.

#

 Do not use spark plug sockets with a resistance of more than 5kOhm. Better use 1 or 2kOhm ones. Bear in mind that spark plug sockets do age and thereby increase their internal resistance. Should an engine start up only when cold, a defective spark plug socket and/or spark plug is very probably the cause. In case of problems check high tension cables too. Never use carbon fibre HT-cables, never use so called "hot wires", never use resistor spark plugs.

#

 It is a good idea to cover the rotor in a thin layer of oil to reduce the risk of corrosion.

#

 Never use a claw puller or a hammer to disengage the rotor. Its magnets might become loose in the event. We offer a special puller screw for disengaging the new rotor again (see assembly instruction)!

#

 Should the motorcycle not be in use for some longer period, please disconnect the battery (so existing) to prevent current bleeding through the diodes of the regulator. Though, even a disconnected battery will empty itself after a while.

#

 Please do observe these remarks, but at the same time, don't be afraid of the installation process. Remember, that before you, thousands of other customers have successfully installed the system.
Enjoy driving your bike with its new electric heart!