for a long time now my indicator has been getting slower and slower.
last night on the home from brissy to mullum we encounted alot of rain and even though the dizzy cover was on we had problems and had to pull over twice. (i suspect the water was getting in where the cord goes into the coil)
the wasn't the problem the problem was the second time we pulled over it cut out straight away. (the first time i pulled over i kept the engine running) after the engine cut out i couldn't start it again even after turning everything else off. there just was not enough power. although i think the starter motor was still turning.

hmm... maybe it was just water near the coil. but doesn' explain indicator getting slower.

what should i do? invest in a new battery? i'm gonna see what i can do about the cord into the coil. but molly does feel like she needs more electricity.

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Sunday Morning Mini Sprint http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtGuzqBQ32Q my "rendezvous"

Apart from the water bit, what you describe is classic low volts behavior.

There is one of two things possibly going on. Your alternator may not be charging the battery or your battery may be boiling any charge it gets from the alternator off. It could be both as well, but one thing at a time....

To prove the battery, try charging it up using a battery charger and see how well it keeps it's charge. You can also try swapping it out for another known good battery and running around on that. Be aware however, that depending on if you have your lights on or not, you may be able to drive around the whole day with the alternator not charging before it starts to run out of charge.

I would suggest looking long and hard at your alternator as well. The connections and output.

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SooperDooperMiniCooperExpertEngineering

All garage work involves equal measures of enthusiasm, ingenuity and a fair degree of irresponsibility.

Hey

Before you put the charger on your battery, or swap batteries or anything like that - check that you have electrolyte in the battery cells. If the level is below the lead plate tops then tp it up to the right level with distilled water from a garage or auto shop.

While you at the auto shop get a $10 digital volt meter. With the motor running check the voltage across both terminals on the battery. It should be in the regionof 13 something volts. If its 15 volts you have a problem Houston.

If its a low 12 (or lower) than again Houston, you have a problem.

why would he have a problem if he was getting 15v, i know that would make his battery boil and he should invest in a regulator,

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any parts for a 76 clubby pm me or ring 0405 329 326

http://www.ausmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=44717

Because the alternator is overcharging the battery, which in turn will kill it (imho).

A decent late Clubby 15ACR alternator will give 14.3V to the battery.
Early ones were around 13.8V.

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

now my fuel and temp gauges are acting funny, they work fine for a few minutes into the journey then they both drop down to a few mils above the bottom line, mirroring each-other.

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Sunday Morning Mini Sprint http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtGuzqBQ32Q my "rendezvous"

Did you do any of the things that were suggested to you.

Did you check the electrolyte levels and top up if necessary

Did you measure the voltage in the battery with the motor running

Did you put a battery charger on and charge the battery.

Did you put another battery in the car.

Did you do anything else but just drive the car again in which case you expect the problem to just simply continue.

Mike

If your gauges are mirroring each other I'd be looking at the voltage regulator as well, though if you've got other charging issues that might cause it too.

your right mike byron.

so i got off my lazy ass and did something.

the water levels in the battery are all over the plates. the battery reads 12volt at engine off. and 13 volts engine going. there was alot of corrosion on the positive terminal that has now been chipped and scraped off.

gauges are still canceling out part way into the drive.

but does this mean the battery and alternator are fine?

this morning i checked the printed circuit behind the gauges and they were all good. and so was the plug in thingo, except corrosion on one bit of copper i scraped off to copper again. but still same problem.

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Sunday Morning Mini Sprint http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtGuzqBQ32Q my "rendezvous"

Well that should mean that the alternator is charging. Not as high as it should but its charging. Check that the fan belt is not slipping - do the obvious things first before spending money.

The gauges - well most probably the voltage regulator on the gauges needs replacing - talk to David (wombat) who makes a solid state one.

Mike

Perhaps now you need to look at the alternator output.The battery may be boiling it off (but I doubt it listening to the earlier testimony) or the alternator may as Mike has already said be showing signs of kicking the bucket.

It sounds like a diode has left the building, and the others will go out in sympathy shortly. Have it tested before throwing it out however...Do it yourself by measuring the output, or have an auto sparky spend five minutes having a look.

Also (and this is important), test the battery by charging it up to full voltage on a battery charger. If it doesn't leave 12 volts on the charger, then it is boiling off any charge that tries to get it above 12 volts. The steady charged voltage of the battery is important here, not the running voltage. Once charged, disconnect the charger and come back in an hour or two and measure the voltage again. It should relax a little by 1/2 or even 1 volt. Any more and it is on it's way out.






Just for interest:
Torque available at the starter motor goes down by the square of the difference. i,e. Ninety percent charge voltage (0.9) means 81% of the normal torque is available. At 85% (12 volts) you will only have 75% of the normal torque. This will also explain the slow indicator, dull headlights and the engine cutting out as the voltage is too low to get the coil to charge to a high enough voltage to jump the spark plug gap.


Spotting problems in a battery and alternator system is a tricky subject over the internet. A voltage gauge on it's own won't pinpoint a problem, neither will an ammeter (amp-meter). It takes a few measurements and a bit of an understanding of what is going on. It's always a tricky question when this comes up, but challenging too. The trick is not to go crazy and throw hundreds of dollars at it without finding the true culprit(s).

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SooperDooperMiniCooperExpertEngineering

All garage work involves equal measures of enthusiasm, ingenuity and a fair degree of irresponsibility.

yep, i think there is something up with my alternator.

there is a squealing sound coming from under the bonnet sometimes (more often at higher rpm)

around chrissy i didn't drive her for 2 months and the first time i started her there was the same sound and i looked under the bonnette to find the alternator jammed. so i switched it off and knocked it a bit with trhe hammer and she was fine after that.

it seems to be happengin again though, i do only drive her about 1ce or 2ce a week though. now with the engine off though, i can move it pritty freely anyway. yes the fan belt is new enough and still tight enough.

has anyone else had the same kind of problem? can it be fixed or would it be better forking out for a higher voltage one? since it only seems to be charging the battery at 13volts.

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Sunday Morning Mini Sprint http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtGuzqBQ32Q my "rendezvous"

Oh dear !!!

There was quite some discussion on this for you and now you have resurrected the thread.

The good doc has advised which battery to get - its common on a few cars. Go to a wrecking yard and get one. On Escorts, Hillmans etc.

Its an easy fix.

If your alternator is seizing then its putting a big strain on alot of other componets and you could end up snapping a fan belt or even the alternator shaft itself. You dont want things flapping under the bonnet - its does some damage.

Mike

Give this man an apron, he's certainly got a butcher's trade by now

You need a rebuild at the very least. I would try and get an exchange alternator at this point. With low volts (one problem) and seized bearings requiring hammer adjustments (another problem probably compounding the condition of the first), I wouldn't want the old one back again...

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SooperDooperMiniCooperExpertEngineering

All garage work involves equal measures of enthusiasm, ingenuity and a fair degree of irresponsibility.