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Elio Lighting (head, Tail, Brake, Signal, Fog, Auxiliary, Blinking,etc...)

Would you choose optional lighting on your Elio? (choose all that apply)

  • Yes, I want a "third" or higher brake light.

    Votes: 17 39.5%
  • Yes, I want marker lights on the front wheels.

    Votes: 32 74.4%
  • Yes, I want signal lights on the front wheels.

    Votes: 27 62.8%
  • Yes, I want headlights, fog lights or similar on the front wheels.

    Votes: 10 23.3%
  • No, I do not want any additional lighting.

    Votes: 7 16.3%

  • Total voters
    43

silverfox

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Some ideas you might want to consider..
 

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carzes

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wattage is p=i x e. since a mc has to run with lights on all the time, in most states, the lowest consumption headlights would be the best for gas mileage but maybe not the brightest as far as safety is concerned. i would assume the alternator would have a built in regulator and not consume anymore power than necessary to run the system, as opposed to the honda system that has full output all the time and just shunts the unneeded wattage to ground through a regulator diode.
Alternators control voltage by regulating how much current flows through the rotor coil to either battery positive or to ground, (both are needed for current flow), depending on the circuit design. They're not actually dumping excess power to ground. But you're right that efficient electrical design will reduce engine drag, hence my interest in LED, and how much power, a.k.a. gas, do headlights take. Heres a good article I found on a very similar situation: http://www.motherearthnews.com/green-transportation/100-mpg-liquid-light.aspx#axzz3BeZvyAuW
 

zelio

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Alternators control voltage by regulating how much current flows through the rotor coil to either battery positive or to ground, (both are needed for current flow), depending on the circuit design. They're not actually dumping excess power to ground. But you're right that efficient electrical design will reduce engine drag, hence my interest in LED, and how much power, a.k.a. gas, do headlights take. Heres a good article I found on a very similar situation: http://www.motherearthnews.com/green-transportation/100-mpg-liquid-light.aspx#axzz3BeZvyAuW
Very interesting but what is MAX? :-) Z
 

goldwing06

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Alternators control voltage by regulating how much current flows through the rotor coil to either battery positive or to ground, (both are needed for current flow), depending on the circuit design. They're not actually dumping excess power to ground. But you're right that efficient electrical design will reduce engine drag, hence my interest in LED, and how much power, a.k.a. gas, do headlights take. Heres a good article I found on a very similar situation: http://www.motherearthnews.com/green-transportation/100-mpg-liquid-light.aspx#axzz3BeZvyAuW
i don't won't to start a wee wee contest, but the design and construction of the alternator, can be full output or on demand output. alternators with permanant magnets have no way to control the output, except rpm or to dump the excess wattage to grd. the alternators with windings for the field or stator and the rotor, the output can be precisely controlled at any speed above idle, by how much drive or excitation is fed back to the regulating winding. if the output is taken from the field or stator, like most alternators, the control signal or voltage is fed back to the rotating component through brushes, and is proportional to the desired output wattage. the brushes can wear and will need to be replace at some point. the pm type alternator has no wear components except the bearings. however, on some occasions, the epoxy holding the magnets to the rotating component, has become delaminated. that can be a problem!
 

carzes

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Very interesting but what is MAX? :) Z
The guy who wrote the article for Mother Earth News has named his 100mpg car project Max. There are links in the article to blogs and such all about it. It's pretty interesting, a four wheel home-built with a Kubota diesel tractor motor in it.
 

carzes

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i don't won't to start a wee wee contest, but the design and construction of the alternator, can be full output or on demand output. alternators with permanant magnets have no way to control the output, except rpm or to dump the excess wattage to grd. !
In what sort of application would you find something like that? I've never heard of anything like it and I can't find anything that sounds like it. I'm up for learnin' something new every day, but I can't find that one. Certainly not in any modern automotive context. Pount me a direction and maybe I can hunt up a schematic or two.
 

zelio

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The guy who wrote the article for Mother Earth News has named his 100mpg car project Max. There are links in the article to blogs and such all about it. It's pretty interesting, a four wheel home-built with a Kubota diesel tractor motor in it.
Mother Earth News happens to be the only magazine I subscribe to. It is nice to know they had something like that in it. :-) Z
 

goldwing06

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In what sort of application would you find something like that? I've never heard of anything like it and I can't find anything that sounds like it. I'm up for learnin' something new every day, but I can't find that one. Certainly not in any modern automotive context. Pount me a direction and maybe I can hunt up a schematic or two.
honda has used the shunt controlled charging system since the goldwing came out in '75. the purpose for that configuration was to eliminate the rotational feed back of the load changing on the alternator and that off and on loading being felt in the directional stability of the machine. this would be very irritating after several hours of trying to keep the machine from twiching back and forth as u motor down the road. kinda like someone running along side the machine and lightly nudging u sideways as u motor along. a transverse mounted engine doesn't suffer the effect. the circuitry is simple too. the 3phase output is run through a 3phase rectifier and then to a badass zener diode. the the rectifier supplies any power needed to run the machine and any excess is shunted through the zener to grd. this system is also used on industrial engines too. generators, welders, pumps and anyother engine drives with a charging system. the only failure normally encountered with this set up is burning out the windings or wiring. if left to sit long enough the magnets might start to lose some of their strength and reduce the output some what. hope this helps!
 
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