starbiscuit
Well-known member
My PO had a small "thermal incident" in the engine bay of my project bus.
Lots of crispy wire insulation and blobby rubber.
Among the casualties was the original Bosch dynamo control box.
I've never been a fan of elctro-mechanical volatage regulation; bi-metallic strips, resistance windings, screw adjustment all seem a bit Victorian (I am an electronics engineer).
Short research found that VW fitted solid state transistorised regulators to their dynamo-fitted cars since about 1973 until end-of-production in Mexico (yes, still using dynamos, apparently).
I don't know if they were on buses.
Here's what I mean:
The connections are the same and in the same place as the original, as are the mounting holes, so it seems ideal. £10 on ebay
, £40-ish from the usual places.
The downside is that the metal case is DF, not ground :shock:
And although it is internally isolated from the mounting tabs, you would have to be very careful not to catch it with a spanner, etc. Meaning disconnect the battery before going near it with anything metal.
The downside of that downside is that when using the mounting points on the inside of the right-hand rear wheel arch, the lip on that regulator case comes within 1mm of the fuel-tank firewall :evil:
So close that I decided to very carefully grind off that side of the lip from the regulator box, and wrap it in self-amalgamating insultation tape.
Now I have 2-3mm clearance:
Hopefully it won't move.
Anyone else noticed that?
Is there a better solution?
Lots of crispy wire insulation and blobby rubber.
Among the casualties was the original Bosch dynamo control box.
I've never been a fan of elctro-mechanical volatage regulation; bi-metallic strips, resistance windings, screw adjustment all seem a bit Victorian (I am an electronics engineer).
Short research found that VW fitted solid state transistorised regulators to their dynamo-fitted cars since about 1973 until end-of-production in Mexico (yes, still using dynamos, apparently).
I don't know if they were on buses.
Here's what I mean:
The connections are the same and in the same place as the original, as are the mounting holes, so it seems ideal. £10 on ebay
, £40-ish from the usual places.The downside is that the metal case is DF, not ground :shock:
And although it is internally isolated from the mounting tabs, you would have to be very careful not to catch it with a spanner, etc. Meaning disconnect the battery before going near it with anything metal.
The downside of that downside is that when using the mounting points on the inside of the right-hand rear wheel arch, the lip on that regulator case comes within 1mm of the fuel-tank firewall :evil:
So close that I decided to very carefully grind off that side of the lip from the regulator box, and wrap it in self-amalgamating insultation tape.
Now I have 2-3mm clearance:
Hopefully it won't move.
Anyone else noticed that?
Is there a better solution?
