Alternator / Electronic ignition upgrade

Post by **Cam** » Sat Oct 04, 2003 9:23 pm

You could try the Aldon ignitor electronic ignition. I have had one for years and they are really good. They fit inside the distributor so no unsightly heatsinks screwed to the inner wings! I think they are about £70 (or were 10 years ago.........)

Post by **Gareth** » Sun Oct 05, 2003 1:13 pm

Don't forget the Lumenition Magnetronic jobbie that many Minor suppliers sell. Don't know how good they are, but there seems to be a few about. Anyone used them? £65 - 70 IIRC...

I'm still running on points, and haven't had problems, though they could do with a clean by now... Our aged Metro still has points - and has had the same set in for far too long, I reckon! Can't be all that bad, can it? You'd have to buy a lot of points before you make up the money on a 'leccy kit...

Post by **Willie** » Mon Oct 06, 2003 7:58 am

DIGGER, re the alternator. Although I prefer to keep the
dynamo the beauty of an alternator conversion is,provided
that you do not remove the original control box, it is very easy
to re-fit the dynamo should you ever wish to. Yes, the dynamo
is one of the most reliable items on the car and I would expect
a huge mileage out of a set of brushes. An Alternator is
definitely not as reliable

Post by **Cam** » Mon Oct 06, 2003 8:06 am

An Alternator is definitely not as reliable

That is certainly my experience!!

Post by **57traveller** » Mon Oct 06, 2003 12:01 pm

Could be wrong but I think the Aldon, although more expensive, unit is available for +ve and -ve systems but the Lumenition Magnetronic is -ve only.
Lumenition Magnetronic is fitted to my Traveller, very good and reliable -so far!
I wish they(Lumenition) were available for +ve earth, I'd then fit one to my saloon.

Post by **Peetee** » Mon Oct 06, 2003 1:54 pm

Don't forget the Lumenition Magnetronic

I've used this. Very easy to fit, looks completely standard from outside the Dizzy. Car ran faultlessy with it.

Post by **Kevin** » Tue Oct 07, 2003 10:01 am

At the shows this year it was often possible to pick up the Lumenition Kit for £55:00, and remember its not just the saving in points they also help overcome wear and tear in the distributor, and should as the spark is stronger and more consistant make for smoother running and a bit better economy due to the lack of adjustment needed, although how much is debatable.

Post by **JustinMinor1000** » Sat Oct 11, 2003 4:43 pm

Kevin wrote:At the shows this year it was often possible to pick up the Lumenition Kit for £55:00, and remember its not just the saving in points they also help overcome wear and tear in the distributor, and should as the spark is stronger and more consistant make for smoother running and a bit better economy due to the lack of adjustment needed, although how much is debatable.

Iv'e just had a rebuilt engine fitted to the Landrover, Turner engineering who rebuilt it say they don't like the idea of electric fans (for various reasons we won't go into) but what they really could not understand was why people were quite happy to spend £100 on a fan but did not see any real advantage to Electronic ignition at the same price.

Apparently (remember they are in the buisness of rebuilding engines they don't sell electronic ignition).

1. Performance is improved especially on LPG.

2. Fuel economy is improved by somewhere between 1 and 5%, (If you wish you can argue about this for years)

3. The engine suffers less ware , simply because the points are always perfect.

My landrover is very good for guageing the efectiveness of these modifications. I'm going to delay the fitting of the electronic ignition to see how much extra mileage I get from the gas flowed head.

When the car was first LPG'd I got 175 miles (average) to a tank which was 10.93 MPG

I fitted new plugs and leads and contacts and it went up to 185 Miles (average) to a tank which was 11.56 MPG

I fitted an electric fan and it went to 200 miles which is 12.5 MPG

I'll keep you posted as to what happens with the new engine

The really shocking thing is the ammount of economy you get from simply changing the plugs and leads and Point's ... The old ones LOOKED perfect and the car ran very well. It's especially odd as I also put a bigger alternator on at the time and it was the middle of winter and the load on the alternator on a cold morning is about 60 amps ..

