Subject: Re: [Spridgets] generator/regulator

From: Michael Rowe <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 01 May 2013 08:48:50 -0400

>Tell you what. My final thoughts on this...after several beers.

Wait a minute.  I'm the one who is supposed to be soaking my troubles in 
beer.  And I certainly did not want to start a fight with anyone on this 
topic.  I just want my car to run so I can impress the teenaged girls.  Old 
farts don't get a lot of opportunities like this, and time is running out. 
Soon I will be able to get in the car, but will need help getting out - not 
very impressive.

I am now convinced that I have a wiring problem somewhere.  That is, of 
course, after I threw away one multimeter and replaced the generator pulley 
that split in half and fell out in the street.

Example:  I have been tracing wires.  The big brown wire that is supposed to 
go from the regulator to the battery via the starter solenoid, about 12", 
instead goes through the bulkhead to the right interior under the dash, 
crosses left, then exits the interior through another hole by the battery. 
It is a long run and impossible to check as it is all wound in black tape. 
The best I can do is a continuity check end to end.  I have yet to find the 
far end of the ground from the regulator, but it has continuity.

I just went out to check that gound again, because we all know the probems 
with grounds.  The battery has been on a trickle charger all night, as 
reduced charging means I run on the battery alone.  But I apparently forgot 
to turn off the key, so the battery was sucked completely dry while on the 
charger - zero voltage.  I have a parasitic drain somewhere that is greater 
than the input of a trickle charger.  The battery is only a few days old.

Wrath of the Gods,
Michael Rowe
The Holy Sprite 
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From: derf <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 1 May 2013 08:36:08 -0500

That wire path may indicate an Amp meter at some point in the past.
Abandon it and put the proper 12" wire in place, if you can.
With everything off remove your negative battery terminal and see how many
amps are being drawn between the terminal and the negative battery post
with your meter.  In other words put the meter on amps and in series with
your battery.  Don't try and start it or do anything that requires a lot of
current with the meter in series because everything will be running through
the meter.  I think with everything stock it should read zero amps.  An
aftermarket modern radio might draw some milliamps, for example.  If you
get a reading of 1 amp or something then disconnect one electrical thing at
a time until the reading goes away.  Start by pulling fuses (if you have
them) to eliminate circuits/devices.  I'd look hard at the regulator.
Grounds cause all kinds of problems but they don't drain batteries.
Do you have a regulator that is known to be good?  New from M*$$ is not the
same as known good.
Spridget electrics are not complicated.  You should be able to identify the
power drain pretty easily.

On Wed, May 1, 2013 at 7:48 AM, Michael Rowe <[email-masked]> wrote:

> Example:  I have been tracing wires.  The big brown wire that is supposed
> to go from the regulator to the battery via the starter solenoid, about
> 12", instead goes through the bulkhead to the right interior under the
> dash, crosses left, then exits the interior through another hole by the
> battery. It is a long run and impossible to check as it is all wound in
> black tape. The best I can do is a continuity check end to end.  I have yet
> to find the far end of the ground from the regulator, but it has continuity.
>
> The Holy Sprite ------------------------
>
>
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From: "Dean Hedin" <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 1 May 2013 20:25:02 -0400

Were not in a fight.  I've already won the argument and you're struggles
with the genny the proof of that fact.
If you struggles are to no avail then you car ends up in the field with a
tree growing through it.
That's all that is at stake here.

As of yet nobody with an alternator conversion has complained about anything
on this list.

Be thankful there are commrades in arms willing to share in your suffering
and to drown our sorrows in our own 
beer and you not having to buy us one.  It is a great thing of this Internet
age.

Now, let's see if I can help.  Do you have the
"Lucas_Generator_and_Control_Box_Tests" document?
It's pretty handy for dihards like yourself. I will email it to you off list
expediantly.   

Even the generator is pretty simple.  The big wire out the generator is
where all the output comes.  The little wire
is the field.  The field is an input.  If there is no field current applied
then there is no output from the generator.
The regulator senses the drop in battery voltage and applies field current
when needed (assuming the regulator is adjusted correctly)    

You said it was new and adjusted so don't mess with your regulator. 

Run the tests outlined in the document and let us know of the resuilts.
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From: derf <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 1 May 2013 20:38:23 -0500

Yeah, I had a guy on the list at one time (can't remember whom) who stated
something like he wanted to meet me in an alley.
We still haven't assaulted each other, yet, so I assume whatever was at
stake wasn't really important.
I'm mild mannered and slow to anger and no one ever seems to want to "meet
me in an alley" in person.
Point is not everyone gets along with everyone else all the time.  Internet
rows rarely make it into the real world.
We all have something in common and we all would like to see you get your
car running.
Don't sweat the little things and try and be civil.

On Wed, May 1, 2013 at 7:25 PM, Dean Hedin <[email-masked]> wrote:

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