Afraid to report that the dynamo in the Colander is U/S or so it seems. I tested out the feild coils and there is continuity and no shorts to earth. I have tested the armature and there are no shorts to the shaft and there is continuity between segments, the com was skimmed and recut, the brushes were renewed and it turned as a motor of the car. I have also had to remove the third brush and modify slightly the wiring to convert to two brush operation for a solid state voltage regulator conversion(12V).

Unfortunatly when installed in the car there is no charge! I have double/triple checked the connections and all are correct.

Has anyone experience of dynamo fault finding beyond the usuall basic checks?

Regards

Steve
(ps I have seen the excellent article on the Cornwall club site).

For those who don't know where to look!

http://www.austin7.org/dynamo_service.htm

Naomi

This car of your's Steve, one is really beginging to wonder, the engines been apart so many times and now we are into the elctrics, sounds like your a border case (suggest moving to central Cornwall, I shall when I retire).

Hi Steve,

I think the first step is to disconnect the dynamo from the voltage regulator and simply run the dynamo and see what voltage is coming from it. It should produce a variable voltage depending on the speed of revolutions, if it produces volts ( possibly 30+ volts at speed ) then the fault may we lie with the electronic regulator.

Have you tried connecting the dynamo, off of the car, across a battery and check that it 'motors' just like an electric motor, it should motor without being able to be stopped in any one position.

Give me a ring if you want to chat.

Malcolm

Hi Malcolm

Intially checked that the two brush converted dynamo "motored" before fitting and all was well..
However now when I check it there is no "motoring" and a certain amount of arcing at the temporary connections which to me seems to indicate a short. BUT when I stripped it down my basic checks come out all clear? I suspect that perhaps when assembled there is a wire chafing or some insulation breaking down somewere maybe?

Dont panic though as all is not lost!
In the true spirit of repair by substitution I have acquired another dynamo to bugger up (thanks to Dave at Austineers)! Hopefully all will be well as this dynamo is a good unit which I will go carefull with. Although this seems like cheating it will speed up progress as my aim is to MOT the Colander this month. I can then hopefully repair or get repaired the current one and use it as a spare.

Regards

Steve

Steve, as I understand you are a member of the Cornwall Club, why not take it over to the 'Check-up Day' at Mikes, date's in the magazine (Focus) which I saw a couple of days ago at a friends.

These In-Club 'Check-ups' and 'Teach-ins' are envied by just about every other club around the Country, so make the most of your local resources. You may live in the poorest County in England (EU statistics), but it's rich in help. That's why I'm thinking of retiring there.

Naomi

Hi Naomi

The reason for trying to get it running and on the road is partly due to Mikes "check up" day. I'm quite keen to get there under its own steam so to speak! Mike is a very helpfull chap and has helped me out on more than one occasion, including coming around to my garage for an inspection a while back.

You may also have read that myself and Richard Butterworth are planning a run around the South East Cornwall lanes soon, although to be honest I cant claim the credit for the idea, its been an idea of Mikes for a while. Of course I will need a car for this epic so hence the desire to get on with things and finish it off!

The teach ins are fantastic and other clubs are right to envy them. I have been to several since becoming a member and they realy are valuable to anyone even if they are an old hand theres always something new to learn

Steve