[Spridgets] Electrical Saga part 3 of 3

[dwoerpel]

PART 3

After having the generator checked at the two shops again and declared 
working, I ran tests on the car and was getting very low readings, like 
2.1 v @ 1800 rpms.Worked in the shop but not on the car.

I called, my now good friend Rick Ewald, who sat down in a grocery store 
with a cup of coffee for an hour (many thanks to your wife for being 
patient!) and we ran a bunch of tests over the phone.No success but(!) 
Rick, even though I had the generator apart several times I dismantled 
it again.No, the through-bolts were not grounding out the field. But...

Remember what started all this?Because the cutout stayed closed, that 
allowed battery voltage to the generator which then tried to be a motor 
but couldn't turn because the fan belt prevented the pulley from turning 
so it got hot and threw solder and MELTED the harness.

I thought I'd look inside the generator one last time.Looking carefully 
at the end plate I noticed the nylon insulation around the "D" terminal 
was melted and I could wiggle the terminal which caused the brush cage 
to wiggle.It was very close to grounding fully to the case. Wow, didn't 
think of that.Another tidbit to file away in the memory bank (read: 
computer; my personal memory bank can no longer be trusted...A.D.D. can 
be...Oh, look! A Toad...a problem.).

I took the end plate to Jeff Johnson at Alstar Company Inc. in Hales 
Corners, WI (414.427.7991) who made some new insulators (I could have 
done it but was leaving for a week).It looks original and cranked out 
19.2v on startup @1800 rpms.Light is out, comes on when at idle, 
flickers as revs increase and goes out around 1200-1400 rpms. Standing 
voltage and running voltage under load all check out at ~12.4v.Next is a 
test drive but that will have to wait until I return from Alaska (No 
Barney, I'm not driving it to Alaska!).

So many thanks to all who helped:Barney Gaylord, Rick Ewald, Don Zubrod, 
Dave Spearing, Jeff Johnson, John (at Maxim Rebuilders in Burlington WI 
262.763.9441) and everyone else whose ear I gnawed on getting scraps of 
info.

Hope you never run into this problem!Fingers crossed.  "One never knows 
the depth of the well by the length of the handle on the pump"...my 
Father always said this.


/Safety Fast!/


Dave W
59 :{)
59 MGA 1500
Burlington WI