[DaveO430]

imported post

A pair of 55W lights are fine as long as you use them only when at speed. In stop and go driving or with the RPMs below 2 to 3000 the charging system would lose the battle of keeping the battery charged.

 

[DaveO430]

imported post

exavid wrote:

You situation is much like the older cars of the 30s and 40s, on a long drive they often had their headlights on to prevent overcharging their batteries because of inadequate voltageregulation.

They usually just had a generator cutout that just disconnected the generator field when not running, no VR at all. I worked on an old car (1919 Franklin) with an interesting system. The generator was also the starter and charged constantly when running. It had a switch on the dash to start and charge. The owners manual gave instructions something like turn it off after 1/2 hour of driving and on again after another 1/2 hour but you also had to stop every hour and oil the tappets. 6 cylinder air cooled engine (very powerful and scary to drive) and believe it or not it was 12 volt. The owner brought it to me because it didn't start well and he had a 6 volt battery in it, I figured out it was 12 volt from the owners manual, 2 6 volt batteries.