Still not really sure where you get off thinking I said that current is regulated, since I never said that...I am simply re-iterating that current control is what regulates voltage on a motorcycle. Period. If you have found a way to regulate voltage on any automotive system without affecting current flow, I am all ears...
To simply state that voltage is regulated and melted your battery is the same as saying that because your three phase alternator putting out one third the rated current at the specified voltage is good, because the volts are good. The two(volts and amps) go together in diagnosis every time. Just as a hydraulic system cannot be diagnosed on either pressure or flow alone, so can an electrical system not be diagnosed in the same way. This is because every mobile electrical system is dependent upon voltage at a rated current to operate. Measuring one will not necessarily reveal a problem with the other (ie. testing a charging system by measuring battery voltage, or testing a battery by measuring across its terminals) To do so will allow you to miss your diagnosis a good portion of the time. I see it every day running a professional heavy diesel shop specializing in computerized control and monitor systems.
Current is king in the electrical world. Say you are checking a dim light bulb. Most people will measure supply voltage to the bulb. If they find 9 volts at their 12 volt rated bulb, they will look for the voltage drop and rectify it. However, the voltage drop is in actually a current restriction. The same thing would be measured from the amp side of the dial. Or, if you were to try to run a bulb that should draw 20 amps to illuminate properly, and you send one amp its way, the bulb most likely will not even light, and you would detect a very low voltage. In both cases, low current is the problem, though it is measured by voltage. Both measurements are critical to each other, though many troubleshooters will short cut by measuring only one or the other. I tend to prefer current measurements because I am that specific. Most people use voltage, since it seems to be easier, even if it is less exact.
To be a little more on track to this post, it was not overvoltage that cause the above battery to fail, but overcurrent, which would have been seen as overvoltage. Voltage is only a measurement of the "pressure" of the current flow in the electrical system, but not of the actual flow (amount) of current itself. And it is current that is actually producing the work; if this were not the case, fuses would be rated in volts, rather than in amps as they are. In the battery, the current flow from negative to positive (there I assume conventional electron theory applies) was unable to continue at the rate allowed by the regulator without causing voltage (pressure) to increase. And, as always, the resultant heat melted the battery pack.
And not to mince words, since your are technically correct in your definitions, but in the auto/moto world, a generator generated DC voltage (usually 6) and is long obsolete, and an alternator did the same for AC voltage. A bit confusing to read it stated as posted above in automotive context, since we had not lapsed into a discussion on electrics in general (but rather auto electrics), but I am sure you have been around long enough to appreciate the differrence. As far as how electronic regulators work, I wrote up a pretty extensive post on solid state regulators (both thyristor and MOSFET) around the time the one on my Honda burned up. Slower cycle times equal greater heat, and much less accurate regulation, especially given the crude motorcycle regulating systems.
But by now we have effectively hijacked this thread with a bunch of man-proving on something that doesn't really matter anyway. Cheers, bud.
