The Hodaka Club Forum

Hello,
I have a few questions about what I believe is a 68 Ace 90

First: Do any of you know what bulb(s) will work for the headlight? I cut the bulb out of my sealed unit and am wondering if there is a bulb anyone has used by epoxying in the old lens? I would buy a new sealed light but they seem impossible to find, or super expensive, but maybe I am looking in the wrong place.

Second: Does the engine have to be running and the battery have to have a charge for the headlight to work? I tried before I removed my bulb with the engine running and the dead battery in to see if it would light up. With a test light i could see the switch worked since the high/low positions indicated different continuity at the socket. Again, there is power getting to the socket, but the bulb was most likely shot anyway, so does the engine have to be running and does the battery have to have a charge for the headlight to work?

Third: I used a universal, sealed, lead acid battery, 6v typed used in lanterns, power wheels, lights, etc to make sure my back light lit up and brake switch working, but did not have the engine running. Is it safe to run the engine with this type of battery? The old battery was bone dry so I put some water in it just because, and used that when I ran the engine and the tail light still worked, but got brighter with speed, so I'm assuming a fresh headlight would work without a good battery as well since the whole system can be run off of the stator?

So, Do I need a good battery for the headlight to work , can I run the engine with the lantern battery or a universal sealed lead acid without blowing it up, and do you know of any bulbs that will work with the 3 prong end?

Thanks

All your questions have been answered many times in the old forum, but since it's no longer available, I'll do my best to summarize:

1. You can use any 6v 15/15W bulb as long as you can get it mounted. The Light coil could probably handle an 18/18W bulb, but I think that would be the limit. The 6v 15/15w Headlamp is becoming extremely scarce, which is why it has become so expensive. There is an ongoing effort to reproduce it but it has been slow going. Many of us are looking for the same "interim" solution, or even a replacement solution. So far not too successful. I am optimistic a solution exists that we haven't yet found.

2. The headlamp burns on AC power directly from the magneto. So, the engine must be running to operate the headlamp. The battery is not part of the headlamp circuit. The headlamp will also increase/decrease in brightness as the engine runs. The tail lamp runs on DC current. The engine does not need to be running to burn the tail lamp. The DC lamps should NOT increase/decrease brightness since they are running from the battery. In both cases the battery is not "required", but if you have no battery, you will blow your lamps very quickly because the battery acts as a current regulator for the DC lamps.

A very simple explanation of the circuitry:

AC power is produced by the magneto and delivered directly to the headlamp for power. The same AC current is also routed through a selenium rectifier which "converts" the AC current to DC current and is routed through the battery to power the remaining lamps, (tail light, speedometer light), so that the battery acts like a voltage regulator. Any residual power after powering the DC lamps is used to recharge the battery, which is mainly a trickle charge.

3. With the above explanation, a sealed lead acid battery is probably not a good idea, but I wouldn't know for sure. You run the risk of burning up your coils if you don't use the correct components, and the Ace 90 Ignition coil is even more scarce than the headlamp.

Also, a '68 Ace would be an Ace 100. If it's an Ace 90, then it's more than likely '67 or earlier.

Thanks a lot for the info, I see there is a lot of dead links on google tied to this site. The only question I have left is if the dead battery i currently have will safely soak up enough voltage, even if it does not hold a charge or very very little? Does it just have to be there to complete the circuit or does a charged battery help keep things constant versus a dead battery fluctuating? It sounds like it won't make a difference for the headlamp, but the other bulbs only since the headlamp is directly powered by ac. Is it better to keep the headlight off when safe to keep the battery charge or is the trickle sufficient? Either way it will be on a maintainer, but i'm just curious. Thanks

Just give the battery a full charge if you can, then if the tail lamp dims and brightens with the engine, you'll know it's not working.

I would suggest finding a new battery rather than monkey around with a known bad one. You can find them for less than $20. I got mine from Batteries Plus. But they are also sold here.

I also keep my headlight off unless I absolutely need it. I'll be in a pickle if it blows.