mystery electric gadget

[MichaelTorre]

I have 1974, TS250 4speed with some Lucas equipment for the US.

There is a small metal can about 24 mm diameter mounted in battery
box. Brake light wires go through it.
No mentioned of it in wire diagrams.
Does anyone know its function ?

the thing is I am installing European lighting on the
US bike because its lighting is decayed.

M

[DAVID THOMPSON]

may be a trash filter to keep electric system from interfering with radio and tv
dave

a good shortwave or bc band radio can hear an old ford car arriving for over a mile on a damp night
weak analog tv will show white streaks in the picture on a weak station
most people have not seen this because of using cable to get the signal

my 500cc saxon tour has something similar in it spark circuit

[MichaelTorre]

Well, whatever it is, I insist on wireing the bike to resemble the diagrams.
So.....its gotta go.
Point of interest I have seen it on other U.S. bikes. And it has faint
German print about its voltage capacities.
M

[vicar]

Some States require that a fail safe lighting system be fitted ,IE if the tail light fails the brake light comes on automatically .The headlight will have a similar system, if dip beam fails main beam comes on or conversely main to dip. This might be the case with your bike and it would have been fitted at the factory for export the the US, hence the German on the part. Victor

[MichaelTorre]

even more confusing is the fact that it has a Lucas 3-terminal
flasher mounted in the head light. A German flasher has two
terminals and the wiring diagram shows German flasher.

I need to follow ONE countries interpretation.
M

[DAVID THOMPSON]

i have a bmw R50S made in 1961 or 62 it had over 20 wires in the loom from the head lamp to the frame
i rewired it in 1977 and wound up with 7 and everything works
i think some of these were sold as police bikes the battery mount holder in mine was bigger than most /2 bikes of the time..
there were 2 number 10 wires to the luggage box on the rear fender where a passenger seat would have been
so it was either a P-bike or a delivery bike to start out because i am almost sure it had a 2 way radio on it.

we had some PD bikes here about 1963 and they used to trade 2.. 6 volt batteries out and charged ones into the saddle bags
at the officers lunch break speaker on the center of handle bars and and a hand mike looked like a railroad one we called the lunch box

Dave

[MichaelTorre]

funny I found the same item on flea bay and it was in good enough shape where I could read the label.
It was in German and it stated it was a relay.
For the life of me I don't know why you would have a relay closing the circuit to a brake contact switch but
George Lucas choose do it.
Of course a German diagram goes directly to ground from the bulb via the brake switch.
like modern government ......you cannot make this stuff up.
M-

[vicar]

The relay is for the fail-safe lighting as I mentioned in an earlier post if power is flowing through the rear light all is well, if the filament in the bulb blows power stops flowing and the relay that is held open by this flow closes sending power to the brake light filament.
A similar arrangement is used for the headlight.,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Victor