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I understand the second & larger alt to battery cable with a Lucas A127 Alt as its 75 amps output I believe but what size cable would the std Lucas 15ACR require as its only around 32 or 34 amp from memory, what size cable did the GT6 Mk3 use.

When converting the Vit early 70's I also retained the baseplate of the regulator and bridged  the internal connections where reqd I didn't refit the regulator cover but just a plat plastic cover kept all the wires original nd neat. whereas the Spit I totally removed the regulator and joined the wires

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12 hours ago, SixasStandard said:

Latest update on the Alternator project..........I've now got the Alternator fitted in the car and have connected up the required cables in the engine bay. There had been some interesting choices made with routing of the loom, so I took the opportunity to re-route things a bit more tidily, necessitating de-constructing it a bit before then rebinding it. The new Lucas RB340 Regulator box has now been installed with revised connections, so everything is now ready to go once I've received the new longer fan belt that has been ordered. I decided to keep the old Dynamo cables in place for reasons previously explained, and the fact that they are connected to the Alternator makes for a tidier engine bay in my opinion. 

I've attached some pictures for general interest, and in the case of the engine bay picture.......if you can spot the deliberate error then kudos to you!!

Ian   

DSC06548.JPG

That battery cable is huge! No danger of that being over loaded. I like the long sweeping curve, it will help with engine movement. 

I would consider an additional cable fixing to the alternator if possible,  to reduce stress on the terminal. You can also buy an insulated boot that will cover the terminal, may look a tad neater. Neither a real worry, but whenever you are ordering up some other stuff it may be an idea.

Glad it has all come together, ready to get a few miles on the car.

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2 hours ago, clive said:

That battery cable is huge! No danger of that being over loaded. I like the long sweeping curve, it will help with engine movement. 

I would consider an additional cable fixing to the alternator if possible,  to reduce stress on the terminal. You can also buy an insulated boot that will cover the terminal, may look a tad neater. Neither a real worry, but whenever you are ordering up some other stuff it may be an idea.

Glad it has all come together, ready to get a few miles on the car.

Thanks Clive,

Your point regarding the insulated boot is well made, and has already been mentioned to me by Richard, who was also disgusted by my use of (and I quote) "one of those ghastly modern blue covered connectors"  for the WL circuit connection. You guys set a very high bar I have to say!!

Regards,

Ian

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Ref the blue crimp on lug, I've always soldered, but Pete L has taken me to task stating crimps are better so I've invested in a decent crimper which crimps like the originals if you use the brass spades ie it folds the sides in and crimps them down locking the wire then you do the same onto the insulation.

Hey the finished product looks very professional & neat the crimper also makes it easier than trying to solder on a short wire upside down under the dash, Pete your right again, I'm converted after 60 years of inhaling the solder fumes.

Having said that I think I've only had a couple of solder joints fail & there've been in the engine bay ie oil pressure switch spade where the wires flex a lot with engine movement & human interference!

Peter T

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Ha  not me  i get guided by how the manufacturing processes evolved over the years and clues from a proper sparky  but in the trade a crimped is i believe classes as good as 

as a wire without joint .   just never use a scotch lock    Multicomp Pro Ds2 Tap Splice, Blue, Pk25   ,very handy but fraught with failures ,  wire chop and limited connectivity

 must get on with my railway , all needs a wire up and you have spurned enthusiasm for a whiff of flux   Ha 

happy days 

Pete

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On 09/06/2020 at 22:39, SixasStandard said:

Total lack of interest.......unbelievable!!.........ok, so the deliberate mistake (obviously) is the yellow coil cable, which should be white with a black tracer............................I'll get my coat.

Ian 

Last car I rebuilt was a TR7, just finished and sold it two weeks ago, and the coil cable is yellow and white... so it looked fine to me.

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On 10/06/2020 at 09:09, SixasStandard said:

Thanks Clive,

Your point regarding the insulated boot is well made, and has already been mentioned to me by Richard, who was also disgusted by my use of (and I quote) "one of those ghastly modern blue covered connectors"  for the WL circuit connection. You guys set a very high bar I have to say!!

Regards,

Ian

Nah, we are just good at picking holes in other peoples work 🤣🤣

You should see my car....

