[Healeys] Electrical Question

[John Harper]

If we stick to just a generator system with a battery that is flat or 
not holding its charge then the normal situation is that once the 
generator voltage has dropped to the point where the spark is too weak 
to fire the mixture the engine will stall and obviously cannot be 
restarted. This does not, by the way, apply to a battery with internal 
shorts still connected.

More than once  over a fifty year period have I managed to get a car 
going with help, booster leads and with the battery disconnected. The 
trick is then to keep the revolutions up. Winding the idle speed 
adjustment screw up fully is usually enough but one has to be very 
careful when driving to keep the revs high at all times.

I have not tried this with an alternator.

Best regards

>That's intersting..why will it run on with an alternator and not a generator
>(assuming a bad battery?)
>
>
>
>I would have assumed that regardless of the condition of the battery, the
>car would continue to run as it would be running on the power created by the
>Gen/Alternator.
>
>
>
>Paul
>
>
>
>From: I Erbs [mailto:eyera3 at gmail.com]
>Sent: Monday, April 05, 2010 10:33 AM
>To: PG
>Cc: healeys at autox.team.net
>Subject: Re: [Healeys] Electrical Question
>
>
>
>A car will continue to run on an alternator with a bad battery, but not a
>generator. If you use a fully charged battery, with a bad charging system
>(generator/voltage regulator) it will run untill the battery depletes. If
>battery is dead and other components good, it will no trun, because battery
>will not holsd a charge
>
>On Sun, Apr 4, 2010 at 9:35 PM, PG <britishcars at shaw.ca> wrote:
>
>The car starts on jumpers from another vehicle..but, as soon as the jumpers
>are taken away, the car dies...
>
>
>
>Even if the battery is bad, should the car not run on the generator?  Unless
>of course, it is bad.   It reads about 12 volts but vascilates sometimes
>down to 4 or 5 volts then back up again...rapidly.   The Battery is old and
>is likely finished.  However, should the car not run regardless?
>
>

-- 
John Harper