Chuck Sea/Tac
Well-known member
Good point. I have a chunk of hose to prevent the pedals from rubbing on the negative (hot) wire. Point is you can get shorts around the battery
Big bang, then dead engine
- Thread starter gtoger
- Start date
Good point. I have a chunk of hose to prevent the pedals from rubbing on the negative (hot) wire. Point is you can get shorts around the battery
Railcarmover
BANNED
An unregulated alternator can spike up to 60v and provide amperage you can weld with...alternators are superior to generators for consistency in current and voltage,components like bulbs and motors last longer with an alternator power...till the rare event that the alternator is un regulated and "runs away"..
Maybe a battery wire came loose?
This sounds like what happens when Model A generator loses a battery cable.
https://www.familyhandyman.com/automotive/how-to-test-an-alternator/view-all/
Near picture of Fluke meter under heading: How to Test an Alternator with a voltmeter.
If you’re tempted to test an alternator by disconnecting the negative battery cable, don’t do it. A good alternator may indeed keep the engine running, but it was never a good test. In the pre-computer days, you could pull it off without damaging anything. Today, you risk frying every electrical device in your vehicle. The second you disconnect the battery, the voltage regulator pegs the alternator to put out maximum power. With no battery in the circuit to act as a buffer, the alternator can put out up to 150 volts, depending on engine rpm. When the smoke clears, that “simple test” could end up costing you several thousand dollars for new electronics.
I also saw it happen at the Hot Rod Hill Climb at Georgetown in 2016 ?? (Must have been 2015 or 2016 because I did not go 2014, the year that Paul Garrigan died. He had asked me to drive him up there but I had a previous commitment and he died in December)
Battery cable fell off battery 100 feet from starting line while revving uphill in second gear. Blue shiny Roadster.
Model A generator
Bang Bang Pow Pow Bang Bang. Black smoke and fire out tailpipe.
Points looked like they were hooked to a welder ... melted steel inside distributor ... totally destroyed points !!
This sounds like what happens when Model A generator loses a battery cable.
https://www.familyhandyman.com/automotive/how-to-test-an-alternator/view-all/
Near picture of Fluke meter under heading: How to Test an Alternator with a voltmeter.
If you’re tempted to test an alternator by disconnecting the negative battery cable, don’t do it. A good alternator may indeed keep the engine running, but it was never a good test. In the pre-computer days, you could pull it off without damaging anything. Today, you risk frying every electrical device in your vehicle. The second you disconnect the battery, the voltage regulator pegs the alternator to put out maximum power. With no battery in the circuit to act as a buffer, the alternator can put out up to 150 volts, depending on engine rpm. When the smoke clears, that “simple test” could end up costing you several thousand dollars for new electronics.
I also saw it happen at the Hot Rod Hill Climb at Georgetown in 2016 ?? (Must have been 2015 or 2016 because I did not go 2014, the year that Paul Garrigan died. He had asked me to drive him up there but I had a previous commitment and he died in December)
Battery cable fell off battery 100 feet from starting line while revving uphill in second gear. Blue shiny Roadster.
Model A generator
Bang Bang Pow Pow Bang Bang. Black smoke and fire out tailpipe.
Points looked like they were hooked to a welder ... melted steel inside distributor ... totally destroyed points !!
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I thought I would post back with the results of a few days looking at it with a friend who is also extremely well-versed in Model A.
THE CAR IS RUNNING
We found that internal to the distributor, there was a dead short. It didn't happen all the time, just intermittently. And hence the fuse would then blow and if I was unlucky, some other stuff as well. Flasher relay. Brushes on the horn. Ugh.
Rebuilt the distributor, also got the carb nice and cleaned and adjusted, put a decent timing on and the thing runs like a top.
Have yet to get it on the road because I've only got about 1.5 gallons of gas in it and Texas has gone absolutely nuts with gasoline shortages as a result of Hurricane Harvey fallout. People are nuts, and I'm not going to be one of them sitting in a line for an hour to maybe or maybe not get some gasoline. So the road-test will have to wait.
Wanted to post that the alternator is not the problem. It's putting out plenty of charge, and volts are not excessive.
The ammeter needle now "dances" correctly when starting, and of course indicates charge or discharge. Before the rebuild on the distributor (right before "bang #2") the ammeter barely moved at all.
Now I'm ready for the great gas crisis of 2017 to be over so we can cruise a little!
Thank you for all the suggestions and advice!
THE CAR IS RUNNING
We found that internal to the distributor, there was a dead short. It didn't happen all the time, just intermittently. And hence the fuse would then blow and if I was unlucky, some other stuff as well. Flasher relay. Brushes on the horn. Ugh.
Rebuilt the distributor, also got the carb nice and cleaned and adjusted, put a decent timing on and the thing runs like a top.
Have yet to get it on the road because I've only got about 1.5 gallons of gas in it and Texas has gone absolutely nuts with gasoline shortages as a result of Hurricane Harvey fallout. People are nuts, and I'm not going to be one of them sitting in a line for an hour to maybe or maybe not get some gasoline. So the road-test will have to wait.
Wanted to post that the alternator is not the problem. It's putting out plenty of charge, and volts are not excessive.
The ammeter needle now "dances" correctly when starting, and of course indicates charge or discharge. Before the rebuild on the distributor (right before "bang #2") the ammeter barely moved at all.
Now I'm ready for the great gas crisis of 2017 to be over so we can cruise a little!
Thank you for all the suggestions and advice!
1931 flamingo
Well-known member
Regular here just went to 2.859/gal ! ! ! 
Paul in CT
Paul in CT
