Thinking out of the box helps.

[iain]

12 hours ago, ianc said:

It was fairly common in the 1950s/1960s for competition cars to be fitted with a dynamo giving higher output (at a guess, about 24A max) but also a Lucas RB340 regulator - these are what I found on 4VC when I bought it in 1969.

The RB340 has 3 coils: the usual cut-out and voltage regulator, but also a current regulator.  Instead of waiting for the battery to drain in order to get the voltage regulator working hard, as soon as the load (total amps) jumps up, the current regulator boosts the dynamo's output to cope (if it can!).  A superior system.  The RB340 is somewhat more difficult to set up as one needs a meter capable of reading to 20A, and the adjustments have to be done very smartly using a special tool (which I re-discovered this week!).

Willy Cave mentions the RB340 in his aptly-titled biography, "Putting Willy Cave on the Map".

Ian Cornish

The earlier works cars used the RB310, again three coils and controlling voltage and amperage. Very effective at maintaining maximum current flow at 21 amps but, of course at low revs the battery is being discharged. The drivers had to manage their power consumption by using circuits that they really needed! I continue to use the RB310. 

Iain

[Hamish]

So a quick look suggests that the RB310 is £200

the RB340 is £20

but I note Ian’s comments about the difficulty of fitting and set up. So impossible for an electrical numpty like me. 

 

Or possibly convert the regulator. Is this a way to go ? It’s not cheap. 

http://www.dynamoregulatorconversions.com/conversion-to-an-electronic-regulator.php

Edited April 19, 2019 by Hamish
Added conversion detail

[RogerH]

23 minutes ago, Hamish said:

So a quick look suggests that the RB310 is £200

the RB340 is £20

but I note Ian’s comments about the difficulty of fitting and set up. So impossible for an electrical numpty like me. 

 

Or possibly convert the regulator. Is this a way to go ? It’s not cheap. 

http://www.dynamoregulatorconversions.com/conversion-to-an-electronic-regulator.php

There is no reason why a solid state controller should not work. If it works then it would be consistent and reliable as there are no moving parts/arc etc etc.

Having said that there are always gremlins lurking. But it may well be worth a punt if you have persistent problems.

 

Roger 

[stuart]

There have been solid state regulators for dynamos around for a few years but the early ones werent very clever and didnt last that long.

Stuart.

[BlueTR3A-5EKT]

When writing the TR2-4A parts sales catalogue for Moss we were posed with a dreadfully difficult decision...to include or not the ash tray.

We knew the source of one  possible design was Morris Minor so contacted a good friend who ran a Morris Minor spares business to see if we could get a supplier.

He said "when asked by our customers we think out the box & tell 'em to flick it out the **ck**g window"

Peter W

PS We concluded there were at least 2 designs of ashtray fitted to the sidescreen car, one we had an original NOS sample of - The long pull out metal one (as fitted to my brothers TR3A) plus  the half round swivelling bakelite one, that crops up on many other early TRs (& early Morris Minor) - do you know of any more? 

Edited April 19, 2019 by BlueTR3A-5EKT

[Lebro]

3 hours ago, Hamish said:

So a quick look suggests that the RB310 is £200

the RB340 is £20

but I note Ian’s comments about the difficulty of fitting and set up. So impossible for an electrical numpty like me. 

 

Or possibly convert the regulator. Is this a way to go ? It’s not cheap. 

http://www.dynamoregulatorconversions.com/conversion-to-an-electronic-regulator.php

I have a 6V version of this one from Peter at "dynamoregulatorconversions" in my Hillman, & have fitted a 12V one on a friends AC Greyhound.

Both working well.

Bob.

[mikeh]

If you have the original two-coil RB106 regulator fitted, an alternative approach is detailed in an article by Dr Hugo Holden:

http://nebula.wsimg.com/9b5ab93a42d604fc86461adc4d298878?AccessKeyId=967E22DE049163134A29&disposition=0&alloworigin=1

This involves swapping the A and A1 connections and, as explained in the article, gives significantly improved performance. It can't generate more output from the dynamo of course, but it does give better voltage regulation and reduces under/overcharging across the load range. Apart from swapping the wiring, all that's required is a slight adjustment of the voltage regulation setting, which is easily done. The paper also details the fitment of a diode to protect the voltage regulator contacts - again a very simple, cheap and effective modification.

There's a lot of other TR-related reading on his website and it's well worth a look:

http://www.worldphaco.net/

Regards

Mike

 

[ctc77965o]

Use a Lucas C48 out of a Jag or RR combined with a RB340 control box, good for 35 amps. You may need a stiffer spring on the right front corner to prevent your TR being lopsided....

[DavidBee]

On 4/19/2019 at 12:05 PM, BlueTR3A-5EKT said:

When writing the TR2-4A parts sales catalogue for Moss we were posed with a dreadfully difficult decision...to include or not the ash tray.

We knew the source of one  possible design was Morris Minor so contacted a good friend who ran a Morris Minor spares business to see if we could get a supplier.

He said "when asked by our customers we think out the box & tell 'em to flick it out the **ck**g window"

Peter W

PS We concluded there were at least 2 designs of ashtray fitted to the sidescreen car, one we had an original NOS sample of - The long pull out metal one (as fitted to my brothers TR3A) plus  the half round swivelling bakelite one, that crops up on many other early TRs (& early Morris Minor) - do you know of any more? 

Peter, yes I do.

My then, relatively, low-mileage black Standard 8 was equipped with the bakelite brown swivelling type, fitted just under the dash -- my was the Standard a good little reliable saloon, not averse to a little acrobatics -- until I sold it to a sidescreen foreigner for filthy lucre.