RANDALL:
WELL, ANOTHER BIZARRE DAY IN THE LIFE OF MY TR...
>From: "Randall Young" <ryoung@navcomtech.com>
>Reply-To: "Randall Young" <ryoung@navcomtech.com>
>CC: <triumphs@autox.team.net>
>Subject: RE: Wiring my TR3A
>Date: Sun, 11 Aug 2002 11:44:17 -0700
>
> > Removed ground from ignition lamp and moved it to the fuel gauge.
> > Now fuel
> > gauge works better but ignition lamp doesn't work at all. Kind
> > of miss that
> > green light.
>
>David, the ignition lamp should be red. The green one is the turn signal
>indicator (and it is supposed to be grounded).
OK, I HAVE THE RIGHT LIGHT GROUNDED, JUST DON'T HAVE THE RIGHT LIGHTS IN THE
RIGHT SOCKETS. THAT'S WHAT I GET FOR USING A RHD CAR AS MY GUIDE AS TO
LOCATION OF LIGHTS?
>
>
>It's up to you of course, but now might be a good time to consider adding a
>fuse to the headlight circuit. Those switches can get expen$ive,
>especially
>if you have an intermittent short as I did for several years.
>
I ACTUALLY FOUND AN IN-LINE FUSE WIRE IN MY BOX OF PARTS. WILL WIRE IT INTO
THE CIRCUIT (THAT WOULD BE TO A RED WIRE BETWEEN THE IGNITION AND THE LIGHT
SWITCH, RIGHT?)
> > BTW: My ammeter always (when ignition is on) is pegged at the +
> > side.
>
>That definitely is not normal. My guess would be that your ammeter is
>wired
>backwards to the battery polarity you're running, and that there is a short
>somewhere in the ignition circuit.
BECAUSE I SWITCHED TO NEG GRD, I REVERSED THE WIRING ON THE AMP GAUGE. WHEN
I GOT THE +30, I SWITCHED THE WIRES AND GOT A -30. LIKED THE +30 BETTER, SO
I PUT THE WIRES BACK TO ORIGINAL TERMINALS.
>
> > I do
> > have a monster battery in the car (biggest that would fit in the
> > batt box),
> > but this seems weird. No matter how I drive, same thing. Should
> > this gauge
> > be grounded?
>
>No, the ammeter does not need to be grounded. Only the fuel gage (on a
>TR2/3) does.
I TOOK BETTY LOU FOR A SPIN TODAY, AND WE HAD A NICE RIDE - FOR A WHILE. I
WAS WAITING FOR A TRAFFIC LIGHT TO TURN GREEN AND AS SOON AS IT DID - AND
BEFORE I STARTED TO SLIP THE CLUTCH - BETTY DIED (I RULED OUT EMP FROM THE
TRAFFIC LIGHT CONTROL BOX, UFO OR NEARBY NUCLEAR DET.). I TRIED THE STARTER
AND GOT NOTHING. DID GET POWER TO THE AMP (USELESS, 'CAUSE IT ALWAYS READS
+30) AND THE FUEL GAUGES, BUT NOTHING ELSE. SO, I PUSHED THE OLD GIRL OVER
TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD (FORTUNATELY, THERE WAS A RIGHT TURN LANE) AND HIKED
TO A FRIEND'S HOUSE A COUPLE OF BLOCKS AWAY. WE JUMPED HER, AND I GOT A FEW
BLOCKS, AND SHE DIED AGAIN. DID THIS ONE MORE TIME (COP HELPED TOO) AND IT
DIED BEFORE I COULD GET TO MY FRIEND'S DRIVEWAY. FORTUNATELY, IT WAS ONLY A
BLOCK DOWNHILL (IF YOU HAVE AN 8" GRADE CHANGE IN CHAMPAIGN, IT QUALIFIES AS
A HILL) AND ROLLED IT INTO HIS DRIVEWAY AND GARAGE. PUT THE BATTERY CHARGER
ON THE BATT AND THE READING WAS DEAD ZERO. AFTER ABOUT 4 HOURS ON THE
CHARGER AT 12 AMPS, BATT ONLY READ ABOUT 50% CHARGED, BUT SWITCHED TO 75 AMP
STARTING POWER, AND GOT IT GOING. FLEW HOME AND DIDN'T LET THE RPM DROP
BELOW 1500.
I FIGURE THAT I HAVE A BAD BATT (HAD TO CHARGE IT TWICE WHILE I WAS
DEBUGGING STARTER LAST WEEK AND THE ONLY DRAW WAS THE SOLENOID) OR AM NOT
GETTING POWER BACK TO BATT FROM MY NEW GENERATOR. WILL TAKE THE BATT BACK
TO CAR QUEST TOMORROW FOR A CHECK, BUT IS THERE A WAY THAT I CAN CHECK TO
SEE IF JUICE IS GETTING BACK TO THE BATT FROM THE GEN?
> > Also, my speedo needle looks like the stem on a
> > metronome. I
> > have two cables - one very long (not using it because it is for the
> > overdrive that I did not reinstall) and the one that I am using
> > that screws
> > into the trans.
>
>Could be a bad cable, IMO it's more likely a bad speedo head. One way to
>test is to switch the cables between the tach and speedo.
PROBABLY THE SPEEDO, BUT I'LL TRY THE TACH CABLE. I BUILT THE SPEEDO OUT OF
THREE THAT CAME IN ONE OF THE PAPER BAGS THAT WERE IN THE PILE OF PARTS FOR
THE CAR. I HAVE THE TACH - CAN LIVE WITHOUT THE SPEEDO.
DAVE
David Dressel
Champaign, IL USA
'67 Jaguar Mk2 3.4 Auto
'60 Triumph TR3A (Betty Lou)
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