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Larry wrote:
Tim wrote in news:7e6b6b40-3ade-4572-917c-
:

Evenw ith the old Generator, I never really had any proble with mine.
But To note, that the "gen" light in the dash always did glow. I never
figured that one out....

A DC generator, unlike the alternators used today, only generates power
after a certain RPM threshold, caused by the counter EMF of the battery.
There are no blocking diodes, so a generator is actually a LOAD with
current backing up through it at low speed....or, worse yet, not turning at
all, which cooks whichever rotor and commutator core it happens to be
sitting on at the time.

This is why old people are always so crazy about NOT leaving the key on
when their car isn't running. The modern car, it makes no difference. The
old cars, it cooked the generators and contact ignition systems, killing
the battery in the process.

My Guzzi Marelli problem was always switches, in the handle bars. They
corroded in the rain and you rode in the dark or it wouldn't run...or it
wouldn't crank, and had no foot crank on it. Replacing the entire handle
bar assembly including electrics with one from a wrecked Honda 750 cured
this problem for the rest of their lives.

I lost a starter, once. It's core came apart. Being in rural SC, my only
choice was an auto electric shop that looked like it had been in business
since rewinding Ford coils in the 1920's. The owner, a nice old guy,
pulled it apart to look, shook his head we weren't gonna fix that one and
said, "This is just a Fiat starter running backwards. Let me pull the gear
off the end of it and put it on a rebuilt Fiat starter and you'll be fine.
You can't beat expertise in any field. He instructed his worker what to
do, an hour later they had it mounted back on my Guzzi and she cranked
right up. It was on there when I sold it years later. The points in its
little distributor were also the same as the Fiat rear engine Spider I also
owned at the time.

There are rumors that FIAT is planning to re-enter the American
market...again.

I had a FIAT Abarth 850 for about three months once. Used. Awful car.
Now they are collector's items and fetch big bucks. They're still awful
cars.

But the prettiest awful car I ever had was an MG-A. Gorgeous, white with
red leather. Looked very pretty sitting in the driveway where I lived in
Kansas City. That's where it spent most of its time, too, sitting in the
driveway. It was a mechanical and electrical P.O.S. It was sort of like
the girl I was dating at the time...very pretty, with really nice
upholstery, but it was damned hard to start her up and keep her running.

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