23-09-2017, 09:47 AM
Precise management of the battery can be a challenge. Yet Ford 8s did not even have the Summer option. I know for decades the battery life on my RP was about 2 years.....
Later on long trips I used to remove the dynamo fuse and switch to Summer, so no charge. (Will not work if car has acquired a complete 4 pole DEL dynamo). I fitted a voltmeter but found I could not take eyes off the road long enough to read!
A digital meter even inside the cabin may not cope with the unsuppressed spark and other noise. An analogue meter fitted with a zener to expand the scale, calibrated from a digital, can be useful. If a dynamo off switch is fitted it should be wired to switch the fileld wire not the output.
Later on long trips I used to remove the dynamo fuse and switch to Summer, so no charge. (Will not work if car has acquired a complete 4 pole DEL dynamo). I fitted a voltmeter but found I could not take eyes off the road long enough to read!
A digital meter even inside the cabin may not cope with the unsuppressed spark and other noise. An analogue meter fitted with a zener to expand the scale, calibrated from a digital, can be useful. If a dynamo off switch is fitted it should be wired to switch the fileld wire not the output.