Pickup restoration part three

[davidmiles]

I doubt the poly bushes will fair any better in that case, I'm having the whole lot off next week see if I can improve things oN there. For now I have a more pressing issue, My Alternator does not seem to be charging up the battery, I put it on trickle charge and got it up to above 12. volts, then with the motor running it was at 12.37 and during a country drive stayed at around the same reading placing the probes of my multimeter on the pos and neg terminals of the battery, after the drive it went to V12.35. So how do I find out where my fault lies? Could my Alternator be shot after I had found the white plug had somehow come apart. All this since the MOT![frame][/frame][frame][/frame]

[MarkyB]

Poly bushes are much better, highly recommended.
The diode pack in the alternator is toast as I feared, this is one of the ways alternators are less robust than dynamos I'm afraid.

[DaisyMayFozz]

Sorry to sound dumb, but does the white plug actually have anything to do with the alternator, as from what I can see it goes from the distributor to the coil- I am assuming an electronic dizzy has been used? if none of that is true ignore all
Is the battery the problem?
The alternator seems to be charging a bit, but it should be over 13.2v when running
Like marky says diodes prob gone, this would mean that charging is limited.
The belt isn't slipping or loose is it?
I would check all the connections.
Good Luck!!

[davidmiles]

thanks marky and Chris, the belt is adjusted with just an inch deflection as per advice, there is elecrtonic ignition, Does this mean a new Alternator then?

[DaisyMayFozz]

You could replace the diodes,if they are the problem, but what I would want to know is why they went bad so quickly in the first place. TBH Alternator replacement rather than diode replacement is the better option. Here is another idea, take the battery to your local motor factors and get it tested, the cold weather could have killed it. Other than that, I have no idea.
Is the plug connected to the alternator?
Cheers
Chris

[MarkyB]

I think that when the alternator wires aren't connected the output just cooks the diodes.

[chrisryder]

That white plastic clip looks like the one for an accuspark electronic ignition kit. Nothing to do with the alternator...

[davidmiles]

Chris, could a fault with the solenoid unit cause the failue to charge the Battery, I'm going to take this over to the electronics section as an aside, otherwise it'll de-rail my resto thread.

[davidmiles]

this drip is the last area of oil loss ( since I swapped over the oil filter for a spin on one, that is dry as a bone). To arrest this drip, (about three drips a minute) I'll have to remove the engine from the car, take off the back plate and add the rear oil seal kit. Has anyone done this or have any advice re this procedure.[frame][/frame]

[MarkyB]

Not everyone has had good experience with these, the surface the seal bears on was never designed with having fitted to it in mind.
Reducing crankcase pressure should be much easier and should have the same effect.

[davidmiles]

Hi Marky, thanks for the advice there, can you go into that in more detail, how do you go about reducing crankcase pressure, Sorry If I sound a bit dull there, I already feel a prat cos I just sorted my electrical problem out, simply a disconnected ignition warning light, everyone else would have spotted that sooner, Still it's fixed now and the Alternator is charging the battery at 14 plus volts.[frame][/frame]

[janstolp]

http://www.morrisminorforum.nl/phpBB2/v ... highlight=

It is as MarkyB writes .The surface needs to be machined otherwise the seal will soon start to leak and the point is than there is no way back.i.e. You cant return to the old situation because the engine is modified.
I also had this problem and now I have a fine Midget engine but I can't use it anymore.

The link gives you some pictures I took .
The text is in Dutch but never mind that you cab still understand the pictures

Best regards.
Jan

[Roni]

I have just had a leak in a similar place, dripping from the backplate. When I looked more closely at this, it was apparent it was coming from between the engine block and backplate. I have replaced the gaskets in this area as they had obvious leakage signs. There was not any major sign of a leak around the rear main seal.
You may be lucky and have a similar situation. It was a lot cheaper and easier to just replace gaskets. Unfortunately, you will only know by pulling out the motor and removing the backplate.
This may be of help too.
http://www.spridgetmania.com/article/19 ... structions
Getting the crankcase ventilation sorted is a good move too.

[Fingolfin]

David, I spent the whole of December and January trying to figure out why Mog's engine was suddenly running so rough. I tried EVERYTHING -- changed virtually the whole ignition equipment, had the engine out and inspected inside, and a whole lot more. You know what it ended up being? Stale fuel! Took me a month to find it out, and it was staring me in the face!

Point is, don't think you're dull because you missed something obvious. It's part of Minoring.

[jagnut66]

Indeed, we all have our palm of hand against forehead slapping (Duh?!) moments!

[alexandermclaren]

Hi Marky, thanks for the advice there, can you go into that in more detail, how do you go about reducing crankcase pressure, Sorry If I sound a bit dull there, I already feel a prat cos I just sorted my electrical problem out, simply a disconnected ignition warning light, everyone else would have spotted that sooner, Still it's fixed now and the Alternator is charging the battery at 14 plus volts.[frame][/frame]

David we all admire the fantastic work you have done on the pick up
it is a steep learning curve as i have and yourself (and a lot of others) have learned at some cost of time and pennies
but you are over the worst and i find this forum one of the greatest sources of help and inspiration
keep up the fantastic work

[ASL642]

David your post has been very informative to many newbies - showing what can be done. I know it has encouraged a lot of people to drag their "restoration project" out of the garage and get going!

[davidmiles]

Thank you all very much for the most inspiring and motivating comments. The doh moment continued for a little while as Like Fin, I had a rough running engine, till the sparkplug gaps were identified as the culprit, still I have adjusted the tick over speed and the combination of these has lead to a smoothly running motor once again, and the oil leak seems to have slowed right down.
But, I will have to replace the carburettor in the next couple of months, the needles at max height and she's still running a little rich. It is the original S2 and she needs a reconditioned one now. Still, a satisfying saturday and time for her to go to bed[frame][/frame]

[davidmiles]

She's running well mechanically wise, I now want to start the gradual improvements side of things...[frame][/frame]

[davidmiles]

starting here, with the replacement of these Q/L rubbers, the originals are painted and quite rough, so it's time to renew them..[frame][/frame]