*** I posted this on my usual car forum (Saab92x.com) so there is stuff in there to explain to them the car, stuff you guys obviously know
***
A little update for you guys.
After taking the fuel tank off, I wire brushed it. Overall it is in pretty good condition with some light surface rust here and there. I got some bedliner paint that I will use to coat the tank with once I'm done cleaning the inside. I poured three gallons of white vinegar in the tank as it had a lot of nasty gunk from the old gas. It has been soaking for a few days now and it is amazing how much crap is coming at the top. I put a dozen nuts in there to shake it once a day. The nuts help dislodged any stuff on the bottom. I don't have any pictures of all that as it is nothing exciting...
Moving on to the "exciting" part, in both a good and bad way. I have run the car a few times now since I initially started it. Starts right away every time, I love it
On the dash, the electrical light was on, a red light indicating an issue in the charging system. So I decided to tackle that...
The car uses a Lucas generator, with a Lucas voltage regulator. Since it sat for so long I figured that corrosion what probably the one to blame for the electrical issue. I started by removing the generator, a big hunking piece.
It didn't look too bad, just dirty and a bit corroded.
I opened it up, which is actually really easy to do. Just have to remove two straight thru bolts. The brushes looked pretty fresh, I wonder if they were changed out, but I don't know what they look like new...
Next, I looked at the armature (the big part) and commutator (the smaller copper part) . The armature was a bit corroded and pitted at a few spots but overall nothing alarming. The commutator looked pretty worn to me... once again I don't have any reference of a new one but when you looked at the base of it, near the armature, it looked it was well worn... I cleaned up both according to the manual.
Dirty. I forgot to take a pic of it all cleaned up
But it just looks shiny and nice.
I cleaned all the parts, painted the outside case, and put everything back together, and remounted it. I made the mistake of not bench testing it while it was out, which I will explain later...
Next I focused on the regulator. Once again, I broke one of my rules of fixing one thing at the time so you know exactly what is going on. Maybe one day, one day I'll learn.
The voltage regulator is pretty neat, mechanical regulator, pretty simple design and robust. The contacts are the most important part of the system and the areas that need to be cleaned. I found some corrosion on the armature, arms, and contacts when I took it apart. I followed the manual, which was written in the 1950s in the Queen's english..., to clean and adjust the regulator. The instructions took a while to understand and seep in, hah. I cleaned everything and put everything back together. A few contacts are pitted due to normal use (they arc slightly and over time it makes a small depression). I figured that I'll put everything back and see if it works.
Mounted on the car
The regulator pre cleaning.
Taking it apart and figuring out what the hell I'm doing...
I once again reinstalled everything and started the car. The light went off, engine purred, and I did the "I can fix anything/I'm freaking awesome" dance. Life is good. What else can I fix today? World hunger, aids, poverty? sure I can tackle anything.
I decided to tackle the Christmas tree instead with my son. We were in the garage working on the tree when I noticed a stronger smell then the usual rich exhaust smell from the car (fyi, I run it with the door open, so child services don't come knocking) of warm paint and a bit electrical. At first I thought that the fresh paint on the generator might be getting hot a smelling a bit, no big deal. One or two minute go by... I ask my son "Do you smell something?"... "Papa, maybe the car is on fire?"...
:/
I go check it out and the generator is smoking! Shit shit shit. I run inside the car thinking I left something on. Key is out and the red light is on, wtf! I quickly undo the battery terminal (after frantically looking for a wrench), still smoking. SHIT! I pull all the leads off the regulator, which is quite hot itself. It stops. What the hell just happened! My high goes to a low and now I feel like I couldn't fix a thing to save my life. I walked away from the car for the night, screw you you dirty english asshole!
The next day, I take everything apart and found my error... When I pushed the brushes back to slide onto the commutator, I moved one too far, which resulted in the spring slipping next to it, which in turn was keeping the brush out and not onto the commutator. On top of that, the lead of the brush got semi pinched against the case. All of that shorted everything. I took everything apart, re soldered the lead, checked everytihing for melted puddles, but everything looked good.
This time I bench tested it and saw some voltage. Not great voltage but after adjusting the brushes I got a better reading. If only I had bench tested in before I would have found the issue.
I checked the regulator and everything looked ok. After reinstalling everything, I adjusted the regulator to get the proper voltage readings. It is a bit on the low side but I think that is due to the generator being worn (I think). But, knock on wood, everything is good and the car hasn't caught on fire since.