I definitely need to read back thru this thread a little. I got a bit behind a while back.
I have a couple questions
I can only remember one of them right now tho...
I thought the steel core, of each coil, played a big part of how a stator makes electricity... The magnetic force, passes each end of the steel core, drawing electrons thru the core and into the copper winding, where the electrons...condense...or strengthen thru the windings, and are pushed out into the regulator...and so on.
The full wave system seems to take the steel core right out of the equation, since the windings are not attached(grounded to the core. So...how does this work?? When copper is not drawn to a magnet??
Sorry. Probably a bad time to throw this out there.
These are good, basic, questions. I mean it's not strictly necessary to understand any of the science/principles to make this work...but it should at least feel easier once you understand some of them.
The ferrous metal core (armature) is an essential element of an induction coil. This is what conducts magnetic force. Wind copper wire around a long nail, then connect the ends to a battery...voila! you've created an electromagnet. That's the same as an induction coil, only used "in reverse"...with a permanent magnet to supply the force.
Ever attach a magnet to a small steel piece, like a bolt...then use the end of the bolt as a magnet, until the actual magnet is removed? That's essentially what occurs every time the rotor (flywheel) magnet(s) pass over the exposed end of a coil armature. By winding wire around that core, electrical current is induced in the wire. Without that ferrous core, this couldn't happen, since copper cannot be magnetized, even temporarily. What we're doing is capturing the induced current, via the ends of the coil winding(s). FYI, since permanent magnets have poles, the polarity (i.e. flow direction) of the electrical current through the coil reverses as the magnet poles spin past...that creates an alternating current. That alternating current has a waveform, essentially a sine wave...with both + and - peaks. Those are represented, graphically, as points above and below a zero axis. Voltage is represented by the distance above, or/and below the zero axis.
AC cannot be used with batteries, most electronics and it's brutal on LEDs.
Graphically represented, we can use one half of the AC waveform...either the portion above, or below, the zero axis, as DC. But, that leaves us with less than 50% of the electrical power being generated (induced), which doesn't leave much usable electrical current. Honda chose to use raw AC, since conventional bulbs don't mind. Using AC, both the positive and negative phases (halves of the waveform above & below the zero axis) are harnessed...and the power is now the combined (overall) distance between the waveform halves, with no loss through a rectifier. For the charging circuit, they went with a simple diode. It's cheap, rugged and requires a grounded coil; it's also very inefficient. The best way (functionally) to go is taking the two AC outputs, then phase-matching them into DC. The circuitry used to accomplish this (diode bridge) is very efficient and leaves you with 98-99% of AC output available as DC. The cost difference between the fullwave reg/rec unit we've been talking about and a new silicon diode is less than $40...at full retail. But...at OEM wholesale, the cost differences are multiplied and calculated very differently. And, electronic technology has progressed by light-years since 1969. Take a look at the CL70 electrical system...which was full wave; it required a battery ignition. You can do far better than that circa 2020...everything powered by DC combined with magneto ignition. I do realize this goes beyond what you asked. However, IMO it's easier to understand if you know the reasons why these systems were chosen for production.
I remember a time when some cars had ammeters in the gauge cluster, one of the most useful instruments for avoiding being stranded with a dead battery.
