Events

Also Barleylands (Billericay) this weekend.

NHH

We will be there with the Ruston 1ZHR if you're coming, Nick.

Peter

-- Peter & Rita Forbes Email: snipped-for-privacy@easynet.co.uk

We'll be there - not sure which day yet.

NHH

Well I saw the engine, but on each of the several occasions I passed by it was non running and unattended - entry ticket job I reckon ;-)

NHH

Went today, weather was kinder to us than expected and as usual it was a very good and varied show. By the time we headed for the car park seven hours had flown by!

NHH

From what I hear it tried to catch fire :-)) Didn't come and see me Nick at the equally excellent Haddenham Rally :-((

Mart>

campingstoveman wrote (snip):

Never found any sign of the rally at the Haddenham I know!

look here

There was a pair of engines just below us that were sheeted up all weekend, don't know what happened to the owners.

We the Ruston running on the Friday afternoon as a check, and then on Saturday it ran for an hour or so, then we had a case of 'Magic Smoke' release, and we lost output from the alternator.

After a bit of fault-finding we decided to go back home and get some spares and try to repair it (200 mile round trip) but even with some more investigation we decided that it was not repairable, electrically, on site but the engine was fine.

So we ran the engine only for the last bit of Saturday and for 8 hours continuously on the Sunday without a break.

Got to pull the armature out of the SOM unit today and see what faults lie within.

Peter

-- Peter A Forbes Prepair Ltd, Rushden, UK snipped-for-privacy@prepair.co.uk

Yes, I noticed that. Didn't seem to be any vehicles parked behind either

- alien abduction perhaps?

Well done, sorry about the 'entry ticket' quip - couldn't resist!

Well, it was the main cable from the starter contactor, it had rubbed against one of the through-bolts that hold the ends of the alternator to the core section.

Initially this just killed the output, as it carries the energising voltage for the field, but when we stopped and then restarted, the batteries produced a juicy arc when they were connected, thus the smoke that we had.

Cut it back and put a new length of 16mm Tri-Rated cable in, routed well away from the bolt.

Now starts and generates as it should :-))

It's a bit of a pain as you have to pull the armature out, together with the drive end plate and that bl**dy heavy pulley. The upside is that all of the connections are in full view and makes repair a lot easier. We were lucky no field coils or armature were damaged.

Peter

-- Peter A Forbes Prepair Ltd, Rushden, UK snipped-for-privacy@prepair.co.uk