Hi Stu,
I'd considered doing this (making an electronic substitute for the
regulator) but then part of the description of the thing's operation
mentioned temperature compensation (raising and lowering the steady-state
voltage to optimize battery charging over an ambient temp range of about -20
to +40 C) and that certainly makes it more challenging. Then my generator
spun the rear bearing in the case, and my options became more clear. Now I
run an alternator, and the room I've gained by removing the old regulator
makes it easy to fiddle with the fuses when they decide to make intermittent
contact in the fuse box (this is a recent phenomenon, and it hasn't annoyed
me to the point where I've done anything proactive about it). The right
answer there, of course, is to scrounge up a real fuse box.
Good luck,
Theo
PS Check to make sure none of the wires underneath the relay platform are
broken, shorted, or nearly so. It's been a while since I've looked at mine
(trade ya?) and I don't recall how well protected things were under there,
or how prone to corrosion.
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