Lucas Dynamo

[AngleseyAJS]

Good afternoon everyone,
Having acquired a 1955 AJS 18S recently I though it would be a good idea to give it a good going through.

The only history I have is that the bike was restored some years ago and while it has been run up regularly it's not been ridden.

Apart from finding loose nuts and bolts everywhere! The only real problem is with the dynamo. The lights do work but I suspect it isn't charging, the ammeter doesn't seem to move either way.
The Dynamo is a Lucas E3AR and I've attached a picture. Looking at the Lucas data sheet it says it should be a E3N.
Could this have been changed or could it have been on it from new?
After a quick search on here it sounds like they are not well thought of.

In the second picture you can see the connections, I'll be honest my skills do not lay with electrics but to my untrained eye it's looks crap to say the least!
The bolt that holds them in will not tighten up hence the way we found the issue. I've not had chance to check if it's actually working or not yet.
Is it a case of testing the dynamo with a multimeter while the engine is running to see if it is charging?
The loom is by no means a rats nest but it does look like it's been fiddled with so I don't mind changing the wiring loom and starting a fresh.
What are people's thoughts on the dynamo?
I plan on keeping the bike so don't mind future proofing it, what would be a reasonable upgrade?

Ive added a picture of the Regulator as well. Do they require servicing?

Many thanks in advance

[SPRIDDLER]

The E3AR will be fine.
Don't fiddle with the regulator (pic 1) as they need quite special treatment to set up.
The wires at the bullet terminals (pic 2) look very poor and corroded and need cutting and remaking, exposing clean strands.
The health of the dynamo is best checked with a load applied rather than just a meter.
This will take you through a test procedure...........

https://www.matchlessclueless.com/elect ... as-dynamo/

[Andy51]

I wouldn't bother with the regulator, modern electronic versions are much better. I use the one from AO Services, never had a problem with it. If you remove the coils, etc, from the Lucas regulator, you can mount the electronic version on the Lucas chassis. Solder the wires to the top of the FADE connections and you can use the original wiring loom connectors into the FADE sockets. Put the Lucas regulator top back on and no-one will ever know! Andy

[AngleseyAJS]

Well thank you both for the reply.
Particular thanks for the link on how to test the dynamo, I read it through a couple of times and I felt like I was ready to test it with the multimeter that I've had for ages and never used!
I tested it and there was nothing showing so I thought I'd try again in case I was wrong the first time or maybe the earth wasn't quite good enough.
Still nothing so I thought I would bite the bullet and take the end cap off for a look.

I know I don't know much about electrics but I fairly sure it won't work like that!!

I feel a phone call to the man I bought it off is definitely needed!

To the eagle eyed you can see 1 brush taped to the connecter wire outside of the dynamo, the other one is no where to be found