After 20 or so minutes my lights start flashing and I blow bulbs. ($200 and counting) I replaced the voltage regulator and it still happened. I replaced the stator. Still happens. So I connected the meter to the cigarette lighter port and ran the motor for 30 minutes and put plenty of load on the circuit. Voltage stays >10V and <16V. Looked good. No flashing. Hmm… So I started running it at high RPM like I would if I was cruising down the trail. After a few minutes I saw the voltage spike over 20V (max scale on meter). Of course I blew out my light bulbs. Doh!
So it appears the voltage regulator can’t handle high RPM’s and can’t smooth out the signal. I would suspect the transistor is failing to switch fast enough. Probably due to heat. This is my second voltage regulator but I did buy a cheapo on Amazon. Is there a quality difference? Is there a place I can buy from that has quality components inside the regulator?
