> My 76 TR6 has ac and the volt meter always dipped down when the air and
> lights were run together. I had never run both for more than an hour.
> On the way home from TRF summer party I ran them both for over
> two hours when
> smoke came out of the steering column.
Al, what kind of fuses do you have ? If you're using American 35 amp fuses
(eg AGC 35 or SFE 35), then there's at least some chance you have a short in
the headlight circuit. Otherwise, I'd say your meltdown is just the result
of several marginal contacts. Of course it could be both, melted wiring
sometimes leads to shorts. (If you do want to use American fuses, use only
AGC 20 or perhaps 25, no larger.)
> Question, if anyone knows:
> Is it normal for the extra load of ac, condenser fan , and head
> lights to drop
> volts to 13 or less.
I believe this is fairly normal with the stock alternator. But I could
certainly be wrong.
> Or is that the cause of the melt down.
The two are not likely to be related, unless perhaps your low voltage is due
to poor connections in the charging circuit.
> The car has the standard alternator. As far as I know when the
> dealers added
> ac they did not change the alternator. The Fan and ac power leads are
> connected to the bottom fuse; on opposite sides. The fan was
> grounded to
> the front ground tab. The headlights alone do not cause volt
> drop, ac alone
> w/fan will run at 13 1/2 to 3/4.
> I know the alternator could be upgraded, but is there something
> else I should
> look at for the cause of the melt down?
IMO, after you get through replacing the melted stuff, it's worth checking
the voltage right at the headlamps with them on. If it differs by more than
a volt from the battery voltage, chase down where the bad (high resistance)
connection (or wire, or switch) is and fix it. The junction block in the
hot battery lead seems to be a common site of troubles, I'm sure there are
others.
Randall
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