Mark;
I don't believe you can test a voltage stabilizer with a volt meter. It
doesn't actually do anything to the voltage,what it actually does is simply
turn the current on and off in a some what regular pattern.. Open it up and
you will find nothing more than a bimetal bar wrapped in nichrome wire,as
the wire heats up the contact points on the end of the bar open, cutting off
the flow of current. The bar then starts to cool because no current is now
flowing and the contacts close allowing current to flow and the cycle starts
over.
The ' Regulating' comes from the fact that the bar will heat up faster if it
has 14 volts rather than 9 volts flowing, thus opening and cutting the
current sooner. Basically it should be called a current stabilizer rather
than voltage stabilizer since it is allowing the same amount of current to
flow regardless of the voltage..
Note that the regulator has to be grounded to work so insure that it is
grounded .
If you connect two lines going to the regulator together, bypassing the
regulator the gauges should still work and will suffer no damage but will
read higher.
I would start my search for the problem by pulling the two wires off the
regulator and connecting them together. If the gauges are still not working
the regulator is not the problem.
Also note that the regulator terminals must be hooked up to the proper wire.
Bob Nogueira ( who has to open up everything to see how it works )
----- Original Message -----
From: "Mark Steph" <tr6@pobox.com>
To: <british-cars@autox.team.net>
Sent: Sunday, August 10, 2003 6:44 PM
Subject: is this the voltage stabilizer?
> Looking for a little advice/convincing here...
>
> I am close to completing a dash restoration project on a 75 TR6. After
> reassembling everything I come to find that my fuel and temperature
> gauges no longer work. My memories from previous work on this car
> pointed me back to the voltage stabilizer that supplies power for them.
> I am trying to convince myself that is the problem -- though really
> nothing here has changed (in my mind) except for a bunch of split vinyl
> and splintered wood.
>
> Symptoms:
> 1. fuel/temp gauges do not work
> 2. the fuse for this circuit blows pretty regularly.
> 3. even when it does not blow, I can turn on the vent fan and the fan
> will start and stop (and the lights get brighter/dimmer when it happens)
> as if Mr Lucas is doing something evil.
>
> This is what I have done so far:
> 1. tested fuel gauge with a 9v battery -- appears to work ok.
> 2. disconnected voltage stabilizer and problem 2 and 3 seem to go away
> (at least they do running the fan for 5-10 min.)
> 3. measured input voltage to VS -- almost exactly 12.
> 4. bench tested stabilizer with a multimeter. I see wild swings from 0
> to 5v to 7v. Nothing higher than 7v ever. I was expecting 10v.
>
> Am I right to suspect the stabilizer? What in the world could have made
> it go kaput just by removing/refitting the speedo/gauges?
>
> -Mark
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