FIG. 154

14. Push on the rear brake pedal until the brake light comes on. The ammeter should read approximately 3 amps. Release the rear brake and apply the front brake until the light comes on. The ammeter should again read approximately 3 amps.

15. Release the front brake and blow the horn. The ammeter should read approximately 3 amps.

16. Turn on the lights. Either headlight beam should draw approximately 5 amps and the taillight approximately 1 amp. If they are both on together, the  meter should read approximately 6 amps.

17. If the operation of any component showed an excessive reading on the ammeter, then it is causing an undue load on the electrical system. Replace that component with a new one and recheck with the ammeter.

18. Electrical shorts can be easily traced using an ammeter. Simply disconnect each component, wire by wire, while watching the needle of the ammeter. When the needle drops to a normal position, you know that something connected to the last wire you unplugged is at fault.

19. If you have installed, or plan to install some additional electrical equipment on your motorcycle and you wish to know how much current it should draw, this can be done easily if you know the wattage that it requires. Most electrical components have the wattage stamped or printed on them, or it is included with their instructions. Simply divide the wattage by the voltage, and that is the amperage that it should draw. For example, the headlight bulb on the OSSA is marked 30/3OW. That means that the high and the low beams both draw 30 watts. Being a 6 volt system, divide the wattage by the voltage, 30 divided by 6 is 5, or the number of amperes that the light will draw.
 


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