Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

I know these are available as Lucas "Dynolite" in the UK but the price is outrageous I feel. I was happy to see the reasonable price on this item for sale on ebay . Apparently the internals are Bosch in a Chinese made casing:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Stealth-Dy ... 4d5028817c

I have no connection whatsoever to this listing!

Wow, that's a great price. I recently bought one from a US vendor and am very happy with it. I am a little
concerned about longevity because it has virtually no cooling holes/slots like a true alternator, but I guess
that's the point: to look like a generator.

Or refurb your old one or get it done for ?50 and save yourself the money of changing to something else. I did and my dynamo is more than up to the job. I have an alternator on my +2 and Europa and to be honest I can't notice any difference in performance compared to the smaller Elan. But then the electrics all work as they should do. Jim

Jim: Can you really get a dynamo "refurbished" for 50 quid? In these days of 100 quid an hour charges? I would not think so. And why would you? Lotus changed to alternators by 1969 (?) because they are too inefficient and too heavy.
Lotus also changed from cross ply tires and so did the rest of us.

Davidb wrote:Jim: Can you really get a dynamo "refurbished" for 50 quid? In these days of 100 quid an hour charges? I would not think so. And why would you? Lotus changed to alternators by 1969 (?) because they are too inefficient and too heavy.
Lotus also changed from cross ply tires and so did the rest of us.

For what it's worth, my January 1970 +2S has a dynamo. According to the timeline here:

http://lotuselan-plus2.be/trevorsparrow/elanplus2/production_timeline_part_2.htm

Lotus changed to a battery condition gauge on non-Federal cars with 70.02....218, which would have been when they moved to alternators (my car has an ammeter gauge). So domestic cars at least were still using dynamos into 1970...

By comparison, my 1968 mark II MGB GT has an alternator, and my 1972 VW camper has a dynamo. So much for German engineering

JimE wrote:Or refurb your old one or get it done for ?50 and save yourself the money of changing to something else. I did and my dynamo is more than up to the job. I have an alternator on my +2 and Europa and to be honest I can't notice any difference in performance compared to the smaller Elan. But then the electrics all work as they should do. Jim

I tell a lie. I paid ?60 to a firm in Bexleyheath, South London who specialises in reconditioning alternators and dynamos. Here's the end result. They even stripped and painted the outside. Jim

Davidb wrote:Jim: Can you really get a dynamo "refurbished" for 50 quid? In these days of 100 quid an hour charges? I would not think so. And why would you? Lotus changed to alternators by 1969 (?) because they are too inefficient and too heavy.
Lotus also changed from cross ply tires and so did the rest of us.

David. I have a rare original 'as it left the factory' Elan with 20,000 miles on the clock. Granted I could make modifications which I could undo but I prefer to keep my car as a reference point for anyone wanting to restore their Sprint to original specification. Plus the generator works perfectly well albeit heavier. I mean 0.60 in 6.7 secs with two on board in 1971 was pretty quick, even by today's standards. How fast do you want to go. Jim

I am interested in peoples experience with Dynamator and pleased to see its available in the UK, from:

http://www.accuspark.co.uk/dynamator.htm

No mention of Bosch innards.

However disappointed to note this comment on Pistonheads -

"No it doesn't work well, it's just burnt out my Pertronix electonic ignition, apparently the power they put out has horrible spikes, due to being a Chinese copy and cheap.

Martin, the Distributor Doctor diagnoses an auto electrician and a couple of extra diodes, but knows this well.?

Would be interested to know whether this is correct and has been fixed by the manufacturer.

May be that?s why a Dynator is double the price?

Peter

FYI still running a dynamo on +ve earth . And yeah , i go out in the winter ... lights on full and heater blower on.. still starts ok and that's all i worry abt