>> -----Original Message-----
> >> From: owner-mgs@autox.team.net [mailto:owner-mgs@autox.team.net]On
> >> Behalf Of Paul Hunt
> >> Sent: Friday, April 10, 1998 6:13 AM
> >> To: Dan Ray
> >> Cc: mgs@autox.team.net
> >> Subject: Re: Mark I, Now '73 B Alternator
> >>
> >>
> >> Dan Ray wrote:
> >> >
> >> > This is interesting, and brings up a good point. I just thought
it was
> >> > normal for me to lose voltage while idling at around 900 rpm on
my old
> >> > "dynamo"...
As an original owner of a 74 B, I can tell you that there are a number
of reasons why you'd get a voltage drop at lower RPM's. The most
obvious, besides a loose alternator belt (which you should always
check) is that the car and everything in it is just old! Rust builds
up the electrical resistance and grounds go bad all over the place.
Even though your symptoms are a classic sign of an alternator slowly
going out as well, all is not lost. I ran my 'B' for years with this
condition. As long as it starts in the morning and you can live with
it, it's not a major problem. The best solution is to do a complete
check of all wiring and switches. That means pulling apart and
cleaning all leads and grounds, replacing the quaint Lucar connectors,
cleaning out and/or replacing both the turn signal and wiper
switches-- through which most of the low tension circuits pass-- and
most especially, making sure the fuse box is intact and clean. Do this
all, of course, with the battery pulled.
Unless it's a big irritant, it can be lived with. At least you don't
have a 74, with its nightmarish seat-belt interlock system, which is
responsible for more wierd low tension mysteries than anything Lucas
gets blamed for! This particular box of delights has fuse parts so
arcane that no one I've ever talked to, at Moss or anywhere else, even
knows about, let alone can identify.
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