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Spitfire 1500 ignition siwtch problem?

Hi there,

recently acquired a Spitfire 1500 - only been driving it for the last week or so. Parked up in the garage last night, switched off the engine but noticed when I took out the keys that the red ignition light stayed lit. I put the key in, wiggled it around, started and stopped the engine, removed the key again but still the light remained illuminated.

This morning, dead battery (reading about 2 volts). Charged it up and reconnected it and immediately the red ignition light glowed.

So... where is the problem likely to be? Inside the ignition lock barrel? The wires/connections on the end of it all look ok - am assuming a short-circuit somewhere.

Though presumably the ignition circuit isn't fully active - if it was, the engine would presumably not stop when turning the key off?

Perhaps there is a fault behind the instrument panel (it's in the speedo) causing the light to remain lit?

Any thoughts appreciated - cheers!

Reply to
Jeremy
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Had a prob like this on Morris Oxford farina turned out to be the voltage regulator, i know this sounds hard to belive but it was i found takeing the top of the voltage box and flicking the contacts a couple of times put the light out if u have an amp metre fitted it shows a discharge i also found that flicking ignition switch back and fourth will sometimes switch it off .

I cant tell u what causes it or anything else but changeing the box on mine did the trick so if u have a spare i would give it a go.

Good luck George

Reply to
George Weatherley

You need to replace the alternator, the cut-out / regulator has become faulty.

Reply to
:::Jerry::::

In message , George Weatherley writes

Bur a 1500 Spitfire will have an alternator!

The Brown/Yellow wire from the Alternator goes through the charge light then becomes a white wire which is the normal switched ignition.

I think you need to check that the wire isn't damaged and is leaking current to 0V first. Do you have a meter capable of measuring 12V? If so I'd check the white wire at the fuse box with the ignition off to see if there's any leakage through the ignition switch. The white wire (or plain green wire) should be at 0V with the ignition switch off.

Reply to
Chris Morriss

I'd put money on the alternator being dead, or at least the regulator. The Spit 1500 has a Lucas 17ACR I think, but if you're going to buy a new one then I'd recommend the Lucas A127 - it's a direct swap for the old unit and is a much more modern and reliable version of the old ACR.

They come in various flavours, from about 40 amps to 120 ish, if you want to get one from a scrappy for the time being, they can be found on small Rovers! There's also a guy in Manchester that sells new ones on eBay, but I'm not sure if there's one there at the moment.

David

Reply to
David Balfour

Yep the alternator it was - actually fitted a Bosch 4458 which was 26.00 exchange - not a bad price. Funnily enough, you could still make out the word 'Lucas' on the alternator body casting.

Just an oil leak to attend to now

cheers jeremy

Reply to
Jeremy

Spot-on - thanks!

Reply to
Jeremy

Jeremy realised it was Sun, 15 Aug 2004

18:20:01 +0100 and decided it was time to write:

Bwahaa! Famous last words...

Reply to
Yippee

Just out of interest, was the Bosch 4485 a straight swap, and what's its current rating?

Cheers,

David

Reply to
David Balfour

Sorry I ddidn't check the current rating but yes it was a straight swap

- electrical connections and brackets identical to the lucas.

Reply to
Jeremy

Lucas and Bosch shared design with a number of products, so it's possible for the wrong name to appear on a re-con from either.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

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