Originally Posted by
Road Fan
There should not be anything inside a Soubitez generator but copper wire coils, magnets, iron, and a bearing. If it moves dodgy, the bearing needs cleaning. Carefully look at all the screws and see if you can take the little beastie apart. I would not mess with the pivot and latch without a good reason - springs inside! If you can do all this without disturbing the magnets, do that. If the magnets are on the rotating shaft (I guess they have to be, actually!), don't chip them.
Clean the bearing areas with rags with a dab of solvent on them - focus on elbow grease rather than solvents, due to the age of the wire insulation, about 40 years.
To reassemble, what to lube with? I'm not an oils expert, but I'd try a drop of 3 in 1 Electric Motor Oil, or maybe just a drop of automotive motor oil, just 10w-40 or something common. Not a lot, because if it's a wrong choice you don't want gunk to build up.
When you turn the roller by hand you should feel distinct steps in the rotation (caused by the magnetics) but smooth motion without binding, end play or radial play.
Unfortunately I was already stupid enough to take the spring out-- after about 5 hours I got it back in and it worked (even though it didn't "feel" the same afterwards). As to its current state, it definitely still "clicks" a bit when you turn it, and the turning doesn't feel "rough" either. This is why I'm even more confused about how to fix it... For example, when I push the dynamo a bit with my foot so it rubs "harder" on the tire, it lights fine. Even more stranger is that occasionally when riding I will feel it "kick in" and get more traction, adding friction to the ride but also lighting correctly... do I just need to somehow get it to "spring" closer to the tire? I really doubt it, but...