GrahamB

I replaced the 16ACR on my Spitfire with an uprated 60 amp alternator from Canley Classics. The replacement looked the same as the original and fitted without any adjustments or modifications. This was some years ago and it has performed without any issues. I realise mine in a 4 cylinder and not a 6 but if your original is a 15ACR, I can see no reason why the uprated alternator would fit a 2000 but you may wish to wait until someone confirms that they are interchangeable. Canley Classics price is £54.

Yes, I was forgetting that the initial field supply would be removed if the alternator plug was disconnected.

I would not recommend running with the alternator unplugged as voltage spikes, normally dampened by the battery, could damage the electronics within the alternator. The alternator produces A/C which is not completely smoothed by the diodes so you will get a ripple on top of the D/C voltage. I have not tried to measure it myself but 0.5V A/C seems quire reasonable. You will only measure any A/C voltage with the engine running as it is produced by the alternator. The dashboard mounted voltmeter in my car, which is not very sensitive, is wired directly to the battery via a relay. It reads 12v with the ignition switched on rising to 14V as soon as the engine starts. I replaced the previous alternator as the voltage only registered 11V with the engine running and the lights on. I fitted a 60 amp Lucas style alternator purchased from Canley Classics. I do not know if they still sell them.

Yes you are correct. The alternator produces an alternating current which passes through a diode pack to supply a direct current to the battery. In the Lucas alternators and others, the diode pack is in the back of the device immediately under the black plastic cover. I once had a Mk1 Fiesta to which I fitted a 4 branch exhaust which came close to the read of the alternator and the extra heat caused the diodes to fail on more than one occasion. Fortunately you could buy just the diode pack in order to repair the alternator.

I have the same issue with my 1975 Spitfire 1500 so perhaps a common occurrence. I just wind the window up until the glass just touches the screen frame then down about 2 mm. When I try to make adjustments to fittings, I usually make things worse but I will be interested if you find a solution.

I do not understand your system. If the battery is capable of starting the engine, if you measure the voltage on the + battery terminal with the engine stopped you should get a steady 12 V or slightly more. This will drop to about 9 V as you crank the engine and rise to about 14 V with the engine running and the alternator operating. If the voltage does not rise above 12 V, the alternator is not functioning. As mentioned previously, the alternator has to be energised by a 12 V supply, via the dashboard ignition light which should be a standard filament bulb. The alternator should not be run without being connected to the battery. With the engine running, there should be a steady 12 V plus to the input to the ballast resistor. As suggested by Pete, if the ballast resistor is fed via the white/pink resistance wire ( K on the wiring diagram indicates pinK), you will get a fluctuating voltage, and hence unsteady reading, at the input to the resistor and very little current through the coil resulting in a weak spark

I concluded that the problem was caused by Triumph just fitting an alternator in place of the earlier dynamo while keeping everything else the same as they already had the bits in stock. I am using multi-electrode spark plugs with a claimed life of 25000 miles and do not need to remove No.1 plug very often so just live with the design issue.

The voltage on a ballasted coil will be 12 V with the ignition unit in the off state (equivalent to points open) falling to 6 V with the unit in the on state (points closed). With the engine running, a digital volt meter will not be able to follow the rapidly changing voltage and will display apparently random numbers. With the ignition on but the engine not running you might be able to get sensible readings by slowly turning the engine over by hand; you certainly can do this with points. I have run a separate 12 volt supply from the ignition switch to the electronics to ensure that the unit always gets a stable voltage.

From the photo it looks like there is a separate earth connection between the two top prongs. I would guess that the power has to be connected to the single bulb connection and the bulb earths through its case to the holder which then needs a separate wire to earth.

I have an uprated Lucas type alternator similar to the original and yes, to remove No.1 plug I have to loosen the top adjustment arm, remove the belt and then rotate the alternator out of the way. The fan belt was bought as the correct item for a 1500. The ignition light goes out as soon as the engine starts at around 1000rpm

Try contacting Geoff to see when they are planning the next meeting.

Yes, slacken the two smaller outer screws back into the holder and screw the central conical screw down so that it engages in the slot in the die causing it to slightly expand. One side of the die is tapered to aid starting but I always have problems getting the thread to start square to the shaft. I used to live in Darlington and attend the NorthEast section meetings near Durham. They too had all sorts of problems; you are not alone!

I use an old fashioned trigger actuated oil can rather than a syringe. A few squeezes of the trigger is all that is needed to fill the trunnion and old oil to be forced out the top. The unused oil then resides in the oil can, which is marked with a large letter T, ready for the next time.

