BJ8 Generator

[Larry Campbell]

After occassional bouts with the ignition lite staying on, it finally wouldn't go off at any RPM. The LBC shop who performed some of the more complicated repairs on the suspension for me checked the generator, said all ok, replaced the Volt regulator, no go, still not charging when I picked it up Friday. Now they say it needs a new generator. By chance, I stopped by a parts house Sat. to see if they had a set of brushes, none available, but they had a Lucas generator #22900 which indicates is should be the correct part for my 67.

Swapped out, polorized as per the instructions,(still don't know what that means), now the ignition lite stays off, getting around 12.65V's at idle, about 14.75V's in the 2500 or higher RPM range.

Here's my question:

Everything seems to be ok, no smoke, nothing fried, everything works, my question is, did I get lucky ($100 for the rebuilt generator, judging by the dust on the box I think they we happy to sell it at all) or are there other things I should be checking or aware of. I am working off all the advice from you experts out there that says lucky and Lucas are never used in the same sentence.

 

[MDCanaday]

Larry, generaters need lots of love, I suggest that you pull the old one down and inspect it. It was probably dead but an autopsy can give you a lot of info.If it just needed brushes build it for a spair. One word of caution on "new" units is that they often have something wrong inside them when you get them. Lube is left out of bearings, screws not locktighted. I would err on the side of caution and go through it before taking that next big trip.
MD(mad dog)

 

[ThomP]

Battery, regulator, generator are the "biggies" in the charging portion of an early automotive electrical system. You have replaced two of them; how is the battery? Ask your local shop if they did a load test on the battery.

Additionally in "old" cars the wiring should be inspected: IMHO the reason Joe Lucas has a bad reputation is broken or corroded connectors. $30.00 worth of connectors can go a long way toward eliminating the prince of darkness from your life. Make sure the fasteners at the ends of the wires are in good condition and the wires aren't frayed, cracked or internally broken.

Your charging voltages look very good to me.

 

[Larry Campbell]

Maddog & Thom,

Thank you for your reply and wisdom. So far so good, after performing the novice postmortem on the old generator, suprised it worked at all. Basically fell apart in my hands. Brushes and springs were shot at best. Will rework if possible and keep for a spare, thanks again.

 

[BEEJAY7]

Larry

I had exactly the same problems with my BJ7. I tried various combinations of dynamo (generator), regultor box, battery and coil, and still I couldnt get a reliable charge into the battery.

Unless your into concours I wouldn't bother with a dynamo, and would convert to altenator and negative earth.

I haven't had a flat battery since!.

Cheers

 

[Larry Campbell]

Alan, thanks.

It's certainly not concours, just mine, looks good (remember I have big bias here), and my wife and I enjoy the heck out of it. If I hadn't been in such a hurry to get it back on the road (been at a LBC shop for suspension, clutch and trans work since March) I would have probably gone that route for all your correctly pointed out reasons. The only fear I have beyond being "lucas electronically challenged" is the tach conversion. Just not sure how complicated it is. However, look for a post from me someday asking about the conversion when this generator goes kaput, because the am radio doesn't work and my wife would like music. Myself, I like to listen to the distinctive healey rumble. Thanks for your help and advice.

 

[ThomP]

The tach conversion isn't a big deal. Just ask Tahoe Healey.

[ 07-02-2003: Message edited by: ThomP ]</p>