--- ZoboHerald@aol.com wrote:
> In a message dated 10/19/2005 9:28:45 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
> tr4@drooartz.com writes:
>
> I haven't had any time to work on the TR4 lately, so I've been doing
> theoretical work, trying to understand what I've been seeing with the
> charging system. A question I have now--if your alternator/generator
> was not charging at all, and you left home with a fully charged
> battery, how far would you get?
>
>
>
> ======
> FWIW, I went through just this scenario a couple years back with my Herald,
> when it truly was my daily (only) driver. I got used to two things: 1.
> ignoring the generator light being on all the time; and 2. swapping
> batteries (and
> then recharging the "dead" one) about every week or so, which translated
> into
> 200+ miles. Mostly daylight driving in clear weather means very little
> overall demand for juice, but rainy days (headlights required in rain in NY
> -- a
> good idea, IMHO) and night driving would take the battery down quite a bit
> more
> quickly.
>
> I suspect that you'd find pretty much the same results with a TR4. If you're
>
> worried, buy a cheap Group 24 battery @ Walmart (or the like) and carry it
> until you get time to sort out the charging system!
>
> --Andy Mace
>
Let me give you my 'Triumph war story' - back in the '80s when I owned my 76
Spitfire, I was stationed in El Paso and received a 3-day pass to go see my
wife (who was living with her family in Little Rock). I jumped in and took
off, driving as far as Big Springs before it got dark. I flipped on the
headlights but after half an hour I noticed they were getting quite dim. Being
(literally!) in the middle of nowhere, I switched off what was left of the
headlights and decided to keep going until the battery gave out or I got
somewhere I could get it worked on. Driving by the light of the stars, I
traveled on for another two hours until I got to the outskirts of Dallas/Ft
Worth. The local sheriff caught me rolling into town with no lights, but was
very understanding when I explained what happened - he put me up at the local
motel (no charge), fed me breakfast the next morning (no charge) and had the
local mechanic add juice to my battery (full charge! ;) ) then sent me on my
way. I made the remaining trip to Little Rock on that battery charge without
stopping - for a total trip of 1000 miles. The Spitfire was bone-stock except
for a Lumenition ignition system.
Raymond L. Hatfield
'65 TR4A IRS, O/D, SAH Tuned "Chance"
'73 Stag 4.3L, Auto, A/C, etc "Molly"
Little Rock, AR
Come visit the Michelotti TR Website:
http://www.geocities.com/michelotti_tr
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