Mudder Posted April 30 Share Posted April 30 The alternator on my 1700 xflow is developing a strange fault. It charges for a while, then starts dropping the charge voltage very slowly to about 5 Volts and ramps it up to about 13.5Volts. I monitored this behavior for about 6 hours today an am quite sure that the unit is dying a slow death. An annoying side effect is also that the oil pressure starts getting less and less, because there is improper voltage going to the gauge. The alternator which is fitted utilizes only 3 wires (one of them is tied back) It's mounted with 2 bolts on the bottom and 1 bolt up top. I am quite sure it is some aftermarket unit, but I also have no idea what the proper Alternator part number and manufacturer for my Kent Crossflow would be. Any help is highly appreciated. I attached a picture of tag I found on the alternator. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wemtd Posted May 1 Share Posted May 1 I would take it to an alternator repair shop. They can test it out & likely repair/rebuild more easily than trying to track down a bespoke replacement Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mudder Posted May 1 Author Share Posted May 1 I hope I can find a repairs hop in the CO wilderness. Good advice! Thank you!! My alternator is also a huge chunk of metal which has very little up and down space to adjust the belt. I still would love to know what the original (Lucas??) unit on my S3 was. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7Westfield Posted May 1 Share Posted May 1 Moss sells an alternator for most of the 70's cars It looks about the same as what's on my xflow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MV8 Posted May 1 Share Posted May 1 Sounds like the regulator. https://iat-usa.com/product/09620-magneton-alternator-voltage-regulator/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mudder Posted May 2 Author Share Posted May 2 11 hours ago, 7Westfield said: Moss sells an alternator for most of the 70's cars It looks about the same as what's on my xflow Is there some kind of data tag on your alternator? Thanks for the advice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mudder Posted May 2 Author Share Posted May 2 4 hours ago, MV8 said: Sounds like the regulator. https://iat-usa.com/product/09620-magneton-alternator-voltage-regulator/ Bingo! That's the regulator! Nobody seems to be selling them, though. I shot IAT a mail and will report back. Thank you! No1 exhaust is running about 2 inches away from the regulator. I wonder whether it was fried, quite literally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MV8 Posted May 2 Share Posted May 2 I'll assume you want to stay with the original alternator/ no adapting. This regulator has many agricultural applications. https://www.ebay.com/itm/115436090730 I noticed the header proximity. A little header wrap on #1 or the back of the regulator should extend the life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mudder Posted May 2 Author Share Posted May 2 1 hour ago, MV8 said: I'll assume you want to stay with the original alternator/ no adapting. This regulator has many agricultural applications. https://www.ebay.com/itm/115436090730 I noticed the header proximity. A little header wrap on #1 or the back of the regulator should extend the life. Thanks again for chiming in !! I actually would adapt, simply to get rid of this massive chunk of metal. There is very little room to adjust. Maybe 3/4 of an inch in total. Replacing the belt requires to take the water pump pulley off and find a very close fitting belt. Otherwise the Alternator either hits the engine or the Steering column. The steering column is a topic for a separate post, I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnCh Posted May 2 Share Posted May 2 1 hour ago, Mudder said: I actually would adapt, simply to get rid of this massive chunk of metal. It might be worth calling RD Enterprises and Dave Bean. They both offer kits for the twincam that utilize smaller, modern alternators. Given the engine blocks are the same, there's a good chance it is bolt on to a crossflow, but they should know. BTW I have the RD kit on my Elan. Works great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MV8 Posted May 2 Share Posted May 2 (edited) Pricey for a standard alternator with a pulley swap, a connector, and an