Saturday, Dec. 4, 2021
The local Christmas parade Thursday was a huge event with what looked like thousands of spectators along the parade route. The parade began at 6 p.m. but I was entry 87 and was sitting on far West Broadway just up the street from the Nelson County Jail. We finally started moving at about 6:40 p.m., though it was moving at a crawl. For the next 40 minutes we idled and creeped forward a little at a time. As we got near the fire station at 5th and Broadway, all the Christmas lights on the Plymouth died. When we stopped for a moment we jumped out, popped the hood to check the inverter. A red warning light was on and an audible alarm was sounding — the voltage to the inverter dropped below it operating voltage.
The Plymouth is equipped with the original generator. Under normal conditions, at an idle, the generator doesn’t charge the battery; the “GEN” light blinks on intermittently when the car idles. And the draw of the inverter, the power to run the engine and headlights, with no real charging action from the generator, pulled the batter down too much.
I also had a problem with the engine smoking; it wasn’t steam, it was oil on the passenger side exhaust manifold. It really didn’t start up until the engine was really warm and the oil apparently thinned out under heat. I found that two of the bolts on the passenger side valve cover weren’t real tight. I tightened them, but not convinced it was the leak. I’ve got to order gaskets so I can check the valve covers and their seal to the head.
PARADE ACTION. I loved being in the parade, even with the dead inverter and the oil smoke from under the hood. The smoke left an oilly film on the passenger side front bumper. It was still a hoot to be part of it all.
Soon after we turned from Broadway onto North Third, a woman came running out into the street from the sidewalk by Edward D. Jones. I didn’t catch her name, but she is Gary Brady’s sister-in-law. She had tears in her eyes, and thanked us for putting Gary’s car in the Christmas parade. She said it meant so much to her to see the car again. It was a sweet moment.
GENERATOR VS. ALTERNATOR. After the generator issue during the parade, I researched what I need to do to convert the car to a one-wire alternator. Turns out its pretty simple. I found a company that specializes in generator-to-alternator conversion, and I ordered a 100-amp 1-wire generator, a bracket and wiring harness. At least I won’t have the generator issue again. And the good thing is that you can keep the generator and reinstall it Not sure when it will arrive, but I’m going to make the change as soon as I can.
The conversion will also take care of how my “GEN” light flickers while the car is idling. The generator doesn’t really charge you battery while the car is idling.
CRUISERS OUTING TOMORROW. With the good weather in tomorrow’s forecast, the cruisers will be having an event at the usual shopping center parking lot from 1-5 p.m. I’m planning on going,, along with my wife, unless she begs out. We’ll see.