Hello all.
Have been following the advice of the list via the digest for some time and
have found the information to be invaluable.
I have a voltage regulator problem on my 64 spitfire which I could use some
help with - being a bit (a lot) electrically impaired.
This is my situation:
Recently I noticed my electrical system was running at around 15-16 volts.
(aside - everything works really well at 16V - lights, wipers, etc) An ammeter
connected between the positive lead and the positive battery terminal showed
approx 15 amps going in to the battery - seemed a lot to me.
Generator is producing plenty of amps (but seems to get pretty hot), battery is
less than a year old.
I tried to test the voltage regulator using the Haynes manual. The cutout works
OK but the manual refers to terminal S when talking about testing/adjusting the
voltage regulator. Since there is no terminal S on any voltage regulator I've
seen I guessed they meant terminal F and then tested/adjusted the voltage
regulator downward based on the F terminal readings. Now my system runs at more
like 13-14 volts which seems better but the voltage at terminal F still varies
with engine RPM. I'm still not sure if the voltage regulator is nackered or not
- the terminal F reading varies from 7-8V at idle to about 14.5V at 3000rpm to
15-16V at 4-5000 rpm. Any advice/opinions out there? I would really like to
know if I am in danger of rapidly destroying my battery and/or generator or if
it's not a big deal and everything is fine, or near enough.
I plan on replacing the generator and regulator with the much talked about Ford
Fiesta alternator conversion (65 amps - phroah!). Since the discussion usually
refers to TR's I would like to get confirmation that this can be done on a
Spitfire and what, if any, mount or pulley mods are required.
Also, has anyone tried to reduce their generator/alternator temperature - mine
always seems very hot. I was thinking of trying a longer and stronger upper
adjusting mount (mine always used to break) with a longer fan-belt to match.
Then maybe add a heat shield or some sort of radiator cover with an air-scoop?
to direct cold air into the alternator/generator. Anyone tried something like
this?
Thanks for any advice in advance -
Cheers
Mark Sinclair
MK2 Spitfire
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