Morris Minor Owners Club

also ive been told its better to have a alternator fitted is that right or not is it a hard job

It depends on what use you are going to put the car to.
If you are going to use it throughout the winter with a lot of night driving then an alternater would be beneficial.
If the car is used for mostly daylight driving then a dynamo will be adequate

SO DO YOU THINK THE BRUSHES COULD BE GONE IN DYNAMO OR CAN THERE BE LOT OF THINGS GO WRONG WITH THEM

I've always had trouble with dynamos. Bought an alternator kit - fitted it - sorted!

If you want to put any sort of sound system in there then you should get an alternator.

alainmoran wrote:If you want to put any sort of sound system in there then you should get an alternator.

I disagree. Stereos use very little power.

rofl .. you havent seen my stereo!

Lets just say I'm using the spare parts from my 2.5KW rig ... will only be ickle ... about 350W of sub, 300W mid and the piezos dont take much power anyway, but still thats three amps and a crossover, which can take a fair amount of juice.

I already run off a battery intended for a 2L motor, but I'm considering adding another in the rear to avoid voltage drop when the bass cuts in .. its a long way for that amount of current to travel ;)

..... and the sound travels even farther!

Theyre only 96Db/w @ 1m so they dont produce all that much noise, hence why I dont use them in the rig ... everything I have in the real sound-system is at least 120Db/W @ 1m ... now that is LOUD.

Not that I'd want to run either at full volume while sat in an enclosed space the size of a minor ... it's more about having the headroom on the amp/cone to avoid distortion, which in turn gives a better sound-quality.

Alternator can be a good idea - but basically nothing wrong with a dynamo. To fit alternator you need the alternator itself (Lucas 16/17/18 ACR is useful) and you need the mounting bracket and a shorter fan belt. The car MUST be set up for negative earth and then you need to make wiring changes.

To check the dynamo brushes just take the dynamo off, undo the slot head bolts and pull the back plate off just enough to see the brushes.

Brushes sometimes stick - just give the dynamo a thump with soft face hammer. But I still think this is tied in with the 'NEW' battery - which may have been connected wrong way round!

A power can should solve any voltage drops your suffering. I was doing 143Db in my polo and the only electrical problems I got were from running but D&B tunes at ridiculos volumes for a long time and eventually the power cap drained, then the battery drained, then the engine ECU turned off because of the low voltage. that all well and good till you realise I was driving at the time!!! that was on a standard battery and alternator which had not given any problems on the setup till that day (when they fused the batt plates and killed the alternator!)

Unless you were wearing ear defenders - you will now be deaf - maybe not right away, but certainly when you are older you will regret that exteremely loud 'music'.

ill be the first to admit it, very daft and im sure ill regret it later. thing is that at the time I enjoyed it. fingers crossed ill be one of the lucky ones who gets away with it.
chuffin' expensive in alternators and batteries anyway

so what wiring changes need doing to fit alternator

You need to take away the D and F wires running from the regulator to the dynamo. Then - run a new wire (heavy gauge) from the large spade terminal on the terminal directly to the battery +ve connection, usually on the starter solenoid (or pull switch) - and then a thin wire from the small terminal on the alternator to the red light connection - which you may be able to disconnect at the regulator, and connect to your new thin wire. Note - the car MUST be connected -ve earth for an alternator!! PM sent to explain further.

btw morris ... this kind of question belongs in the 'electrical' forum ... I'm guessing you are new to forums, and especially this one ... but to get the very best response you should try to place your questions in the right forum!

Also try to avoid posting the same question multiple times, since most of us have issues with our memory and trying to remember the correct thread we posted in is a real problem for us ... well me at least ;)

alternators are far more likely to break than dynamos - I bet you wont find ANY cars still on their original alternator when they get to 40 years old.

btw morris ... this kind of question belongs in the 'electrical' forum ...

It's now moved to the correct section