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TR6 Generator to alternator conversion

rjsmtech

Freshman Member
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Hi all, I'm new here so please bare with me. I'm trying to convert my 1970 tr6 from a generator to alternator. From reading some threads before signing up to this forum, I guess the way to go is a Bosch set up from a 78-80 Ford Fiesta. A couple of users said this should be a direct install including the plug connector....Is that true and if so, how can that be? I have absolutely zero information on this, outside of reading some stuff on the web. Some people are saying there is some wiring changes that has to be done?... Your help is greatly appreciated :smile:
 

M_Pied_Lourd

Darth Vader
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Are you sure that you have a generator? For a 70 TR6, it should have an alternator already installed.

Cheers
Tush
 

poolboy

Yoda
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Right.
None of the TR6's had generators. What is happening that causes you to think what you have has gone bad and needs replacement ?
However if you do want an alternator that can produce a few more amps than the original Lucas alternator, the Bosch for a 78 to 80 Ford Fiesta with A/C and rear window defrost should be pretty much a 'plug and play'...you may have to use a metric bolt on the adjustment and about a 3/4 inch longer fan belt so you can have better access to the #1 spark plug....but other than that it's 'plug and play'
 

dklawson

Yoda
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If you opt for the Bosch/Fiesta conversion, make sure the one you purchase comes with the fan and pulley. Rebuilt models often do not include those items. The Bosch is metric, the parts off your old Lucas alternator will not fit.

There are a lot of other possible conversions. Each involves one tweak or another. For years many people used the Delco 10SI or 12SI. Those are rather dated now. For a while people were using the Saturn alternator conversion. Those are also getting "old" so something newer from Denso may be preferred now.

Regardless, don't let the plug-and-play functionality be your only deciding factor. It is easy to remove the wires from the stock alternator plug so they can be used with an aftermarket alternator that uses different connectors.

Read more about the Fiesta and Saturn conversions in the link below.
https://www.britishcarforum.com/bobmuenchausen/17901.html
 
OP
R

rjsmtech

Freshman Member
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Sorry for the slow response guys, been working my tail feathers off. Ok, here's my problem, red ign. light on tach gauge is on. I was told that is the generator light in this car. The battery goes dead slowly, so I was trying to put 2 and 2 together. This does have an external regulator which is why I thought it was a generator. There is an AMP gauge as well that stays towards the negative side all the time. Again, sorry for sounding like an idiot but this is my first Triumph and literally know nothing about them. I have running issues as well but will save that for another time. You guys are great with your response times, I'll try and keep up with the same courtesy. Thanks again guys!!!
 

Tybalt

Jedi Warrior
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Digging back into the far recesses of my memory, I seem to recall that the TR250 and the earliest TR6s used the 15AC alternator which did have an external regulator. By 1970, the change over should have been well past completion to the 15ACR which featured the internal regulator. Officially, by somewhere in the 1972 time frame, the spares supplied for the 15AC were to use the 15ACR and punt the external regulator. By the same token, spare parts supply could get rather spotty in that early and mid seventies time frame. I recall many a TR250 and TR6 just sitting because you couldn't buy a TR6 brake master kit or cylinder due to a backorder issue. Dealers and outside shops were known to use whatever acceptable alternates out of their inventory or that they could get their hands on, then play mix and match to keep customer's cars on the road. It would not surprise me if a 15 ACR was replaced with a 15AC and the 4TR series (37588) external voltage regulator at some point if that was what it took to get the car on the road and they could their hands on it. After all, when MGB clutch master cylinder kits went on what seemed like terminal backorder in 1973, shops were using 1967 back MGB brake master cylinder kits and just tossing the extra bits until those kits too went on what seemed to be terminal backorder. Then it was on to using clutch master cylinders until they went on .... yea, you guessed it.

Having grown up around these, it just amazes me how much better and more consistent the parts supply is forty plus years after the fact plus given the time value of money, relatively speaking the parts don't seem to cost as much either.
 
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