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Wedge TR-7 Alternator Woes

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U

urchin

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Back in July, a dead short in the alternator of my '80 TR-7 Spider and a frayed hot wire near the motor mount conspired to cause a fire that melted most of the engine wiring. I had a new loom created by East Coast Rover, an outstanding Land Rover shop in Warren, Maine. It took two tries by Victoria British to get me a working alternator. In the end, alternator #2 worked only because the shop took it apart and rewired it. The wiring harness has worked fine since then and so has the alternator.

Now, as I approached the mainland ferry terminal where I leave the car every weekend, the alternator light began to blink when I released the clutch at a stop. It would blink a couple of times and then go off. A quick look at the wiring connections before I boarded the ferry did not show anything loose or corroded. I'll check again on Sunday, but the weather's supposed to be lousy and I won't have a covered spot under which to look. Of course, I have a 150 mile drive in cold, dark, rainy weather ahead of me, assuring a good load on the new battery and alternator.

The last time something like this occured on an MGB, I wound up having to replace the alternator. Anyone have a thought about this instance? The voltage gauge shows a fine output.

Maybe I have only a bad regulator operation on the current one, but what's with these rebuilds? Does anyone stock high quality alternators? Why are these so hard to get right?

Jeff
 
[ QUOTE ]
Maybe I have only a bad regulator operation on the current one, but what's with these rebuilds? Does anyone stock high quality alternators? Why are these so hard to get right?


[/ QUOTE ]

Not sure. When I bought my car last year, the slternator was shot. However, I was able to find a local shop that not only was able to rebuild it, but actually had the parts in stock for an ACR25! And the price was about $60 less than buying an already rebuilt one. If you end up needing a new alternator, I'd look into seeing if it could be rebuilt locally.

PS. Check the simple things...is the belt OK? If it's loose or shot, it could cause slipping that could make the light flicker at idle.
 
Unfortunately, there are few reliable shops in mid-coast or downeast Maine that have parts for Lucas alternators. I, too, would prefer to take the altenator to a shop for a rebuild.

I'll check the belt for tightness - a quick look when I checked the oil before the trip did not reveal anythng obvious, and I heard no squealing.

Thanks for your advice.

Jeff
 
I'm so sick of getting bad parts from the catalogs. I'm on the third temp sending unit, and I have no idea if it works properly (it tested on the multimeter better than the other two!)
 
We have an authorized Moss distributor locally and oh my how handy that is. Many common parts are there on the shelf -- the others arrive in a couple of days w/o shipping charges and best of all they work with you and stand behind what they sell. Yes, I have to pay sales tax and I miss out on some deals available elsewhere but the ready access and no-hassle resolution of problems is worth it. Also, he provides the meeting room for our local club.

My point (at last) is to see if you have a local Moss distributor and consider the advantages of using them for parts.

Oh, I still use TRF several times a year just because C.R. is a true friend of the Triumph enthusiast.
 
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