Thanks again to Randall Young, Ed Woods, Brian Kemp, Michael Porter, and
Fred Thomas for your valuable insights.
I found and repaired, I hope, many problems trying to isolate the root
cause. I guess most of them were unrelated. Today I replaced the
generator, this was Fred Thomas' suggestion - I didn't replace the voltage
regulator, at least not yet. This seems to have fixed the problems. It now
charges at 15+ for a few moments when first started, then will settle down.
Still getting swings in the ammeter, but now only at 1500 rpm and it seems
to be just on the + side of the gauge. At greater than 1200, it seems pretty
constant at a few amps above center, at less than 1200 it starts going
towards the discharge side. From all the input I received, this is all
normal and correct, so I am declaring victory.
I also took the battery back to COSTCO, no questions, 60% refund, and
bought another battery. (BTW, they now have there own Kirkland brand
instead of EverReady, but the amazing thing was that they actually listed
TR3's in the catalog.)
While installing the new battery, I noticed that the positive cable clamp
was
split. I know what you are thinking, but I had tried to charge the old
battery with
both cables removed, and that didn't take either.
Removed every suspect wire under the hood, replaced connectors, cleaned up
contacts. Then I started looking under the dash. Found that
where the wiring harness comes around the battery box, it had worn through
the wrapping and 3 wires were seriously exposed. Something we all should
keep an eye on.
I also discovered while replacing the generator that the DPO had conviently
forgot to replace the bottom front mounting bolt and spacer. I used a piece
of copper pipe to make a new spacer (all I had).
Well I think I just avoide about three road side emergencies. Thanks again
for all the help,
Bob
-----Original Message-----
From: Kinderlehrer <kinderlehrer@mindspring.com>
To: triumphs@autox.team.net <triumphs@autox.team.net>
Date: Tuesday, August 31, 1999 7:39 PM
Subject: Re: More questions on charging -TR3A
>
>
>
>---I seem to be having another battery charging problem maybe someone can
>help me with. I replaced the voltage regulator (control box) about 6
months
>ago. With the new voltage regulator installed, it seemd to charge
constantly
>when above 2,000 rpm, at about 15 amps. I asked a mechanic friend about
>that and he said that was normal, and everything seemed to be going well,
so
>leave well enough alone.
>
>About 3 months ago I noticed that with the head lights on and the engine at
>about 2500 rpm, the ammeter would swing wildly from +30 to -30 amps, but
>would settle down at any other speed. However, the range and circumsatnces
>increased to where it would swing wildly wihtout the headlights and at
wider
>range of RPM's.
>
>One month ago, after a week of non use, the battery was dead (ok, dull) and
>required a recharge before I could start the car. After sitting for the
>last 2 weeks (sorry, I was away on a business trip over the weekend), the
>battery was very dull. The battery is only about 2 years old and is an
>extra cranking amps type. I have been trying to charge the battery for
>several days - not constantly, since I won't leave the charger on over
night
>or when I am not around - but it doesn't want to take a full charge.
>
>I did the regulator test as in the haynes manual and it seemed to pass ok,
>the voltmeter needle didn't waver. However, if watch the contacts on the
>voltage regulator carefully, there seems to be a constant sparking between
>the points. The cutout seems to be openning and closing properly.
>
>I also did the short test thing with a test light in serial with the
battery
>and there was no light. That was after I completely disconnected teh radio
>on the off chance that the clock was drawing too much power.
>
>Sorry about the long intro, now to the questions. Is the voltage regulator
>hosed, in need of adjustment, or acting normal? Is the battery fried,
>perhaps form consistent overcharging from a hosed voltage regulator, or can
>I ask COSTCO for a trade - in?
>
>TIA,
>
>Bob
>
>
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