Post by **catsoup** » Tue Oct 14, 2003 2:43 pm

Just a quick note on Alternators. Ive had three fitted to my 1966 moggie in less than 2 years.

1. Stopped charging after about 1000 miles after fitting. Didn't investigate, as I didn't want to invalidate the guarantee. This was a QH one.

2. Replaced under guarantee. Stopped charging after about 1000 miles. I assume it's the same problem, so I pull it apart to investigate. The brushes had worn to nothing. This was also a QH one.

3. I buy another (ignoring the faulty one still under guarantee). This is a Lucas one. It stopped charging recently so I got 2 sets of brushes, ready to repair the QH one and swap it in. After some investigation I found that the small cable that goes to the ignition warning light was broken. This is used to 'excite' the coils to start the charging process. Fixed this and my Lucas is still OK – same brushes.

I must have now done around 4000 on the Lucas. But I remain suspicious and dread seeing the red light while its running. (Or not seeing it before starting.)

I'm not suggesting that the QH ones are poorer quality. Maybe something else was to blame. But I do think that they are less reliable than the old dynos,. I wish the dynos could kick out just a bit more juice to support bright headlights, a stereo and wipers on a wet night!

Cheers,

Chris.

Post by **Cam** » Tue Oct 14, 2003 3:27 pm

Chris,

I had a few Lucas ones which when they went, the warning light stayed on all the time (even when the ignition was off). Any ideas on the cause (out of interest?). maybe the rectifier pack?

Post by **lowedb** » Wed Oct 15, 2003 8:07 am

Never liked QH stuff, even though I had a relative who worked there. Had one set of brake pads that wore to nothing in around 8k miles, and another that rattled so much I replaced every bit of front suspension on the car before I twigged what was rattling.

There's no reason for brushes to wear so quickly on an alternator, they only carry the exciter current. Usual causes of excess wear are corrosive or abrasive air around them.

Older Lucas alternators were unreliable compared to dynamos, and modern Alternators. Usually the problems were diodes in the rectifier dying (one or many) or problems with the regulator. All these are electronic devices, and quality / reliability has been improved beyond recognition compared to these early machines. I'm thinking of an alternator upgrade (after the engine rebuild, after the car rebuild, after the welding) but will look at a newer device than the Lucas jobs from Marinas, etc. When I get to it, I'll let everyone know how I get on, but don't hold your breath!

Post by **catsoup** » Wed Oct 15, 2003 12:12 pm

Hi,

The faults I had were:

1. The brushes wearing, the symptom of which was the red light flickering, and then staying on for longer periods until it's on all the time.

2. A broken wire on the connector. (The small ignition light one.) The symptom of this was no warning light, and the alternator will not start charging until the engine is revved high.

This last one is interesting because you would get the same results if the ignition-warning light bulb went. No bulb no charging. This is because the circuit the bulb is on also feeds the stator coils which needs current before any charge can take place.

I also tested the regulator, by simply putting a voltmeter across the battery. When revving the engine the voltage would not rise above around 14 volts.

Just to complete the alternator 'points of failure', its relatively easy to re-solder the diodes if you should need to. Test them with a continuity tester, and solder them trying not to let them get too hot. (Put a wet tissue on em!).

Chris.

Post by **rayofleamington** » Sat Oct 25, 2003 12:07 pm

I also tested the regulator, by simply putting a voltmeter across the battery. When revving the engine the voltage would not rise above around 14 volts.

Just picked up my 61 saloon yesterday. It had the dreaded alternator conversion so I put the voltmeter on it this morning... What a disaster.
13 volts rising to 15+ with higher revs.
The thing is I have no idea what alternator it is sa am going to struggle to get a new rectifier/regulator pack. Also as it's been rewired to remove the original big black regulator box It will take days to sort out and convert back to a dynamo.
Either way I go, it's just a pain :-S
Is there an easy way to tell the type of alternator? - I haven't found a makers name on it (yet) but couldn't see much with it on the car.

It certainly explains the flickering lights!