[Spridgets] battery not charging. Midget MK3

Max Slegers midget at maxengland.com
Mon Jun 28 04:22:06 MDT 2010


Hi everyone,

I have a battery charging issue on my 1968 midget. The battery doesn't 
really charge, or al least not enough. Here are the symptoms:

At idle (900 rpm), the ignition light is on (but dim), which I assume is 
normal with generators. When cruising or with revs over 1000rpm it is 
off (or maybe it is so dim that I can really not see it at all). After a 
drive during the day the battery has charged very little and I never 
know whether I'll be able to crank up the engine afterwards or if the 
battery will be too low.

When driving at night with lights on, the ignition light is sometimes 
off and sometimes on. It can remain on, or off, for a few minutes, then 
change. It sometimes also stays either on or off for the whole drive. 
When on, the ignition light gets brighter the more I accelerate. After 
driving at night with lights on, I am nearly sure the battery will be 
too low to restart.

The battery is not the cause: I charged it for a night and was able to 
drive without problems for a few days afterwards... until it came flat 
again.
I tested the engine earth connection and it seems good.
I tested the current regulator according to the Haynes workshop manual 
(that is with a lead between D and F terminals clipped together and the 
generator as far as I remember) various times and was able to set it to 
the values they recommend.
I have been having this problem for some time and recently replaced the 
generator with a spare one I had: same problem. The charcoals look good.
The belt also looks tight. Maybe I should try to tighten it even more, 
but I have the feeling the problem does not come from there.

Any ideas welcome :-)

Max


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