Mg Midget Alternator

I am going to type this while attempting to watch a pretty amazing sleaze fest film entitled The Erotic Diary of a Lumberjack. It's part of a recently released 70's French Erotica collection. It's tame by todays standards but I highly recommend it. Just watch it and don't judge my taste. Besides, while talking about 70's cars shouldn't I have the appropriate type film on? I'm not a genius, but sometimes I have some damn good ideas.  

Now Down to the business at hand:

The previous owner (PO) had installed a GM delco Alternator in the little mg due to the fact that Delco's can be had in any town for about 40 bucks as opposed to the MG generator which is a special order piece costing about 100 dollars and taking some days to arrive... Not something I want to deal with if I take this lady on a road trip and it goes out. 

What's the deal with the red wire?

Now I did some research at http://www.mgexperience.net/phorum/ to find what I should and shouldn't do.

I knew that my car was dying after a few days. The battery was brand new (bought it the day after I got my car since i had it die the night before and didnt think to pull out the voltage meter). The starter would slowly turn and i could see my lights dim. So After figuring out what Alternator I should put back in here (I told them "a '79 chevy camaro 305)., I read some more to figure out why certain wires where loose coming off of my distributor.

What i found was this: http://www.mgexperience.net/article/delco.html a fantastic how to for wiring these alts to your mg.

I removed my old ALT and noticed the J bracket was busted.

Old busted ass bracket

so I purchased a generic Alt bracket from the auto shop for about 15 bucks. It was way way way too long. After a saw and a new bolt hole it was ready for installation.

new chrome (ugly) j bracket cut/drilled

I mounted it loosely and installed the ALT. Got the belt nice and tight then moved on to the wiring of this beast.

old vs. new. and my shoe.

Now there are four wires coming off of this new ALT. I followed a forum members instructions for wiring. (Thanks Ramon) they are as follows:

GM 10-SI QUICK & SIMPLE Wiring Instructions:

The following is a set of generic procedures for setting up a GM 10si alternator. The 10si is an earlier version of the 12si. Note that it MUST be in a NEGATIVE (-) ground environment! A GM 10si will NOT work in a POSITIVE (+) ground configuration.

The standard GM 10-SI alternator has three terminals, however only two wires on it will get connected directly to the car. On a 10si (or 12si) alternator the top two spade connectors need to be setup like this [- -] and NOT like this [ | | ]. The second design is the older yet late 1960s alternator design that needs an externally mounted voltage regulator. The following instructions are for using NEW wires and NOT existing wires. (YOU can modify this by testing you existing wires to determine how they are setup.)

INSTRUCTIONS

STEP ONE:
Using the 16 gauge wire on the alernator plug adapter, connect the number “2” terminal directly to the “BAT” post terminal on the back of the alternator. This wire will only need to be about 4 inches long. (Looking at alternator from rear the #2 spade is on the right side).

STEP TWO:
Connect a 12 gauge wire from the alternator's “BAT” screw post terminal to the large post on the solenoid.


STEP THREE:
The number “1” terminal should be connected to the ignition switch circuit with 16 gauge wire so the alternator only receives power to excite it when the key is “on”. A good spot for this connection would be the extra (unused) #5 (white wire) spade on the fusebox. (Looking at alternator from rear the #1 spade is on the left side)

NOTE: The #1 circuit is where you need to place a one amp / 50 volt inline diode. This needs to be installed here to prevent backward current flow through the alternator when the ignition switch is “off”. THE BATTERY WILL DISCHARGE WITHOUT THIS. Check your electronics shop such as RadioShack for a source the diode.

((Some thought here is that it "might" be possible to wire this through one of the existing wires that go to the red charge light on the dash. I just do not know concerning that possibility))

NOTES:
This installation will be greatly simplified by purchasing a suitable alternator socket pigtail repair part from your local autoparts house.

If you do this, just put 1/4 inch eye terminal on the #2 wire and put it over the alternator battery post.
Next, attach your 10 or 12 gauge wire to the same "BAT" terminal and run it to the large post on the solenoid.
Finally, attach the diode IN THE CORRECT DIRECTION to the #1 wire from the alternator and run This wire to the #5 white spade post on your fuse box.

Remember that the whole key issue for this to work correctly is the diode! The diode allows the 12V current to flow in one direction only. When connecting it, it needs to be installed so the current flows in the direction of the alternator, but not in the other way.

When using a crimp terminal I always use a piece of shrink tubing on it afterwards to seal it from the elements.
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Pretty simple when all is said and done... assuming you figure out the diode path... on the package it shows you which way to wire it in line.

new alt. new bracket. 

The car has been driven almost every day for about two weeks and no voltage issues yet. (knock on wood). lights work great at night and I can run a radio, lights and interior lights without any problems. I guess this fixed it.

The Mighty Mg Midget

So here is some fun with my new car. 1970 mg midget. 1275. 4-speed. Bright yellow.

I had to pass that damned State inspection and with a faulty rear drivers' side turn signal and and an e-brake that did nothing I figured it was time to get to getting dirty.

The bulb is easy, or should be easy assuming someone didnt strip the screw head... like they did. Once I ripped those out I found the After market Led light had actually fallen apart in there. Thank god, no Lucas wiring crash course for me. Swap the bulb to the standart 1157 (maybe 1156 I forget now) and perfect. She's back signaling again. In fact it looks brighter then the led bulb on the other side. Some things were just not meant to be on old cars. LEDs are one of them In my opinion.

Next. This brake situation. I have included some pics to clarify or confuse things.

I popped under the car with the car in first gear and the E brake down. What I found was the passenger side portion of the E brake was completely loose... off... just hanging there doing nothing... but hanging.

Upon closer inspection I found the the buckle (or whatever the two bolts screw into) had been stripped on one side making it impossible to screw the rod into it securely.

It looks fine here... but if you pull tightly it will pop right out... this makes some problems for applying the E-Brake. The post just flies right out when you pull the brake up. This photo was taken just to show how it should of been.

old broken buckle, looks like it works put pull hard enough and it pops loose.

I purchased a steel buckle from home depot since no auto parts store had one. it was slightly different but it worked perfectly. (not sure the size, I will post that when I grab the spare from my trunk).

I loosened the two bolts on the handbrake compensator unit located smack in the middle of the car right at the rear tires. Then tightened the bolts into the buckle until there was very little room left to screw. After that was tightened and secure with the bolt and cotter pin, I adjusted the handbrake compensator to the appropriate level. My hand brake now is fully engaged when it's 2/3's of the way up.

new buckle holding strong. 

I pulled it up, put it down, put the car in Neutral and rolled back... stopped it with the handbrake and then let off the handbrake to make sure it wasn't getting caught. all is good.

Thats about it. did this... and the little lady stops, signals and passed the state inspection.

Now I'm legal, which means I don't have to just put my hand out of the window and rest it over the inspection sticker... which I'm sure the police department loves.

Decisions.

well after much battling and debating I decided to sell my 1968 mustang coupe. I knew that I could get way more for it then it was worth. It needs a ton of work and I am never going to get around to it. 

I will miss the glasspacks warming up in the morning and setting off alarms (im that asshole) and the interior which I was always kind of fond of. 

Inside of the beast with no name. 

 

The less then beastly stock 289. 

I liked the woodgrain steering wheel the most. 

I'm thinking small and british. MG.