TR2/3/3A It's Alive!...TR3 Generator & Rad Questions

[CJD]

Well, my son and I got the old girl running last night. It was really a surprise...most rebuilds I've done crank for a while before coming to life. She just went Kachug KaVroom! Still going through adjustments, so haven't taken her out on the road yet.

A couple items came up that I need some assistance with...

There is a small leak in the radiator, right at the top on the filler neck. I'm sure we can fix it in place. The question is, what type solder and flux do you guys recommend. Standard, or the harder silver?

Second, the generator is all rebuilt with new brushes. I noticed while revving the motor that the brushes flash bright sparks at high speed. I mean like movie projector bright! My generator experience is about nil...so, is this to be expected until the brushes conform to the armature? The output at first start was very low (gen light would only go out when I manually closed the cutout breaker), but after a few minutes running the output is noticeably higher (gen light goes out on it's own now.)

I still have a lot to go on the restoration...wheels, side screen and top...but I truly want to thank all of you for your help in getting the old girl back to life!


Thanks!

John

 

[hondo402000]

If I were you I would take the radiator to a radiator shop and let them fix the leak. I tried to fix my leak and ended up having to purchase a new radiator

just my opinion

Hondo

 

[TR3driver]

There is a small leak in the radiator, right at the top on the filler neck. I'm sure we can fix it in place.

Looks easy, but in my experience it's a lot trickier than it looks. The whole radiator is put together with 'soft' solder, so by the time you get part of the seam hot enough to melt new solder, the adjacent solder is soft enough to droop and leak. The coolant also leaves a coating on the metal that will interfere with the solder joint.

That joint has caused me enough grief over the years that I had the shop add some reinforcement last time. Too soon to say for sure, but I'm hopeful that will be the end of my leaks at that seam.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]Second, the generator is all rebuilt with new brushes. I noticed while revving the motor that the brushes flash bright sparks at high speed. I mean like movie projector bright! My generator experience is about nil...so, is this to be expected until the brushes conform to the armature? [/QUOTE]
Some sparking is normal, even after the brushes are worn in. As long as it keeps working normally, I'd leave it alone. Oh, and put back the ring that is supposed to cover the brushes so you can't see the sparks :laugh:

 

[TFB]

John,
I think your best bet would be 50/50 solder,but it is not,as far as I know, readily available because of lead content.Most plumbing is 95/5.Yu may get away with cleanining ,fluxing and applying heat with large soldering iron if its a crack in a fillet.Usuall problem is you cant clean joint properly without taking apart.
Have Fun
Tom

 

[Geo Hahn]

Mine had a small leak along the bottom edge of the neck joint. Too slight to readily see but it would leave a deposit and I could confirm it was leaking by holding a brown (or blue) paper towel against it as those readily show any moisture.

I repaired it with an epoxy (probably wasn't JBWeld as this was many years ago) I think what I used was clear and had a name beginning with D -- but I digress.

What I did was lower the coolant level enough so that joint would be dry, then got the engine & coolant hot and applied the epoxy along the seam. Usual prep of cleaning and scuffing of course. My theory & hope was that the cooling engine would draw the slow-setting epoxy into the crack for a better repair.

Anyway it worked and has held for many years since. A somewhat ghetto fix but much easier than pulling the apron and less risky than reworking the solder (tried that with a fuel float -- did you know a heat gun can easily melt solder and that the fuel float is made of 3 pieces?).

 

[CJD]

Thanks guys...the radiator shop caused the leak to begin with, so I trust you'll understand if I do not trust them to screw it up again. Especially with the effort to get that thing out!?! The leak is right on the seam adjacent to the cap...couldn't be in a more accessible place. So I really have nothing to lose giving it a shot. And if I screw it up, well, I'm no worse off. Soft solder it is!

Randall...what ring? I replaced everything that came with it, but I have no seen no ring. Is it just a cap to cover the rear of the generator?

