Hot regulator

[Mark McCombs]

Need to Address the issue with my 49TCEXU that I had last Fall when I put the car up for Winter:

My voltage regulator has a more modern 2 coil Unit soldered in place, my ignition light goes out when the engine is running, I get positive output at the ammeter for a few moments and then it drops to the middle (neutral charge).

I have the regulator adjusted so that I can hear the points Buzzing as they rapidly open and close (which I think us correct).

But while I have the cover off, I have noticed that The coil points brackets are getting hot to the touch......this doesn't sound right, can anyone comment? Thanks

[Duncan M]

What makes you think it is a non standard regulator? Pics?

Initial adjustments on those can be tricky to find the correct settings.

Only heat I have heard about is when the cutout points get stuck together and cause the
dynamo to get heat damaged while the car is sitting.

If the points were conducting electricity poorly, or not adjusted right, that might cause heat.

[Ray White]

Duncan, you are so right. Many a garage fire has been caused by exactly that. I have chosen to fit a Dynamoter (alternator) with built in voltage regulation and part of my decision was because of this hidden danger, One could, of course, fit a battery isolator switch as a cheap alternative.

As far as this post is concerned, I would always suspect a poor earth. The replacement coils, however, are a puzzle. Why were they replaced? Heat in any component is normally a sign of resistance somewhere.

[Rob Reilly]

Does your regulator look something like this?

A common fault is dirty contact points. You can clean them with a points file.
Another common fault is corroded rivet connections on the back side.

People sometimes clean and solder these rather than drill them out.