superformances, heat, directionals stop working

[frankym]

Ok,

Took a nice ride to Pocono Raceway and I made some less than ideal routes, driving down 42nd street at 8pm on a saturday night. In the stop and go of the route, I accumulated a good deal of heat inside the cockpit and foot well. Oil and water temps were perfect but the excess heat forced the directionals to completel stop, forcing me to use the ol' hand signals to navigate. Aso the fuel guage showed that I had only 1/4 tank when I had recently filled up. I figure the cockpit electricals and switches are largely British so expecting them to work is a bit optimistic. Is there a main relay switch that can be insulated from the heat? is it under the dash, under the hood, buried in the fire wall? The other possibility is that with the fan going on a lot, maybe I just have an anemic alternator that doesn't keep up the charge on the battery? I think my alternator forces the other electrical components to draw way too much power so maybe my battery was just getting weak? I would like to see a nice monster alternator that doesn't show an amp gauge flicking with the directional, it almost functions like a generator. Any suggestions would be appreciated. I know a lot of guys would reccommend keeping the least taxing alternator you can get, but if I had a 90 amp alternator, would I be able to notice a difference?

[Mr.Fixit]

I don't think engine heat has anything to do with your turn signals or fuel gauge. Your ammeter (or voltmeter) will click back and forth with the turn signals, big deal. As long as the needle isn't pegged into the negative most of the time (it will dip into the negative at idle) you are OK. I don't understand what your car's problem is, turn signal quit working and the fuel gauge is innacurate? Since you brought up the alternator, what amperage is your's and what pulleys do you have on the motor?

[frankym]

I have a FRPP aluminum under-drive V-belt pulley with 60 Amp alternator. When driving at 60mph, the amps are positive, but as soon as traffic started moving slowly, the fan would come on and within a few minutes I'd lose the use of the directionals. After driving for about 40 minutes at 60mph, I stopped for gas, and while filling, I had the fan on and the lights (mistakenly) turned on. I noticed that the fan was spinning more slowly by the time I finished fueling so I turned everything off and tried to start the car, but she wouldn't start, just clicked rapidly. I jumped it in 4th and I was good to go. If I am running low amperage in heated traffic, does it make sense that the directionals need a steady 13.8 volts to work properly? Maybe I have an inferior battery.

[Dan Semko]

Frank,
I think that your trouble probably is originating from an alternator getting ready for recycling. The engine heat that transmits to the cockpit is minimal in SPF's and even if it was substantial, it wouldn't effect your gauges or turn signals. I'd also check the ground connections to see if you're short circuiting. What is your SPF number?
The group to really answer your questions is over on SCOF where nearly every imaginable question has been addressed by Superformance owners.

[Mr.Fixit]

Replace the large diameter alternator pulley from the pulley set, and reinstall the small diameter alternator pulley that came on the alternator, see if that helps. You could also add a temorary voltmeter, that will let you know if the current drain is sufficient to actually lower the voltage.

[frankym]

dan I have car 1118, when you say "alternator getting ready for recycling" do you mean replacing/rebuilding it or are you talking about an electrical charge cycle/phase? Mrfixit, changing the pully is certainly an option. I can't recall if I'm idling at 900 or 1100 but if it's 900 or less, a screw turn to 1000 would help voltage at idle. Trying to pinpoint when the directionals function is restored, it's about 10 minutes after you start moving at hiway speed. I have registered with SCOF after about 116 different mouse clicks and emails and I've never gained access to the forum. I am trying to schedule time with Nick at SnakePit, and hopefully he'll be able to figure it out, I have a short list of maintenance items I need him to look at so I will ask him to check out the electrical system.

[Dan Semko]

Frank,
I think that your problem is probably from a bad diode in the alternator which will not reveal itself without a metered check.
I had a similar problem with a new alternator but fortunately the Mike at Dynamics caught the problem before it killed the battery.
Your alternator is probably going to quit which is usually indicated by rapid spiking in either direction,of the amp needle. Before you change the alternator, check the battery terminals first because if they're loose, it will cause the MSD to malfunction and could easily mimic the symptoms you're experiencing. If they're firmly seated, then I'd guess the bad alternator will rear it's ugly head soon.

[ls1ac]

Frank

Get an accurate volt meter to plug into the outlet under the dash. It will quickly tell you if the battery is going down fast without the engine running, and the charging volts developed by the alternator while running at idle and at speed.

[frankym]

thanks guys, I think we're at least realizing that the british may not be the ones to blame (This Time!) so I am going to check the output but I am sure that with the twin fans on, the run down is probably very significant, I probably could benefit from a 90 amp alternator.

[CowtownCobra]

Be careful about the voltage guage. It also could be your problem. Try disconnecting it and see if the problem goes away.

[Mr.Fixit]

He has an ammeter. If you run without it, you need to connect the two big red wires together.