deerio Posted April 12, 2017 Report Share Posted April 12, 2017 Hey all, I was going to try out a cheap electronic ignition module and part of the process involves checking the charging voltage at the positive side coil at increasing rpms. Keep in mind my 320 is negative ground, so the positive side of the coil for me is connected to the ignition and the negative side of the coil is connected to the distributor. Now the problem is that the electronic ignition module calls for a max of 14v at the positive side of the coil at any rpm. Well, the voltage at the positive side of the coil for me during idle is about 13v and goes up to 18v around 3500rpm, I didn't check further than that. Is my voltage regulator, not regulating? Or is it improperly adjusted? Quote Link to comment
wayno Posted April 12, 2017 Report Share Posted April 12, 2017 Just buy a MG Midget electronic ignition distributor and put your 320 distributor mount bracket on it, you can get one for under a $100.00 on ebay and it bolts right in, you can even buy a side entry type so it looks stock. Your charging voltage is a little high. Quote Link to comment
deerio Posted April 12, 2017 Author Report Share Posted April 12, 2017 That was an option Wayno but I figured since I had a Lucas 25d available, I figured I'd give the module a try for $25. I was ready to throw it in but at this point I'd hate to burn up the module from such high voltage. What's every one else getting at the coil during idle and higher rpms??? Quote Link to comment
wayno Posted April 12, 2017 Report Share Posted April 12, 2017 You have an alternator now, is it internally regulated, or externally regulated? What alternator is it? Quote Link to comment
deerio Posted April 12, 2017 Author Report Share Posted April 12, 2017 I actually have an original generator Quote Link to comment
wayno Posted April 12, 2017 Report Share Posted April 12, 2017 I actually have an original generator Did you have the generator rewired internally to work as negative ground, is that even possible? Quote Link to comment
deerio Posted April 12, 2017 Author Report Share Posted April 12, 2017 I took the generator apart a couple years ago to replace the brushes and bearings. In the process I repolarized the system to be negative ground. I haven't had any issues since. If it weren't for trying to install this new ignition module, I never would have bothered to check the output to the coil being so high. Quote Link to comment
wayno Posted April 12, 2017 Report Share Posted April 12, 2017 Well this is new to me, I am surprised your battery hasn't been smoked. What is the longest amount of time you have drove the truck like this? Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted April 12, 2017 Report Share Posted April 12, 2017 Probably the regulator. You need about two volts more than the 12 at the battery to properly recharge it when running. More and it just over taxes the battery. Quote Link to comment
deerio Posted April 12, 2017 Author Report Share Posted April 12, 2017 I doubt I've actually driven it more than 15-30mins at a time. Any suggestions on a replacement external regulator to try out? Quote Link to comment
wayno Posted April 13, 2017 Report Share Posted April 13, 2017 I had a wire fall out of a plug on my Datsun Roadster and it was pegging the amp meter driving down the hiway, it only took 10 minutes for the battery to boil over(acid on everything below the battery), I figured it out in the rest area and fixed the issue, but the battery was toast. Maybe you can use a solid state 521 regulator and wire the generator/regulator like a 521 from scratch, but I have no idea if that will work. I found out that the MG Midget/Triumph distributors bolt right into the E1 engine using the 320 mount bracket, I also found that a few companies sell positive ground electronic ignition MG Midget distributors on Ebay, Pertronix's being one of them that sells a kit, Accuspark sells a complete distributor, and they have a side entry cap also that looks sorta like the stock 320 distributor cap that I believe one might be able to use on the accuspark positive ground distributor, but I don't know it for sure. I bought one of them distributors with a side entry cap for the U320 because the steering column is right there, I cannot use anything else but a side entry cap, but someone before me put a what appears to be an internally regulated British alternator in that 320, so it is already negative ground, but now it will have electronic ignition. Quote Link to comment
320 Newb Posted April 16, 2017 Report Share Posted April 16, 2017 Did you have the generator rewired internally to work as negative ground, is that even possible? I'm running a stock 320 generator negative ground so it has to be possible. When I bought the truck it didn't have a battery and I read on here 320 generators were positive ground so I hooked it up that way and burned out the coil. Oops. 1 Quote Link to comment
320 Newb Posted April 20, 2017 Report Share Posted April 20, 2017 Could something like this work to protect an electronic distributor from burning up if a generator is producing too much juice? http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-UNIVERSAL-12V-COIL-W-INTERNAL-RESISTOR-/171899856019?hash=item280607a493:g:XaMAAOSwZkJURjQu&vxp=mtr Quote Link to comment
deerio Posted April 20, 2017 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2017 Could something like this work to protect an electronic distributor from burning up if a generator is producing too much juice? http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-UNIVERSAL-12V-COIL-W-INTERNAL-RESISTOR-/171899856019?hash=item280607a493:g:XaMAAOSwZkJURjQu&vxp=mtr Im actually using an external resistor with my coil, and in addition, I have another coil that's internally regulated. Both have about 3-3.3 ohms of resistance. The problem is that the coil is getting 12-18+ volts to it... I'm almost wondering if in the process of polarizing my generator to negative ground, that I somehow messed up my voltage regulator? In any case, would using a new regulator (perhaps from an MG) fix my problem? Quote Link to comment
320 Newb Posted April 20, 2017 Report Share Posted April 20, 2017 Deerio you've got me paranoid about running too much juice. I'm running a original 320 generator converted negative ground too and I felt my coil after driving for about 10 minutes and it was pretty dang hot. I want to eventually convert my 320 points dizzy to an MG electronic but don't want to burn it out. Quote Link to comment
deerio Posted April 21, 2017 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2017 Deerio you've got me paranoid about running too much juice. I'm running a original 320 generator converted negative ground too and I felt my coil after driving for about 10 minutes and it was pretty dang hot. I want to eventually convert my 320 points dizzy to an MG electronic but don't want to burn it out. How much voltage are you getting at the ignition side of the coil during idle and at increasing rpms? I have an electronic ignition dizzy from an MG available but wanted to make sure everything was good before I put it in. At this point i'm holding off until I make sure I wont burn anything up. I might try to get a hold of another voltage regulator to see if it will fix things. Quote Link to comment
320 Newb Posted April 21, 2017 Report Share Posted April 21, 2017 I'm not sure, I don't have a voltage meter. If you install a voltage regulator you'll have to post up some pictures. I'd love to see how it's done. Quote Link to comment
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