Is the input flange to the differential also rotating when the wheels are on the ground?. I presume the propshaft was disconnected when you removed the gearbox. Has something in the propshaft, such as the sliding yoke depending which propshaft you have, failed so it can no longer transmit enough torque ?

My Spitfire came with cheap pancake filters and suffered from similar symptoms. The cause was that the filters were too free flowing so there was not enough depression to suck enough petrol through the carbs resulting in the mixture becoming weaker as the revs increased. I solved the problem by just fitting the standard paper filters direct to the carbs. Once the cause was confirmed, I purchased a second hand filter box so I could feed cold air to the carbs via the ducts from the front of the radiator. If this is the cause of your problems, removing the filters will not help unless you also fit richer needles. You cold try pulling out the choke when the engine starts to loose power above 3500 rpm to see if there is an improvement. If it gets worse then it would indicate that the mixture is already too rich. The proviso is that the Spitfire is fitted with SUs and not Strombergs.

My understanding is that red diesel can be used in any non road application; my friend used it to power his narrow boat. Also any vehicle used purely on site such as a forklift or an emergency generator?

Yes, my mistake. The crank is a lip seal. After my experience I get very agitated when someone mentions scroll seals !

I am sure that my 1975 Spitfire 1500 has a scroll seal. If you jack the back up high to work on the suspension, when you return from lunch there is a pool of oil with a distinctive odour under the bell housing. Shortly after the clutch starts to mis-behave. I hope that I will not be doing that again.

The shrouding around the radiator was missing when I bought my Spitfire. As well as constructing the side pieces, I made a horizontal piece to lay across the chassis rails in front of the radiator. The idea was that the only way for the air entering through the grill to escape was through radiator rather than take the path of least resistance and flow down and under the car. I have never had any overheating problems whilst driving even with the standard narrow radiator but this could be just good luck and nothing to do with the extra board. Also the car seemed more stable at motorway speeds as there was was a lower air pressure under the car but that may be just wishful thinking.

Some years ago I was driving back home when the low oil pressure warning light came on. Fortunately I had fitted an oil pressure gauge which still read 50 psi. On stopping the engine, the gauge fell back to zero so was not stuck, and went back to 50 psi when I restarted the engine so I continued my journey with an illuminated warning light. Next day I tested the oil pressure switch and it had failed in the closed position; a new switch cured the problem. Without the gauge I would have to have called out recovery services. On selling the car, I removed the gauge and the same gauge is now fitted in my Spitfire showing about 75 psi when cold, dropping to 50 psi during a run. I too use the Comma Classic bought from Wilco at about £17 for 5 litres.

There is is only one dash board indicator wired directly between the left and right indicator circuits. When you signal left the indicator earths through the right had bulbs and vice versa. The current through the indicator is less than 200 mA so not enough to illuminate the bulb through which is earthing. There is no separate connection from the flasher unit to the dash board indicator. 40 is the flasher unit, 41 the indicator switch, 44 the dash board indicator. I have removed the hazard warning switch for clarity

No, it is correct. If you manage to read the small print in the photo, the three terminals are power in, power out to indicators and earth (the electronic timing circuit needs a constant current of a few milliamps so has a separate earth). There is no separate connection for the dash mounted indicator which is correct for the Spitfire. This compares with the mechanical unit that just has a power in and power out. If I remember correctly, the mechanical unit has one male and one female connector so you need to change to female connectors on each wire as the electronic unit has three male connectors as in the previous post.

I fitted the electronic flasher unit some years ago and can no longer find the exact unit but something like this should work. You will have to connect the earth terminal via a short wire to an earth such as the clamp holding the speedometer. I have no connection (is that a pun?) with the company but have used them several times to buy relays, wire, fuses etc with no complaints.

I had not noticed the reference to silicone fluid, I do not know why it is not recommended; I use normal DOT4. May be just because they have not tested the system long term with silicone. The problem with the seals refers to the front callipers, not the servo. As always, Pete Lewis is the expert on the design of the calliper seals, the problems and the work arounds.

You might try replacing the original mechanical flasher unit with an electronic one. I think mine cost about £10. The old unit worked alright in the day time but at night with the lights on, when I had to wait in the middle of the road to turn right, the voltage decreased and the flashing rate decreased and sometimes stopped. With the electronic version, the flashing rate is constant no matter what the output from the alternator.