Section : Electrical Equipment

Alternators, dynamos, lights, wipers, etc.

need LOTS of help on this one guys

Posted By : Piero Franchi, 10-Aug-2006, 08:18pm

Hi, I have a spit mk2.
I am going through a total rebuild, and there are many things with the electrics I want to change/add.
so I will do each one as one topic.
1) as the engine is a more modern NON triumph engine, it has an alternator, so I want to know how to wire it up AND remove both the old triumph control/charge box as well as the wires that will not be needed.
2) I would like to change the old style fuse box, and at the same time, add a LOT more fuses, so incase one item goes, it does not wipe out most of the car.
3) I want to add etra gauges, looking at a 1500 type wireing, it looks like the feed for the gauges comes from the voltage regulator, then through the gauge to its censor, is this wright for all gauges???
4) my rad will have a thermosta and electric fans, want to know how to wire these up.
5) whats a balist resistor, ???? do I need one???
6)help
7)HELP
8) even more help

Followups :

need LOTS of help on this one guys

Posted By : Ian Mulford, 10-Aug-2006, 08:35pm

Ok, I can help with number 5. You have a ballast resistor if you have a 6 volt coil. It lowers the voltage from 12v to 6v for the coil. My MkIV had one until I fitted a 12v coil then I just bypassed it. 1500 spits had a ballast resistor wire which basically did the same thing.
- need LOTS of help on this one guys
  
  Posted By : Piero Franchi, 10-Aug-2006, 08:40pm
  
  One down, thanks
  only have remembered an other one.
  want to add a two speed wiper motor and two speed wiper motor switch.
  - need LOTS of help on this one guys
    
    Posted By : George Ralph, 11-Aug-2006, 03:05pm
    
    There are two possibilities. The early cars used Wound Field Magnet wiper (square body) motors, most of which were single speed. Two speeds as on the GT6 are as rare as rocking horse droppings and was achieved by adding a resistor that halved the current through the field windings that resulted in doubling of the speed (wonderful thing Ohms law). However, this was inefficient 'cos half the current meant half the torque. Which is why on my car the wipers will not move on a dry screen on high speed. Your best bet by far is the later permanent magnet motor (round body) which is far more efficient and much easier to find. In fact you can buy them cheap and new everywhere (they are also used a lot on kit cars) as well as Triumphs. The wiring is different but is in the Haynes wiring diagrams for all later Triumphs.
need LOTS of help on this one guys

Posted By : John Davies, 10-Aug-2006, 10:27pm

Piero,
My theory of electrics is that the smoke ned to stay in the wires, so if I can do some of this, then so can you.

1/Alternator conversion.
Simple.
Remove the regulator.
Join together the following wires:
Three thick brown wires (Were on terminal B)
Thick (note THICK) Brown/Yellow wire (Terminal D)
and
join together these wires
Brown/Green (Term.F)
Thin Brown/Yellow(Term.WL)

The B wire (Term.E) is not needed.

That's it!

3/ Extra gauges.
AFAIK, only the Fuel and temp gauges need the 10 volts that the volage stabiliser (Little gizmo on back of Speedo) provides.

Have a look at this website, for Vehicle Wiring Products: http://www.vehicle-wiring-products.co.uk/VWPweb200... . Very useful, good value, their telephone ordering people know their stuff.

Good luck!
John
- need LOTS of help on this one guys
  
  Posted By : Piero Franchi, 11-Aug-2006, 07:24am
  
  Thanks for the help.
  but I really wanted to remove, these wires so to speak. (control box)
  I am happy to strip back the loom, so I can go to sorce, and only have the wires needed, its not like I will ever fit a dynomo ever again.
  any sugestions????
  can any one spread a little light on any of the others.
  Thanks guys
  - need LOTS of help on this one guys
    
    Posted By : Colin Wake, 11-Aug-2006, 10:50am
    
    Piero
    
    Courier no. 100 I think it is, has a dark green 1500 on teh front, has the instructions for making up a plate to wireout the control box.
    
    Cheers
    
    Colin
  - need LOTS of help on this one guys
    
    Posted By : John Davies, 11-Aug-2006, 06:40pm
    
    Piero,
    I don't understand your reply.
    You don't need the regulator as an alternator has an equivalent device built in.
    You still need these wires to connect the alternator to the battery and the rest of the car.
    
    If anyone has another way, short of a total rewire, please go ahead.
    As long as it keeps the smoke in the wires, I'm happy.
    
    John
    - need LOTS of help on this one guys
      
      Posted By : Piero Franchi, 11-Aug-2006, 09:49pm
      
      sorry, but I am Dyslexic, and find wrighting what i mean, a bit hard.
      am to busy thinking what i mean that all my thought goes into that, and the wrighting just goes out the window.
      let me try to slow down and explain.
      The wires that go to the control box are only run to it cos the control box WAS used.
      if I remove the control box, then I would like to remove, or at lest shorten the wires.
      so that they dont run to a non existance control box and then back to were they came from.
      does that sound right????
      - need LOTS of help on this one guys
        
        Posted By : John Davies, 11-Aug-2006, 10:09pm
        
        Piero,
        
        Have a look at the circuit diagram in your workshop manual.
        I'm 'lexic' and this is much worse than a page of text to me! So I can understand your difficulty.
        
        My Spitfire Haynes (p.240) doesn't show the letters that label the terminals on the regulator, but I think they go E, D, WL, F and B from the bottom up. 'B' means the top two dots, that on the regulator are one terminal with two connectors on it.
        
        You can see that B has three wires going to it, labelled 'N' for brown. One comes from the ignition switch, one to the starter solenoid and one to the lighting switch. You would have to think out a way of linking all three of those by a single wire to do away with the three brown wires.
        And similar with the other wires.
        
        Do that if you like. I can't work out how to and it's so much simpler to just join them where the regulator used to be.
        I've heard of people keen to preserve the original appearance of the car to gut the regulator box and join the wires inside, but I just joined them.
        
        John
        
        need LOTS of help on this one guys
        
        Posted By : Danial Phoenix, 11-Aug-2006, 10:20pm
        
        thats what i did, removed the tags inside and solded up the apropriate wires inside so looks origional
        
        need LOTS of help on this one guys
        
        Posted By : Piero Franchi, 12-Aug-2006, 09:02pm
        
        went to my unit today, started on the wiring loom.
        removed the control box and used to the starter solinoid as the junktion box, as it seemed the best place for it, and it looks original.
        that is to say, until I reolised, that I have a starter solinoid on my Fiat starter.
        but still if any one is doing the alternator thing, then this is the best place to use to join up the three thick brown/brown yellow wires, as for the others that need to be joined, just cut and join in line.
        one thing I will mention, and it might make others think, is that with the old loom, the dynamo wire is a 44 strand wire, it is ment for about 27.5 amps.
        my fiat altanator has a 84 strand wire, used for 42 amp use, the altanator is a 45amp unit.
        I also have a slightly bigger fiat unit of 55 amp, so I will be useing a 97 strand wire, use 50 amps, will be a litte under, but the next size up is 120 strands, and thats going to far.
        my point is, the old dynamo 44 stand 27.5 amp wire MIGHT not be enough.
        it has clearly worked, as I have not heard of any one saying theres went up in smoke.
        but it is just a thought.