Chris A Posted June 22, 2022 Report Share Posted June 22, 2022 Hi all, I'm not really confident about the workings of the regulator, not the stabiliser, and would like a little bit of simple info. To start with I'm not sure if the problem is the regulator or dynamo, today's mission impossible, after coffee break is to determine where the problem is. Last Friday did 133 miles with no problems. The car hasn't been touched until yesterday afternoon when I started it and as usual waited for the oil pressure light to go out, which it did, but the charge light remained on. I've read up on testing the dynamo in situ, pretty confident I can do that. Of course before that I'll check all connections. The regulator. With the light staying on would it mean the cut out contacts are remaining closed ou the other way round, remaining open? I do recall from somewhere a thread about being very wary of tinkering with the regulator but can't find it. I do have a spare dynamo that (should) work(s) if that is the guilty party and have found suppliers here for the regulator GEU6603, RB106. One supplier has a version with screw connections the other with blades. I haven't even looked under the bonnet at what sort I have yet but at least should I need one I can get one at a reasonable price. If It turns out that the regulator is the problem am I better off just replacing it rather trying to adjust it, although according to the manual I have it can be done. Thanks, now time to put the coffee machine on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted June 22, 2022 Report Share Posted June 22, 2022 Tim Hunt CT on his 4A and myself spent ages checking all the parameters of the VR and this was not my idea they can be a nightmare to tamper with its best to only make a small adjustment to voltage only well a day of check this check that and happy all the specs were being met a trip down the road blew all the headlamp bulbs result fit a new box and a coffee I wouldnt recommend tampering with these things but do buy a reputable unit Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted June 22, 2022 Report Share Posted June 22, 2022 I have been involved with my reg recently although its an RB340 so may well be quite different from yours. Its cut out contacts are normally open and close to charge the battery and supply the system when the generator output is sufficiently high but have nothing to do with the ignition light. This goes out when the dynamo output voltage approaches that of the batterys but doesnt mean the cut out contacts have closed so the battery still might not be charging - this can only be confirmed by having a volt or ammeter in the circuit.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris A Posted June 22, 2022 Author Report Share Posted June 22, 2022 Thank to both of you for your comments, they confirm what I thought about messing with regulators. Coffee break has finished so went to test out the dynamo, took me longer to make up a little lead than do the test. Verdict : guilty! Yes I am sure 🤞 that my test was carried out correctly and the various connections between jump cable and voltmeter were good. The readings , when there were some (hint ), were very variable and none went above about 13v. Plus there was also a slight smell of electric motor burning out, not the smell of a wiring loom melting but an electric motor on the way out. I've found the old dynamo, I'd forgotten where I had put it for safe keeping, it is the original one from 1968, dated a couple of months before the car was built. I changed the brushes a while back, cleaned it up and put it in store. So, this pm fingers crossed I can swap them over and it works. I did give it a bench test after changing the brushes and it seemed fine. Thanks again for the reassuring comments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted June 22, 2022 Report Share Posted June 22, 2022 well at least i wont see the smoke from over here !!!! Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris A Posted June 22, 2022 Author Report Share Posted June 22, 2022 1 hour ago, Pete Lewis said: well at least i wont see the smoke from over here !!!! Pete Not unless I mess up fitting the replacement dynamo! Got the guilty one off the car without too much trouble but no way can I get the pulley and fan off. I'm going to take it round to my local friendly garage and see if I can get him to remove it in exchange for a few beer/wine tokens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted June 22, 2022 Report Share Posted June 22, 2022 yes you probably need a impact gun to clatter the nut off Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris A Posted June 22, 2022 Author Report Share Posted June 22, 2022 12 minutes ago, Pete Lewis said: yes you probably need a impact gun to clatter the nut off Pete Funny you should say that 😁 Nipped round with the offending item, 3 seconds and it was off... I also took with me the replacement dynamo, he fitted the pulley and fan went to do up the nut and it didn't bite properly. I thought that was because the failed unit, dated 2015, was a metric thread while the original, 1968, Lucas was imperial. He rummaged around in his bit box and found a nut that seemed to be ok, he wasn't totally convinced. He measured the diameters of the shafts and they were slightly different, I assume the thinner (original) was imperial while the newer was metric. Anyway nut nice and tight, persuaded him to take some beer tokens. To be certain the original dynamo was still polarised correctly I gave it a zap. Fitted and car back to normal. The faulty unit is on my bench and at some future date I'll open it up for a look see. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted June 22, 2022 Report Share Posted June 22, 2022 3 minutes ago, Chris A said: open it up for a look see. pleased its sorted we await with baited breath on a post mortem Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris A Posted June 22, 2022 Author Report Share Posted June 22, 2022 2 hours ago, Pete Lewis said: pleased its sorted we await with baited breath on a post mortem Pete It could be a long wait, on the other hand I might even do it in the next couple of days just in case all it needs are brushes. Pete: Watch out for the smoke signals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badwolf Posted June 22, 2022 Report Share Posted June 22, 2022 1 hour ago, Chris A said: ...watch out for the smoke signals. From across that stretch of water between France & England? Oh yes, a sort of 'Smoke on the Water'. Probably a sort of Deep Purple colour?? