> > Yesterday the ignition light suddenly went on while driving and the
> > voltage guage reading 11+ . I thought the alternator was shot, though it
> > was only about 500 miles/1 year old. I drove about a mile and shut it
> > down ( at my office fortunately).
> > I changed out the alternator to another one I had, which I had taken out
> > because it seemed weak, not because it was absolutely not working.
> >
> > No difference-ignition light on, volt guage 11 ish.
Three terminal alternators have one small and two large Lucar male spade
connectors. The small connector is the IGN lamp lead to excite the
regulator on startup. One of the large connectors is the output terminal
and the other is a battery sense terminal. The connection between the
output terminal and the sense terminal is made at a connection block in the
positive battery cable. If this connection is "dodgy" the regulator shuts
off the voltage supply to the field winding in the rotor since it does not
have a voltage reference. No field current = no output voltage.
I'd check the connections at the connector block on the positive battery
lead first, then look at the connectors in the plug that connects to the
alternator. You may also have a bad connection between the connector block
and the positive battery cable.
Tim Buja - Rockford IL - 72 TR6, 73 Stag, 80 TR8
=== This list supported in part by The Vintage Triumph Register
=== http://www.vtr.org
|