adjuster. https://view.publitas.com/burtonpower/2024-catalogue-pages/page/99 Typically 35a rated where your original is 60a but 35 may be adequate: https://www.ebay.com/itm/163156618086?itmmeta=01HWWWNN928T6DGMBYTXR7N3ZZ&hash=item25fce46b66%3Ag%3Ai4oAAOSwYkRcj1AL&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA4PdYzTUYeg7GAKjq7PVjTYcQ%2Bga8M%2F1l%2BerU%2BfRASStEpwhqA8AFBwBI64X1cDKXjWyZO13EPM6vBh7Fdyy0OIq8kLOYMuFjBquK1P9yfjaaR6v5SzEk2O5O77Iprze4L8nP2xYdUEwS1bkUE7razDKIaXVWY6th%2BTg4N9OK4XmFeKzcje4M17hzoMzFTvw%2F3psQbmxTnhaq5jfljjmTk4yZAEDzcw2FLVg506FLy8Xh6Ja%2BcdxJ%2FW%2FngUq%2F8jWn2BFPB4mqikMDgoLoXkx7mb%2F5FB6aKgVOtaaiMYLD0e8c|tkp%3ABk9SR-DU1pznYw&LH_ItemCondition=1000 plug: https://www.ebay.com/itm/302280093149?itmmeta=01HWWX6PC6NQA3470VA8PS9KXZ&hash=item46614c2ddd%3Ag%3AKEIAAOSwpkFY7OPu&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA0KSnVobYwKsBTD7ljSAmIxxBY4qqHFeS8OMk6lAyHXbgm6ZTQQxeTGfdtA2Dw4LVdKRC5gpcij0NbXQlALIE0JfAf1QEWa7z2j7CPl%2BV%2FdWxTRhChKUjaNCCa%2B68LWAKHflEuOiY3Z%2FjTYxbiZxhd3d%2BNmftdKEiVl6EFlSVaUETZJRc9Ap%2BD6s7DGAw%2Bw%2BqlvqgvAeyuH86FxNU6kill%2FwrP8zdflf9cdXUcihzlq0I7KGGiiicR7bZcW%2FxDmP1RvdpmguBcgBV1%2F56Mdncvm0%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR7rmmp3nYw&LH_ItemCondition=1000 Edited May 2 by MV8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7Westfield Posted May 2 Share Posted May 2 13 hours ago, Mudder said: s there some kind of data tag on your alternator? appears to be an old Lucas tag...LRA100 and 23716 are visible a bit under 5" diameter 2 wire hookup using the stock ford mounting bracket Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toldfield Posted May 2 Share Posted May 2 1 hour ago, JohnCh said: It might be worth calling RD Enterprises and Dave Bean. They both offer kits for the twincam that utilize smaller, modern alternators. Given the engine blocks are the same, there's a good chance it is bolt on to a crossflow, but they should know. BTW I have the RD kit on my Elan. Works great. I bought my alternator from Dave Bean. Unfortunately the bracket that came with it mounts the unit low and this creates a problem on a left hand drive 7. I had a friendly machinist make another bracket to put it above the steering column. Also put some wrap on the #1 header tube. It works much better than the lump that came with the car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SENC Posted May 2 Share Posted May 2 On 5/1/2024 at 9:08 AM, Mudder said: I still would love to know what the original (Lucas??) unit on my S3 was. I didn't have anything S3 specific in my files, but the S2 used the C40 generator. So did similar Elams and Cortinas, which then switched to the C40L for late 60s/early 70s runs. Given that, I'd bet on the Lucas C40L generator. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mudder Posted May 3 Author Share Posted May 3 Again, Thanks to everybody for chiming in. I will report back! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NSXguy Posted May 4 Share Posted May 4 (edited) https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ZYNNBH2/ref=sw_img_1?smid=A1E2MGYDTPEYH7&psc=1 I've been thinking about ordering this one to play around with and see what would need doing to fit on the xflow. The architecture, mounting and specs looks promising enough... at worst, may need some modding, but shouldn't be too bad. Edited May 4 by NSXguy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SENC Posted May 4 Share Posted May 4 (edited) I was looking around the lotuselan.net site for something else and came across an alternator thread. Some reported the early 70s +2s came with the Lucas 17ACR alternators (type 36A), so maybe that is what you would have had. I can say that many retrofitted with Denso 45 to 55amp alternators. Edited May 4 by SENC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IamScotticus Posted May 4 Share Posted May 4 (edited) My mid-90s Caterham Live Axle parts catalog has alternator 432836 45Ah. These early part numbers were often the generic aftermarket numbers. Edited May 4 by IamScotticus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mudder Posted May 4 Author Share Posted May 4 What a great forum! You guys are fantastic. I love it when people stay on topic and don't hijack topics. Thanks to all of you! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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