John, I would say your chances of getting home on the battery is next to nil.
On a fully charged battery you could go a lot father than 30 miles but on 10
volts, no way. If you had it charged during the day, you should be all right. I
suggest you disconnect the alternator before you start up as there may be some
drain from it while underway. Just pull the plug out on the back of the
alternator and tie off the connector so it doesn't touch anything.
The alternators on the Spits are all Lucas units and common to many BLC cars.
That is why you don't find a specific page for Spitfires. I can't remember the
specific model in mine but Dan Master's info is somewhat generic and covers
most variations. I would almost guess that the regulator was wired up wrong
(oops 18 Volts) and, if you are lucky, nothing else has blown. You should check
the diode pack as well at this point.
...and if you don't make it home, it wasn't me that sent this message.
Vic Whitmore
76 Spitfire
Thornhill, Ontario
Jjcousins@ra.rockwell.com wrote:
> Hello all. Foolishly drove my car to work (30 miles) after replacing the
> voltage reg. because I was OVER charging. Well, 20 miles in, my dash
> lights seemed to be getting dim. I turned off everything and stopped at a
> gas station. They measured the voltage at 10 VOLTS!!!!
>
> I am screwed.
>
> Maybe I can make it home on the battery. Maybe not. So, who knows what's
> wrong with my installation of the voltage regulator but...I am not
> charging.
>
> Therefore, maybe it's time to just do the GM alternator conversion. I have
> looked at the VTR pages a little on this subject, but there is not a
> Spitfire page. There is a GT6 page - can this be the same for the Spit?
>
> Anyone ever done this? PLEASE WRITE BACK SOON if you have any ideas!!!
>
> John Cousins
> 1977 Spit low on juice
|