Put on your thinking caps

[Reculver Vicar]

So it sounds as if everything is tickety boo then? I can drive AT NIGHT without fear of ending up stranded up a country lane....and I just shan't look at the ammeter any more!
Hey thanks chaps for all your helpful advice and your kind support.


Nobody has told me a surefire way to get that black nobble off the heater control lever though!

Best wishes
Ronald

[linearaudio]

What a lot of worry about a problem which isn't there!
If the red light goes out, it is charging..... From tickover with the headlights on in dim light conditions, you will see the lights get brighter as you rev the engine! All is well! That is the main thing with the alternator- if the red light goes out and doesn't start flickering(which it won't as that is likely to be worn brushes!)-then it is a fit and forget item. If the ammeter worries you, then with the battery disconnected, disable it by connecting the two thick wires that feed it together, (and insulate the joint)!
The heater knob, if it is the flattened,ovally shaped thing, pulls straight off, but with some force required. A pair of thin nosed pliers sandwiched behind it should give the required leverage!
Glad you have made the leap into the last quarter of the twentieth century and fitted the alternator! You won't regret it

[drivewasher]

Since you have converted from a dynamo to an alternator have you fitted the ampmeter into the NEW RED WIRE shown here and removed the wires shown as dots. http://www.mmoc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=39514

Was the amp meter fitted when it was a dynamo if so it wont be wired in the same place it should be for an alternator because the wiring should have been altered

[kennatt]

you don't have a problem by the sound of it. Just either take gauge off or ignore it,as bmc say it looks like you have by passed the ameter and it is just showing a discharge when the electrics are being use.I don't realy like after market guages on classics ,if BMC thought they were essential they would have fitted them from new,the only time I would consider them essential would be if I had modded an engine for extra performance. Too much to look at and too much information can sometimes be a distraction. But everyone to their own as they say.

[Reculver Vicar]

Thanks to ALL
I shall simply ignore the little dial.
I'm off out in Maurice in a while and am confident that all will be well.

Now, must fix that heater!

Ronald

[mike.perry]

Unfortunately as the Minor finished production before alternators were fitted, except police cars, the workshop manual will not show an alternator wiring diagram but the last wiring diagram should show the heater connections. The wire from the tap should be connected to a knob on a bracket under the dash.

[IslipMinor]

Mike,

Sorry to contradict you, but the 1970 BMC Workshop Manual includes full details on the 11AC alternator that was fitted, including the associated wiring diagram, and it was still +ve earth. The 11AC was one of the few alternators that was available in +ve and -ve earth. I still have a +ve earth version in the garage that was retro-fitted first of all to a Sunbeam Rapier in the late 60's and then to our MInor in around 1970. Taken off in 1992, when it came off the road for its restoration.

I can scan any part of the 1970 manual if details are required. Please either send a PM or email.

[bmcecosse]

While of course factually correct ^^^^^^ - the 11 AC is a bit of a special case with it's associated 4TR and 6RA units external to the generator. So that diagram doesn't help much with a modern self-contained alternator installation. However - it's not difficult!

[IslipMinor]

Ignoring the voltage control and ignition warning light part of the circuitry, which is what is different for the externally regulated 10/11AC units, the main output wiring is a single wire, the same as in current units. The diagram actually shows the main output wiring very clearly, and even more significantly, in amongst the alternator wiring in the BMC Manual is the wiring for an ammeter, with a note that says 'When fitted', which very neatly takes us back to the original topic of this thread!

[Reculver Vicar]

And Thank you ALL for your really helpful replies.
The alternator is on.
Maurice works well.
Headlights are bright.
Battery stays charged.
The little meter flickers away telling me what is going out and I KNOW that lots is going in.
We are both happy.

I will be even happier once the heater fan has been mended/replaced....and it's almost in hand.
Had the dent knocked out.
painted the rear wing.
Looking good.

so going on past form must nearly be time to part with the car now all is mended!
NOT.
Ronald