Hi All,
Great day so I decided to take the Healey out today. Before leaving the
driveway I decided to check the Alternator....and good that I did. All the
successes of yesterday seemed to have evaporate. The readings at 2K RPM were,
again, at 12.8V at the BATT terminal at the alternator and at the battery.
Again, THE ALTERNATOR IS NOT CHARGING AND I AM BACK TO START.
To top the frustrations of the day, I checked the resistor installed at the
warning indicator light and found it to be very hot. I WOULD RECOMMEND THAT NO
ONE INSTALL THIS RESISTER AS I HAVE DESCRIBED.
Well, back to start and the pursuit of a solution.
Best regards,
Ray
----- Original Message -----
From: Raymond Carbone
To: Mark and Kathy ; Roland Wilhelmy ; Awgertoo@aol.com ;
healeys@autox.team.net ; BJ8Healeys
Sent: Monday, January 09, 2006 4:59 PM
Subject: Re: Problems with Alternator Alternativehealeys
Hi All,
The puzzle is solved. After further research, stimulated by Roland's
suggestions, I noticed a possible future problem in that the alternator's
voltage regulator requires a differential, supplied by the resistance of the
warning indicator light, to initiate charging. Should the bulb burn out,
charging would not be initiated and you would have no warning if you missed the
fact that the light did not come on prior to engine start. To rectify this
potential problem, I installed a 15 Ohm resister parallel to the bulb to supply
the alternator with the necessary resistance.
After installing the resister, I started the engine and verified the correct
functioning of the warning indication light. Additionally, voltage
measurements at the BATT terminal of the Alternator and at the battery @ 2K RPM
are now 14.6V. In short, THE ALTERNATOR IS CHARGING!!!
Conclusion:
It is difficult to explained what went wrong, however, I think the problem was
one of product variation within spec. If I were to guess at the issue, I would
suggest that my warning bulb was exceptionally low on resistance and the
alternator's regulator required a greater differential to activate. By
breaking the wires and adding additional solder for the resistor, additional
resistance was entered into the circuit which tipped the scales in favor of
activation.
Thanks to all who gave their time, applied their intellect, and provided the
necessary validation and suggestions....especially Roland, Steve, Michael, and
Mark.
Again, thanks to all.
Best regards,
Ray
Charging '64 3000 MkIII
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