Voltage Regulator Issue

VaCat33

VaCat33

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CAT Member
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Hello All,

Since the Tiger List is down, this forum is becoming one of my main sources of technical help.

Last week I noticed the ignition warning light in my Mk1 coming on when the engine was at idle...it went out when I increased RPMs. I checked the charge at the battery and sure enough it was not receiving a charge with the engine running. I checked the voltage at the armature terminal of the generator and it read 15V. I then took the voltage regulator (vr) out of the loop and the generator was still putting out 15v (thanks to Tom Parker for the help on that last test).

I switched out the vr and all now seems fine with the voltage at battery measuring 13.6 @ idle and 14.5 @ 1500 rpm.

My problem is that this is the second vr I have replaced in the past 9 months. Does anybody have any theories on why this might be happening. I inspected the insides of the old vr and did not see any burnt/fused elements or anything that would indicate the source of the problem.

Thanks,

Jim
 
Prince of what??

Frankly, I'm in awe of the thing's working at all. Being married to a Lucas system, failure becomes genetic. Hang a rosary from the mirror like the rest of us.
 
Hi Jim, I had a similar experience several years ago. Could not get a couple to work, could see nothing wrong with the regulators and there was nothing wrong with the generator. After trying a couple from the local discount auto parts store, I ordered one from Rick at Sunbeam Specialties. Presto, problems solved. His cost me meaningfully more, but I can only assume it was better made. Another example for me that you don't usually get more than you pay for.

Cheers, Gene
 
Gene

I actually went in the opposite direction. The 2 VRs that went belly up were from SS. In the interest of time, this time I went to my local Auto Zone and tried a Duralast VR.

Starting to think the problem is more along the lines of what Randy said in his earlier post.

Thanks,

Jim
 
Same Story

Hi All


If you did not get enough with my brake lamp travails...my voltage regulator is begiining to weaken and it looks as if it will go belly up...AGAIN.

At idle the reading at the battery is 12.5 and @ 1800 rpms it is only 13.6. It should be at least 13+ @ idle and 14+ at 1800. Generator is fine. Ordered a new VR this AM...my 4th VR in just over a year.

Hoping that somebody has a theory...other than Oneoffive's suggestion to pray harder...not that I have not tried that as well.

Jim
 
Jim,

Are you ordering from the same place? From whom. Curious to know as I am sure my time is coming.



Mike
 
More frustration

Something downstream in the system is taxing (warming) the vr resistors slowly to a fail point. More of a common ailment than most people realize. Check the vr point surfaces to see if any one contact has more of an arc cone growing taller than any other. One of the more costly jobs we do here is trying to locate a Lucas gremlin. Once all the obvious short guesses are exhausted, we draw straws and one guy only will methodically trace the harness one wire & one connector at a time. Cleaning and testing each circuit from the customer's standpoint sure ain't financial fun, but we have found a lot of random causes over the years. Don't forget how old these things are getting. A new VR may just be strong enough to work with an ongoing problem (for a while, that is). rw
 
VaCat33 said:
Since the Tiger List is down, this forum is becoming one of my main sources of technical help.
Jim
Click to expand...

Jim, the list has actually been up for about 2 months +, though i think lots of people had issues signing up again at first... its quite slow as people seem to havegiven up.. maybe we should egt the word out there?
 
Cal

The VR in the car when I purchased it and first replacement were from SS. The current one is a Duralast which I got locally to save some time. On recommendation of a friend the one I ordered this AM was from Mustangs Unlimited and is a FoMoCo replacement...looks similar to the SS VR.

Oneoffive is right...not sure how much longer I can go before finding the source. The latest VR started to weaken within 2 months.

Jim
 
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