Sumner :
IMO any added load beyond the (optional) heater is too much. The stock TR3
generator is only rated at 19 amps max (and a regulator adjusted "by the
book" won't allow it to exceed that, even if you have the 22 amp
replacement). I once measured the total electrical load on a stock 59 TR3A
at 23 amps. (Of course, that includes everything on the car, except brake
lights and turn signals. But, that is a common configuration if you are
driving at night in the rain.) This is why the owner's manual recommends
charging the battery after a winter run.
The fact the generator won't begin to keep up at idle really shouldn't be a
problem, unless you plan to let the engine idle for very long periods of
time. As long as it can make up the difference at speed, the battery can
deal with idling.
If you make any short trips, you also need some excess charging capacity to
replace the power taken from the battery to start the car.
BTW, it's worth mentioning that the original generator is actually capable
of producing more than 19 amps, but will destroy itself fairly quickly if
allowed to do so. I ruined several of them that way in my early TR3 days.
Randall
59 TR3A - Ford alternator and loving it
On Friday, August 13, 1999 11:49 AM, Sumner Weisman [SMTP:sweisman@gis.net]
wrote:
>
> Listers,
>
> I'm in the process of adding driving lights to my TR3, and am now asking
> myself, "Am I at the point where the generator current output is marginal
> for all my accessories -- where I have to switch to an alternator?"
>
> I read everything I could find about an alternator conversion, and
nothing
> told me at what point it becomes necessary. I understand that the
problem
> is not at driving speeds, but when idling. Obviously, I don't want the
> battery to drain faster than the generator can keep it charged.
>
> Along with the standard current drain from the ignition and lights, I
also
> have a:
> 1. Heater fan
> 2. Radiator cooling fan, drawing about 10 amps
> 3. Driving lights, drawing about 8 amps
>
> Given: It is unlikely that the heater and cooling fan will be on at the
> same time. I have installed an adjustable thermostat for the cooling
fan,
> and it only comes on when the water temperature is quite high, in the
> summer. I normally would not be using the heater then (unless perhaps if
> the engine overheated due to loss of coolant, I might run the heater fan
to
> get some of the heat out!)
>
> How much spare current capability do our generators have? Am I OK, or
> should I do the conversion this winter?
>
> Sumner Weisman
> 62 TR3B
>
>
>
>
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