Zel's Fleet Blog - BX, Jag XJ-S, Sinclair C5, Mercedes 208D & 230TE, AC Model 70.

[CitroJim]

I reckon it's not the LHM that kills an alternator Zel but rather all the crud it attracts and collects into a sticky mess.

I've cleaned a few well-soaked ones and they have survived the experience rather well..

[Zelandeth]

I reckon it's not the LHM that kills an alternator Zel but rather all the crud it attracts and collects into a sticky mess.

I've cleaned a few well-soaked ones and they have survived the experience rather well..

Good to know. My guess is that it winds up forming a varnish like layer on either the surface of the commutator and/or the brush tips and winds up insulating it.

If they're revived by a darn good clean, that seems to suggest that this theory isn't far off the mark.

[CitroJim]

My guess is that it winds up forming a varnish like layer on either the surface of the commutator and/or the brush tips and winds up insulating it.

Yes, I think that's a fair assumption... Really there's very little else that can happen unless all the crud gathered causes a bit of local overheating and damages the windings but they're so heavy it would be remote...

The electronic bits should be fairly proof against contamination...

[Zelandeth]

They're basically more or less a three phase induction motor in reverse aren't they? Confess that it's been a long while since I last looked at a wiring diagram for one.

Tried battering it with a hammer today and it didn't do anything (save for showering me in old engine oil and antifreeze), so if time permits I'll try to get it off the car and take a look at it.

Reckon sorting the hose clips around the thermostat housing and on the bypass hose that runs under the exhaust manifold will actually be a lot easier with the alternator out anyway as I can get right at them from underneath then, rather than fighting my way around the inlet manifold and battery tray from above.

Still the only car I think I've come across where the thermostat actually lives in one of the radiator hoses rather than attached to the engine.

[CitroJim]

They're basically more or less a three phase induction motor in reverse aren't they?

Basically, yes...

If you got showered when you hit it then it must be well full of crud inside...

All best for the 107 MOT today. I saw your comments about it in Davie's blog... They're solid little cars and seem to be very long lasting too...

[Zelandeth]

Wasn't so much the alternator that showered me as the drips hanging on everything in the vicinity deciding to drop off when I disturbed things.

Easy pass for the 107, only advisory being for corrosion/wear to the inner faces of the brake discs, which seems to be a common thing for them. If time permits I'll whip the pads out and just make sure everything's clean and free to move just in case.

[CitroJim]

Excellent news on the 107 Zel...

I must look at the discs on Robyn's C1 next time it's in for a service...

[daviemck2006]

Discs and pads are a cheap and easy job on the 107. The first set lasted 50k on ours, its now approaching 80k and they are still ok. Its exhaust is still hanging on, wired up at the back but still essentially ok. They are good little cars, cheapest car to run that i have ever owned, my first one and this joint one.

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[CitroJim]

50K out of discs is not at all bad Zel... Fully agree they are good and cheap to run... Robyn particularly likes the latter attribute!

[Zelandeth]

First set on mine had to be done (according to Kwik Fit anyway...We were in the middle of a house move at the time so options were limited!) In 2012 at 30-ish K. From memory they were well crusty though, and used to scrape quite audibly in use for the first few miles. She needed those done plus four tyres for that MOT - tyres were definitely needed as they were perishing badly and were downright dangerous on anything other than a smooth dry road despite having plenty of tread left.

Are the wheel bearings pressed into the back of the disc on these or is that attached to the hub? Not going to worry too much about it to be honest at this point. Will probably be looking at some new tyres before the winter, and will probably throw some new discs/pads at it at the same time.

Still need to change the offside front wing actually, keep forgetting about that.

[CitroJim]

Are the wheel bearings pressed into the back of the disc on these or is that attached to the hub?

I don't know Zel but if you find yourself needing use of a hydraulic press you know where you can find one

[daviemck2006]

No wheel bearing in the disc. Total simplicity to change them. It will take you longer to jack the car up and remove the wheels [emoji4]

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[CitroJim]

Davie, that's good to know on the discs

[Zelandeth]

Good to know. Assuming it's a setup like on the Nova then, just the wheel nuts and a grub screw holding the disc to the hub?

Will be getting a decent run tomorrow for a change as we're off to visit a friend over to the east of Cambridge. Had kinda hoped I would be given the go ahead to wander, but sadly not! While over there sometime I really want to get to the computer history centre, especially having been an Acorn fan for many years (it's a crying shame I don't have any of my Acorn machines set up just now...Especially the A7000 which I've barely scratched the surface of since I was given it) and their indelible connection with the city.

Speaking of...Still want a BBC Micro for the collection! It's the one machine which has this far stubbornly evaded every attempt I've made at getting hold of. Sadly as they're fetching good money now the odds of getting one are getting slimmer.

...Also I know I have a trio of Acorn Archimedes A3000 machines in a box somewhere...But I do not have the foggiest idea where. A5000, check. A7000, check. Pair of A4000s, check. No idea where the other two are...

You know, I may have two many old computers...You wouldn't believe how often the words "Hey, I'd forgotten I had that..." have been uttered in this house.

Not stopping me try to get a mate to sell me one of the pair of heavily accessorised Mk I Apple IIs either though. I'm no Apple fan boy (total Apple stuff in my collection is a Macintosh SE which was rescued from a skip and what's essentially a Performa 5000 in an all in one case which was a local £20 eBay curiousity to play with), but a proper early Apple II looks like a fun toy, and a decent platform to learn some proper vintage computing skills on.

Bet I'll swear at it less than I usually do at any time I have to fight with MS-DOS (or the Windows 10 command prompt for that matter), as most of my time at the command line level when I was learning was either on an Amiga or RiscOS machine so my brain struggles a bit...The Linux command line I get along reasonably well with, as it at least has the decency to be pretty consistent in how it behaves, and generally under versions under the hood of Mint/Ubuntu/Debian have a pretty decent help system for when I do get stuck. Feels like with DOS/Windows that every program or operation has been set up to expect slightly different syntax, and the lack of a consistent help system is somewhat infuriating at times.

...That turned into a bit more of an off topic ramble than I'd planned. Oops.

[CitroJim]

...That turned into a bit more of an off topic ramble than I'd planned. Oops.

Yes, but a very good one Zel I enjoyed it...

I had a BBC Micro - sandwiched between a Speccy and an Amstrad CPC6128 and the Amstrad was what really ignited me... I discovered CP/M through that machine and learned it inside-out which led on to MS-DOS and then Unix, Windows professionally and Linux for fun/home use...

I am still and always will be most comfortable with 'nix OSs even though Windows earns me my living... I detest Windows and the Microsoft approach to OSs after the beauty of 'nix and the 'nix approach to things... One is bizarrely convoluted and needlessly complex with reliability issues and the other is elegantly simple, neat, very trustworthy and reliable...

I have had 'nix boxes running for years between reboots... Try that with one of Bill Gates finest...

I'm no Apple fan either... My sole Apple device is an old iPod...