John

 

[Geo Hahn]

...Randall...what ring? I replaced everything that came with it, but I have no seen no ring. Is it just a cap to cover the rear of the generator?

The starter has a ring (or band) covering the brush area... perhaps that is what he was thinking of. Or perhaps some dynamos had that too though none of mine have.

 

[CJD]

Aaaah...That band is in place. The sparking projects out of the vent holes in the rear of the generator back plate. I only noticed it because it looked like a flashlight shining on the firewall every time I revved the engine. When I bent down and looked under the carbs, that's when I realized the flashlight was actually the generator!

Thanks,

John

 

[M_Pied_Lourd]

Hi John,

Congrats on getting her running. I hope to get there soon!

Cheers,
M. Pied Lourd

 

[Tr3aguy]

You guys are making me look bad.....but the heat and ac in the house has a new 10 year warranty and the dishwasher is quiet as a whisper....now back to telling everybody what is on my birthday/christmas list.....

 

[CJD]

You guys are making me look bad.....but the heat and ac in the house has a new 10 year warranty and the dishwasher is quiet as a whisper....now back to telling everybody what is on my birthday/christmas list.....

I hate it when that all goes wrong at once...wondered where you've been lately! And JP that reminds me...I'm getting to the side screens. I know we wrote before about you helping with the lock pawls. But you know, after looking over the situation, I realize the locks on the doors are really silly! I'm even wondering if maybe the factory left the pawls out when we Yanks were dying in droves laughing.

I usually am anal about making everything work...but I think this time I'm going to leave the door locks inop!! Thanks for the offer though...now get back to the work and posts!

John

 

[TR3driver]

The starter has a ring (or band) covering the brush area... perhaps that is what he was thinking of. Or perhaps some dynamos had that too though none of mine have.

I believe very early generators did have the ring; but Geo is right, I was thinking of the starter. Sorry about that. It was only intended as a jest anyway.

 

[TexasKnucklehead]

I took two radiators to a shop and had them make one 'good' one from them. They also replaced the cap with a newer style. It leaked when I finally started it up. I took it back and they spent a lot of time and used silver solder (stronger) on the neck because of the tendency to push on the cap causing the seam to develop a leak. They were happy to fix the mistake and did not charge me a cent the second time around. It's guaranteed for life now and I believe it. If I were you, I'd give them a second chance to make it right.

Congratulations on getting that far. Isn't it great to hear it run? When I got there, all I wanted to do was listen to it idle... Eventually I will make progress.

her

 

[CJD]

Oh no...now you put the doubt in my mind about needing silver!?! I will definitely give it back to the shop if I have any trouble. I can't really "not try" it though, when it will take me 10 minutes to repair, versus several hours to remove and transport it to the shop. I'll let you know if I'm making a poor decision later this week when I get time to try it...

And yes...definitely cool just to listen to her again!

John

 

[CJD]

I believe very early generators did have the ring; but Geo is right, I was thinking of the starter. Sorry about that. It was only intended as a jest anyway.

No problem Randall. You are the Guru of Triumph...I respect everything you say enough that I'd install the generator backwards if you recommended to! Without your help our projects would be forever hopelessly bogged down. Thanks!

John

 

[CJD]

Well, finally got to it today. It was standard soft solder on the radiator, so that's what had to go back on. Turned out to be a good decision to repair in place...20 minute fix vs. a 6 hour R&R. I was very fortunate that the leaky seam was right on top!

Waiting for my son to get over the flu so we can take her for the maiden spin around the block...

John

 

[CJD]

Well, I am mainly including this in case someone searches generators in the future. Sparking...turns out it's not good. We finally got her out on the road. She ran great, but the armature fried itself in less than a mile.

The armature was a used one I picked up, and it must have had an internal short. I swapped in my orginal (which actually looked worse) but everything charges fine now...and no sparking! I did not change anything but the armature, so the rest of the system and generator was all fine. I think the sparking must have been the armature trying to feed itself somehow...