Tim I. Purdy wrote :
>
> The ammeter stayed about in its regular position, though when I used the
> turn signal, it would fidget a bit to the negative.
I'm afraid that doesn't tell me much. After you jump-started the car, you
should have seen a fairly heavy charge running down the road, for at least
an hour or two (tapering off to nothing of course). 30 minutes is not long
enough to charge a run-down battery with that little 21 amp generator. If
you didn't see the charge, could be either a bad battery, bad generator, or
bad regulator. Get a voltmeter/DVM (HF sells a suitable one for under $10)
and check the battery voltage with the engine at fast idle (and the ammeter
showing 0). If it's not up around 14v, you have a charging problem. If it
is around 14v, you may have a bad battery. Note that it's perfectly
possible for a battery to fail in 6 months, especially if it was stored
discharged (which can ruin them in just a few days).
> A battery can be hooked up backwards?
Yup. Two terminals, two wires ... you've got a 50/50 chance. Of course,
the terminals are slightly different sizes, but someone that doesn't know
that a TR4 should be positive ground might well "make them fit". The car
will run, but the generator won't work unless it's repolarized.
Randall
/// triumphs@autox.team.net mailing list
/// or try http://www.team.net/cgi-bin/majorcool
/// Archives at http://www.team.net/archive
|