• Hi Guest!
    You can help ensure that British Car Forum (BCF) continues to provide a great place to engage in the British car hobby! If you find BCF a beneficial community, please consider supporting our efforts with a subscription.

    There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Subscribers don't see this gawd-aweful banner
Tips
Tips

alternator woes

why

Jedi Trainee
Country flag
Offline
'67Etype with flasher fitting under dash. The main terminal for the brown/white heavy wire fried, I expect from contact case. Took it all apart and used a stainless steel screw to replace fried one, it worked for about 5 trips of 10 mi each and then started showing very erratic ammeter readings. Could feel some wiggle in the terminal. Took it all apart again and added a few insulating washers so could tighten terminal nut against outside of case. Same thing, a cupla fine trips with ammeter working great and charging battery. Now ammeter shows slight (-) when driving, today restart at restaurant and no go. Charged battery and got home. Weird, twice now soon after rebuild works fine and then a few starts and trips and ammeter swings far + briefly or shows slight (-) most of time. Also noticed that soon after start always (-) then after a few minutes will show good + and eventually wild swings. I have only three wires to alternator, all going to lugs on the nylon fitting. in book that is for cars with "steering locks" but book test relates to lug labeled AL on alternator that has no connection on mine. Totally lost and confused--time to give up and buy new alternator???
Thanks, Jay Glass
 
not too familiar with E type but you can test the alternator at any AutoZone. If Voltage Regulator is built-in the alternator, the machine will test it too. if Voltage Regulator is separate, I'd check it too. The ammeter behavior is familiar to me, but I have a Generator. I've been told you should replace the battery when replacing a bad alternator, generator, or regulator. Star Auto Electric in California rebuilds Lucas. Talk to Mike Martinez - he's helped me with similar questions. https://www.starautoelectric.com/
 
Back
Top