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris A Posted June 22, 2022 Author Report Share Posted June 22, 2022 13 minutes ago, Badwolf said: From across that stretch of water between France & England? Oh yes, a sort of 'Smoke on the Water'. Probably a sort of Deep Purple colour?? Once again you evoke a classic piece of music. I assume you know it's origins? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badwolf Posted June 22, 2022 Report Share Posted June 22, 2022 I do indeed. What some people will do to avoid a gambling debt! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougbgt6 Posted June 23, 2022 Report Share Posted June 23, 2022 No.2 Grandson is learning guitar and has been asked to perform SOTW (well just the riff) during school assembly tomorrow. Sadly he's right handed and won't be inheriting my collection. Doug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badwolf Posted June 23, 2022 Report Share Posted June 23, 2022 Many years ago I got involved with a band on the tech side. The lead guitarist thought that he was great because he could play the riffs from 'Smoke on the Water' and 'Sunshine of Your Love'. Sadly, (and of course, you can guess what's coming next) that's all he could play. As for Doug's guitar collection, I am left handed and 'play' (!!!) strung for a right hander, but I could change!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris A Posted June 23, 2022 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2022 Sorry to interrupt the musical reminiscences . . I got my household tasks completed early so had the right to a bit of personal time. Took the dynamo apart and the inside looked as if someone had taken a spray can of copper slip and liberally coated every surface. I cleaned everything off, what would I do without a can of brake cleaner on the shelf. The only 'damage' visible was the interior at the end where the felt pad is. There seemed to be quite a bit of a gap between the rotor(?) and the body of the end piece. Put back together and tested it by spinning it with a drill, maximum voltage was 7.15v, mostly only 3 to 4. Unit is now back on a shelf labelled 'doesn't work spares only'. The pale brownish stuff is what looks like copper slip, you might be able to see that the centre is worn. Looking down the inside of the body The rotor before cleaning Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NonMember Posted June 23, 2022 Report Share Posted June 23, 2022 The "copaslip" could be oil/grease that's been ill-advisedly put in there then got contaminated with the stuff that's been worn off that commutator while depositing abrasive grit. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Lindsay Posted June 23, 2022 Report Share Posted June 23, 2022 Just press in a new bush (obviously remove the old one first), they're only about £3. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris A Posted June 23, 2022 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2022 1 hour ago, Colin Lindsay said: Just press in a new bush (obviously remove the old one first), they're only about £3. Did cross my mind that it might be replaceable, I'm talking about the end with the felt pad, wondered about looking at my bits of left over copper plumbing pipe for something to whack in 😱 Any details of the bush, description/part number, that I can search for this side of the water? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted June 23, 2022 Report Share Posted June 23, 2022 Wow the procedure in the work shop manual for putting in a new bush doesnt look so straight forward as youd think, theyve got a special very precisely machined (0.5924") press tool! Hopefully its just Triumph being ultra correct again but I wonder if there isnt a risk of deforming the bush as you push it in.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris A Posted June 23, 2022 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2022 I should have done a parts search before asking you, found it on the Canley site. 509304, now to see if I can source one without having to import from the UK. Found it in stock under the ref: 7H5390 with a supplier that I have several items on standby waiting for a couple to come into stock before ordering. They want 14€40 for it. I shall keep looking . . This post was to have been put up just before 18h30, French time. I pressed the submit button and ,just by coincidence I think, the internet and mobile phone network crashed. It has just come back up and due to the wonderful forum here my comment was still there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris A Posted June 23, 2022 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2022 1 hour ago, johny said: Wow the procedure in the work shop manual for putting in a new bush doesnt look so straight forward as youd think, theyve got a special very precisely machined (0.5924") press tool! Hopefully its just Triumph being ultra correct again but I wonder if there isnt a risk of deforming the bush as you push it in.... Can you put up the details, please? I don't mind paying 14€40 for a bush rather than the 125 that one French supplier is asking for a new dynamo (GXE3101), but if it can't be fitted no point. although having said that when I was at my friendly garage up the road yesterday I did notice a very new looking press in the corner . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wagger Posted June 23, 2022 Report Share Posted June 23, 2022 This can be achieve with a decent bit of dowel and a light hammer. Just remember to put the felt in before the new bush. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris A Posted June 23, 2022 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2022 1 minute ago, Wagger said: This can be achieve with a decent bit of dowel and a light hammer. Just remember to put the felt in before the new bush. And getting the remains of the old one out?🤔 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted June 23, 2022 Report Share Posted June 23, 2022 And the free to download workshop manual says screw a 5/8" tap into it👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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