Every few days, I take the Chief out for about 15 miles - Up and down the freeway -- to see what breaks. When I finally get it ready to camp most of
the running bugs should be swatted.
Last night, the coughed and died a couple of blocks from home. The battery voltage dropped below the Pertronix module's ignition level.
To get it home, I fired up the Honda and jumped the systems.
Here's what I found:
Engine running at the stock isolator:
Nothing worth counting (~0 VDC)at the alternator terminal on the isolator (Random, spurious voltages due to the high-impedance DMM)
12.6 VDC at the house side
10.8 at the chassis side
The GENERATOR light:
Illuminates in the ACCESSORY position
Does not illuminate in the RUN position (engine running or not)
I might not have tine to look at it today, but as I eat my lunch, looking at the schematic, here are my guesses:
1) The exciter wire lost connection with the alternator.
OR
2) The field or (field connection)in the alternator is open.
Here is my reasoning:
The generator is not charging because the field is not excited.
The GENERATOR indicator illuminates in ACCESSORY, because the ACCESSORY feed to the bulb is ground seeking through the bulb (and resistor) to
un-powered loads connected to IGNITION 1.
The GENERATOR indicator does not illuminate in RUN, because, without the field load, the ACCESSORY and IGNITION 1 feeds are at the same potential. So,
no current flows through the bulb (and resistor).
I ask those of you with more experience, other ideas?
I'll post what I find, but it may be a few days.
--
Dan Wallace
Detroit Metro
1974 Canyon Lands 260
Headers, 3.55, 16"
Floor plan 26-9
the running bugs should be swatted.
Last night, the coughed and died a couple of blocks from home. The battery voltage dropped below the Pertronix module's ignition level.
To get it home, I fired up the Honda and jumped the systems.
Here's what I found:
Engine running at the stock isolator:
Nothing worth counting (~0 VDC)at the alternator terminal on the isolator (Random, spurious voltages due to the high-impedance DMM)
12.6 VDC at the house side
10.8 at the chassis side
The GENERATOR light:
Illuminates in the ACCESSORY position
Does not illuminate in the RUN position (engine running or not)
I might not have tine to look at it today, but as I eat my lunch, looking at the schematic, here are my guesses:
1) The exciter wire lost connection with the alternator.
OR
2) The field or (field connection)in the alternator is open.
Here is my reasoning:
The generator is not charging because the field is not excited.
The GENERATOR indicator illuminates in ACCESSORY, because the ACCESSORY feed to the bulb is ground seeking through the bulb (and resistor) to
un-powered loads connected to IGNITION 1.
The GENERATOR indicator does not illuminate in RUN, because, without the field load, the ACCESSORY and IGNITION 1 feeds are at the same potential. So,
no current flows through the bulb (and resistor).
I ask those of you with more experience, other ideas?
I'll post what I find, but it may be a few days.
--
Dan Wallace
Detroit Metro
1974 Canyon Lands 260
Headers, 3.55, 16"
Floor plan 26-9
