fitting geared starter motor

[david johnson]

I was just fitting my new lightweight starter motor last night to my 74 TR6 and found my original starter motor had 2 spade connectors and a bolted one, the new one just the one spade and bolt. Rang up Moss who said nobody had asked this question before. Whats the answer. Thanks. David Johnson.

[88V8]

This - one of a few found by the Search "torque +starter" - may not immediately seem relevant, but might in the end answer your query.

http://www.tr-register.co.uk/forums/index....torque++starter

 

Ivor

[mikew]

I had thought that the second spade terminal on the original starter moter was to bypass the coil ballast resistor - this ensures more volts for the coil when starting. This feeds 12v to the coil during engine cranking, as soon as the engine fires and the starter stops turning, the coil is fed via the ballast resistor at some 7 volts or so.

 

You must not feed the coil with 12volts continuously or it will give up, unless you remove the ballast resistor, and change the coil for a 12volt type.

 

In practice leaving the 3rd spade termination unconnected will be OK, but it may not start quite as easily.

 

If this is a problem you could feed it via a relay enegised from the solenoid coil connection.

 

mike

[zelger]

I had a similar problem fitting a new high torque starter motor to my 1973 TR6. I bought mine over the counter at TR Shop and asked why there was a missing connection. They explained it was due to the ballast resister circuit, which needed to be bypassed. This was a challenge to understand, especially as it was linked to the coil - which seemed rather strange.

 

I did a lot of research to try and understand this, and I had trouble finding simplified explanations. I am a novice with this technology, but this is what I found, in simple terms... Essentially, on a standard CR car, the ballast resistor circuit detects when the starter motor is spinning and temporarily increases the spark from the standard coil - which is NOT a 12v coil, nor is the uprated Lucas Gold one that you can buy for the CR.

 

There are 3 things that would cause issues with a ballast resistor circuit on a TR6 CR.

 

1. Fitting a high torque geared starter motor
   
2. Changing the coil to a different specification
   
3. Fitting electronic ignition like the Alder Ignitor that fits in the distributor
   

...and, rather bizarrely, I did all 3 at once.

 

So here is the solution for any/all of the above:

 

• Fit a proper 12v coil, (see below) then:
  
• Bypass the ballast resistor circuit - Bill Wheeler explained how to do this, but I have since found a good explanation in the Rimmer catalogue (see Sports Coils): http://www.rimmerbros.co.uk/rimmer/triumph...on%20Components
  

 

[88V8]

It's strange that the ballast is sometimes regarded as some sort of bogey. I would recommend the ballast system to anyone with conventional ignition and a points dizzy.

 

When you put 12V into a 7V coil you get a big spark.

In this way, a high voltage spark is generated for starting, by feeding the 7V coil with 12V direct from the third terminal on the starter and bypassing the ballast.

 

When the starter is deactivated the normal 12V feed from the ignition goes through the ballast resistor which gives a low voltage across the points with consequent improvement in the points' life. Because the 7V coil is matched with a suitable ballast, it provides full sparking voltage without overloading the coil.

 

If the 35 year old ballast in the wiring loom is knackered, it can be replaced with a new ballast from any motor factor.

The third terminal on the starter is an assembly line convenience, but on a new starter with only two terminals you can just wire the coil feed to the solenoid connection on the new starter.

 

When electronic ignition is fitted the ballast becomes irrelevant, indeed with some electronic systems such as the Lumenition, the ballast coil needs to be replaced with a standard coil to avoid damaging the ignition power module.

In this case the separate feed from the starter is also irrelevant, unless of course you want to use it to power a sneaky alarm via switch, latching relay, and timer.

 

Ivor

[david johnson]

Thanks for the advice.I HAVE NOW ELECTRONIC IGNITION AND 12 VOLT COIL.Do I just tape up spare wire and forget Thanks David Johnson

[88V8]

Thanks for the advice.I HAVE NOW ELECTRONIC IGNITION AND 12 VOLT COIL.Do I just tape up spare wire and forget Thanks David Johnson

Yes.

And then in X years' time someone will be on the forum asking 'I've got this spare wire near the starter....'