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TR6 - Charging issues?


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Good morning, hope the weekend's going well  for you all.  As you would guess from the title of this post, I have a problem with the charging system on TRoy, my 1970 TR6 pi: When you turn the engine on, the ammeter shows (-) discharge, and if you turn the lights on, they will be very dim. If you drive away at normal traffic speeds, sometimes (without you noticing it) the ammeter needle will eventually move into the + side of the gauge, but more often than not you have to 'give it some welly', or blip the throttle (to anywhere around 2500 -3500 rpm). One time this didn't happen at all, & I was stranded (around 7 miles from home) because there wasn't enough 'juice' in the battery to work the Lucas fuel pump. I was rescued by a very nice man from Brittania  recovery,  who strapped a battery booster pack on, which got me home,  & less than 2 miles from home the ammeter burst into life, everything working as it should.  I've had the alternator tested (it's a 70 amp unit from 'Minispares', about 3-4 years old),  & it's in perfect condition. I've also ran a new cable from the alternator to the ammeter, but the situation remains the same. Any ideas....?

As ever, your thoughts & advice, will be more than appreciated,

Cheers,

Paul,

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Maybe not the battery. When the voltage was low there would be a full charge shown on the ammeter all the time, so from the described symptoms it sounds as though the alternator isn't always working properly. 

I guess the alternator was tested off the car Paul? If so there is a possibility that something in the car wiring isn't right which stops it operating. 

One possibility is that in order for the alternator to 'start up' there has to be a current supplied to it via the ignition light on the dash. If that connection isn't right or if the bulb is making a poor contact you might get the symptoms described. Some people have had trouble by swapping that bulb to an LED and have needed to put a resistor into the circuit just to provide sufficient current.

 

Edited by RobH
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Thanks for your replies, Michael & Rob: a couple of interesting points there..... The battery is 3 or 4 years old, & always holds a good charge between using the car (sometimes upto  2 weeks, at this time of year), but I did forget to mention in my 1st post, that when this problem first arose, the ign light (which is the standard item, no LEDs or anything; I've certainly never changed that bulb, in 12+ years that I've owned the car.) was very erratic, & now it doesn't work at all.....

Cheers, Paul.

Edited by TR Paul
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I would follow Rob’s lead. If you have a multimeter, you could measure the voltage, it will give you a good indication.

And are the connections to the amp gauge, generator, starter motor (yes) and battery all sound?

Waldi

 

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Thanks, Waldi; my first check will be the charge lamp, & the relevant connections, followed (if necessary) by a session with my multi meter.

Best wishes,

Paul.

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I'd go straight for the multimeter. If your battery's getting over 14V at , say, 2500 rpm there's nothing wrong with the charging system. If your not getting this I'd check/change the ignition light bulb. Weird as it sounds today, my  '69 PI needs the current through this light to energize the alternator windings.

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Thanks, Mike. I was going to look at the bulb first, as this would be the easiest fix (although that kind of thing doesn't usually work out like that for me...).                                       Hope you are keeping safe in 'Oz',

Best wishes,

Paul.

 

Edited by TR Paul
gramatical!
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OK now, but on the 4th the Euroa fire in Victoria  got to within 350 metres of the garage with my TR in it, not to mention the house. Still all's well at the moment.

Be careful with the bulb holder when removing the globe, the old plastic insulators that were  in these are getting brittle. Last year I broke the plastic insulator base when changing a tacho illumination bulb - had to remove/replace the tacho  to solder in a new bulb holder assembly-which is a horrible job in my car as there's a reinforcing plate fitted above the steering which blocks access to the back of the tacho .

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Glad to hear you're ok, Mike. Our thoughts in England are with our Australian friends.

I did some investigating this morning, & found that it is indeed the bulb/bulb holder... if you gently push the bulb into the holder, it lights up. if you pull it, it lights up. But I don't think I can rely on it to maintain contact. I fitted it back into the r/counter, & with some fiddling, it would come on. I then started the engine, & hey presto, an almost instant + charge on the ammeter! Problem is,  the bulb seems to be stuck the holder, so I can't  change it or clean it up, tweak the contacts or whatever....  Does anybody have any tips on bulb removal?

Cheers,

Paul.

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The Bosch part no of the alternator I have installed is: 0986.036.020.

But there are several very similar alternators from Bosch, all with the same capacity and "fitting" dimensions.

Waldi

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4 hours ago, TR Paul said:

Glad to hear you're ok, Mike. Our thoughts in England are with our Australian friends.

I did some investigating this morning, & found that it is indeed the bulb/bulb holder... if you gently push the bulb into the holder, it lights up. if you pull it, it lights up. But I don't think I can rely on it to maintain contact. I fitted it back into the r/counter, & with some fiddling, it would come on. I then started the engine, & hey presto, an almost instant + charge on the ammeter! Problem is,  the bulb seems to be stuck the holder, so I can't  change it or clean it up, tweak the contacts or whatever....  Does anybody have any tips on bulb removal?

Cheers,

Paul.

Thanks for the support. Have you tried spraying the bulb in its holder with something like WD40 and leaving it for a while to soak in?

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Thanks, Waldi/Mike... I sprayed plus-gas on it this morning.

Cheers

Paul.

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