Britbike forum Forums British Motorcycle specific Brands Royal enfield forum 58 Royal Enfield Constellation

Hi I recently bought a 1958 Constellation in reasonable good condition. My initial thinking was that it had the standard 6v electrics as it was fitted with a 6v battery. When I started checking it out the wiring was a birds nest of wires of a similar colour. I decided this should all be replaced but the more I looked into it I noted that there had been a very rough conversion to 12v. The alienator was an adjusted device with solder connections all over.
Anyway to cut a long storey short I want to rewire the entire bike 12v with a Boyer power pack, new alienator and ignition switch etc but cannot find any reasonable wiring diagram to follow. Can anyone tell me if there is such a thing ?
Thanks
Mike

Hi Mike and welcome to the site. Here is a pic of a Series II wiring schematic. The charging system will be very close in concept to what you want to do but the switches are different. Also, you probably have a magneto, if so disregard the ignition switch.

If you need an earlier diagram for a magneto bike with the earlier switches, I can snap a photo of one of those as well. Best of luck.
Stuart

BTW, I have a rough '59 Constellation that I "plan" to get running someday.

Hi Stuart many thanks for the diagram, this looks like something I can work with. I have printed off a copy and am in the process of adjusting it to the single coil and distributer that is on my bike. I also want to fit a Boyer power box to replace the zener diode and rectifier. Not being an electrician this could be interesting

Delighted to find another Constellation owner, I think they are a great bike, look well and ride well. I only know one other person here in Ireland that has one. He is going through the same process as me and making exactly the same mistakes. If I do figure it out hope you wont mind if I pass on the diagram.

Cheers

Mike

Great. Hope it helps. I couldn't find a schematic of a distributor bike but here is one for an earlier mag fired Interceptor that shows both 6V and 12V connections as well as the rotary style switch.



Hopefully you have a correct schematic for your bike to work from as well. The only 6V one I have is for a mag fired bike.

Also, you should check in with Hitchcock's Motorcycles and see if they have a ready made main harness that would work for you with only minor revisions. That's what I would probably do.

Again many thanks Stuart.

I think I have tormented Hitchcock's to death. To be honest I have spent a fortune with them over the last few months on everything from Rotors, Stators, power box, points, coils, ignition switches, light switches and two different wiring harnesses. The wiring harnesses come with fitting instructions but these only apply to direct replacement of like for like systems, and so are not very helpful when alterations or deviations from standard are necessary. They tell me there is no specific diagram as the bike was initially a 6v magneto unit with no standard upgrade to 12v. So between emails and phone calls to Hitchcock's I think I have extracted all the info I can get from them.

I cant imagine that I am the only person on the planet to attempt what I am doing especially as I know another gut trying the same thing. I am still hopeful that there is someone out there who knows exactly what I need. If not, with the assistance received from you and a little more head scratching I will hopefully get there.

Funny thing, I was reading an enquiry on a BAS forum yesterday entitled "my head hurts" it was written by a guy having similar problems with his upgrade he was also looking for info.

Cheers

Mike

P.S.
I was trying to attach a photo of my Constellation, as I mentioned I love the bike and wanted to show it off. Is it possible to copy and past a photo in the forum

To show a photo here ( unless you are a paying member) you have to post it to one of the picture storage sites, and then post the link here.

I use postimage.org - its free and you don't need to sign up or anything. The 'direct link' they provide will do the trick.
It needs a [/img] after it, and a [img] before it.
Be sure to save the whole thing in your favorite links, you may need it later.

____________________________________________________
Assorted circa ww2 Enfield projects.
Love to find a twin, but they seem surprisingly uncommon here.

That's kind of true, but the second diagram I posted shows both 6 and 12V systems so it should give a pretty clear idea of what's needed. It looks like it could be as simple as binning the rectifier, hooking the 2 power box leads to the 2 alternator leads and run the power box output lead to the #3 post on the switch. (Use the existing wire in the harness.) If it's a positive ground power box, the only other changes would be battery and bulbs. (Horn too.) I really think you could use an original wiring harness with only minor revisions to how connections are done.


It's actually pretty easy even with a slow internet connection but it is a multi step process.

Step by step:
1. Snap a photo with your phone.
2. Set up a free postimage account.
2a. Upload image to postimage. (I transfer it to my desktop then upload it.)
3. Copy their "Hot link for Forums" for the image you want.
4. Paste that link into your post.
5. Use the "Preview Reply" button to be sure it is what you want.
6. If it's all good, post the reply.

What a beauty !

Thanks Rohan and Stuart for your help with photo.

Thanks for your comment Oilyamerican

Cheers
Mike

That really is nice.