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the railway  ...Hmmm.    some years ago i bought a load of LGB loco's coaches trucks and miles of track  for two circuits of the garden the logistics of earthworks needed to drive a double track around an existing garden proved too much and i reluctantly traded the lot in for back to 00 and it goes around the spare room 

but like classic car hobbies it goes in spurts of enthusiasm , and its been left for too long , and i keep changing the layout so nothing is cast in stone , but 

this weekend will see some resurgence and if a feel right some pictures    track ballast has been a sticking point but have decided stuff it pin it down have some fun 

to hell with realism and fanning around  i just want to play trains not make something you dare not  touch  

Pete

 

 

 

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35 minutes ago, Pete Lewis said:

the railway  ...Hmmm.    some years ago i bought a load of LGB loco's coaches trucks and miles of track  for two circuits of the garden the logistics of earthworks needed to drive a double track around an existing garden proved too much and i reluctantly traded the lot in for back to 00 and it goes around the spare room 

but like classic car hobbies it goes in spurts of enthusiasm , and its been left for too long , and i keep changing the layout so nothing is cast in stone , but 

this weekend will see some resurgence and if a feel right some pictures    track ballast has been a sticking point but have decided stuff it pin it down have some fun 

to hell with realism and fanning around  i just want to play trains not make something you dare not  touch  

Pete

 

 

 

Put the ballast in after you have pinned it down Pete.... 50/50 pva and water and a drop of washing up liquid dribbled over the ballast and it's there for good after 24hrs and it looks good.

Tony.

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done some trials with that but not convinced its what i want  i have  roll of self adhesive foam you pin foam and track the ballast sticks to the sticky side  looks good but still a faf to 

achieve  ...and as i continually re invent the plan im not fully into gooing the lot down 

bit like a triumph ...whats next 

I have a rake of 9 trix  twin operating dump wagons ( new wheels) , have built a  new undertrack solenoid but ....where to put it  ..seemed a good idea at the time 

Pete

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You can never predict where one of these threads is going to go can you!!

Anywho........just get things out of the sidings and back onto the main line........and to prove that I do listen (sometimes) to the sage advice offered by you lot........... I submit into evidence exhibit 'A'......... conclusive proof that the alternator connections are now adequately protected from the elements, and that the battery cable is now braced to avoid any possibility of straining the post. I started the old girl up this morning, and imagine my surprise when the car didn't actually erupt into flames after all........what a result!! The IGN warning light goes off pretty sharpish when the engine fires I can tell you. The defence rests M'lud.

Ian 

DSC06552.JPG

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Oh yes, forgot to mention........the battery terminal cover is actually a HT lead insulator from my parts ods n sods bin........I thought Pete would approve!! The fan belt I have used is an AVX10 1113La, because I wanted to keep the alternator close to the engine block, but in retrospect an AVX10 1125La would have been a slightly better option. 

Ian

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1 hour ago, Adrian Cooper said:

Very neat Ian, I particularly like the strain-relief clamp on the chunky battery wire, how did you do that?

Adrian

I used a simple 'P' clip on the phase connection post, which isn't used on my car as the Vitesse doesn't have an electronic tachometer. It's by far the simplest way to secure the battery cable. In retrospect securing this cable is an obvious thing to do, but if Clive hadn't mentioned it earlier in this thread I wouldn't have thought of it myself.........thanks Clive!!

Ian  

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On 12/06/2020 at 16:56, SixasStandard said:

You can never predict where one of these threads is going to go can you!!

Anywho........just get things out of the sidings and back onto the main line........and to prove that I do listen (sometimes) to the sage advice offered by you lot........... I submit into evidence exhibit 'A'......... conclusive proof that the alternator connections are now adequately protected from the elements, and that the battery cable is now braced to avoid any possibility of straining the post. I started the old girl up this morning, and imagine my surprise when the car didn't actually erupt into flames after all........what a result!! The IGN warning light goes off pretty sharpish when the engine fires I can tell you. The defence rests M'lud.

Ian 

DSC06552.JPG

That's the best-sized cable I have seen on an alternator. Never seen better.

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11 hours ago, SpitFire6 said:

That's the best-sized cable I have seen on an alternator. Never seen better.

You can put 110 Amps through that puppy according to the E-Bay listing........although I'm not convinced myself, and wouldn't want to test the claim either!  I know it's a bit chunky looking, but the cable certainly lives up to it's Hi-Flex moniker, and to be honest I'd rather over specify than the alternative, which might end up incinerating a lot of hard work and skinned knuckles knowing my luck!

Ian 

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No harm with the biggest cable to connect Alt to Batt. You have left enough slack to allow adjustment. Maybe 25mm2 could be considered too big a diameter, but if you had a Class 6/Hi flex & lugs, why not.
Current rating is never going to be an issue with 16mm2 & the important bit, the volt drop is minimized. You might now find that the volt drop on the -ve side is the limiting factor.

When you have some free time:

With engine running & all loads on.
Measure the millivolts DC between the centre of +ve battery post & centre of B+ on Alternator?
Measure the millivolts DC between the centre of -ve battery post & B- or body of Alternator?

 

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