<VV> alternator failure oddball question

[EVERETT WILSON]

Ray,

If the voltage to the pertronix drops below a certain level, it stops working. 
Sporadicly at first, then more and more often.  My 67 had this habit of stalling 
at random times, particularly if the ac was on.  Ultimately figured out that the 
battery had a bad cell.  The car still started, but with the load of the ac 
system and a hot day, the system voltage dropped below what the pertronix needs 
to trigger the spark.

Im betting that the battery is getting low and the alt isnt keeping up.

Hope this helps.


Everett Wilson
North Richland Hills TX



________________________________
From: Ramon Rodriguez III <corvairgrymm at gmail.com>
To: virtualvairs at corvair.org
Sent: Sat, May 21, 2011 10:42:47 PM
Subject: <VV> alternator failure oddball question

So this evening we drove about a half hour to a car cruise in the 66' Corsa
140...  the car I had planned to take to the Corvair Ranch open house
tomorrow (3 hours or a bit more each way).

Note that the first 2/3's of this email are only to give you pertinent
information, the question is near the end!

After leaving the car cruise I noticed the car wanted to stall at stop signs
and red lights.  I pulled into a parking lot and what I found was a noise
kinda like a bunch of bolts rattling around in the bottom of a tin can...
this noise appears to be coming from my alternator (a rebuilt unit less than
2 years old and less than 10K miles- NOT from a Corvair vendor).  The
alternator is the OEM type, not internally regulated.  I tapped on it with a
plastic screwdriver handle and the noise MAY have decreased a bit, the car
idled fine from then till I got home though I didn't spend a lot of time at
idle.

When I got home I took the belt off and started the car, the noise seemed to
be gone though I only ran it less than a minute since my fan was also
disabled.   The alternator bearing feels fine and it makes no noticeable
noise when spun by hand... this seems odd, but then I've never heard a noise
anything like this from an alternator before.  I also checked the idler and
fan bearings, they seem fine.. I'm 99% sure the source of the noise was the
alternator.   I noticed the car cranked slow as well (and I think my
headlights and dash lights may have been dimmer than usual but not sure), so
it might not have been charging either (regulator is also new 2 years ago).
It's late and I have to get up early in the morning to get to the ranch
(sadly now without a Vair) for the open house, so I won't be doing any more
troubleshooting tonight.
*
Now here is the really odd part, the real reason I'm writing to you guys:
About 5 minutes before getting home I was climbing a decent size hill at
about 40mph and lost power for a moment... felt like the ignition just
completely went dead for maybe a half second or a little more... instant
off, then instant on.. no stumbling or coughing about it.

Could this be related to the alternator trouble?*  I'm not aware of any way
the alternator could have caused this, so now I'm afraid I might be looking
at a failing pertronix or something as well... though my dad taught me that
when multiple problems appear at the same time there is usually a
connection.

I did give the engine a thorough washing this morning, cleaning it up in
preparation for the Vair Ranch event.

-- 
Ray "Grymm" Rodriguez
Lake Ariel, PA
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