The original voltage stabilizer is a mechanical device that vibrates to produce the low voltage - over time it fatigues and either fuses open or shut. Result is it doesn't work

 

I make an electronic solid state one that produces a very stable nominal 10 volts and will probably out last the vehicle. If interested PM me

Wombat

"Compound Ignorance - You don't know-and you don't know that you don't know"

ok so i recieved the parts yesterday. i threw the voltage stablizer on and took it around town, everythign was working perfect for no more than 30 minutes. after that the guages stopped working. so i took the voltage stabilizer out and noticed it made the same noise as my old one like as if something is loose inside. so i took the old one apart and found that it the stuff inside fell apart. so i'm assuming the new one fell apart also. What do you guys think is up?

no problem, fixed the email issue. Ok i'll place an order for filter, shop manual, and voltage stabilizer this week. How do you feel about the alternator conversion part #MMKT0705 on this site? What other known issues about these cars should i pay attention to?

Either of the voltage stabilizers can be made to work.  I believe the 1310 part has the mounting tang and screw hole horizontal to fit on top of the Mk1/2 speedometer.  The other part is used almost universally on tons of British cars.  I don't think it will fit the Mini's speedo mounting bracket very well, but you do NOT have to mount it there.  You can mount a stabilizer anywhere as long as you do two things:  1) make sure the mounting tab has an electrical ground (run a new ground wire to/from the mounting screw if necessary), and 2) make sure that the stabilizer is mounted upright.  The circuit board should have the word "TOP" on it somewhere and that needs to be "UP' while the terminals are pointed horizontally.  If you don't find the word "TOP" then the "I" and "B" letters need to be horizontal and NOT upside down.  Gravity matters to the electromechanical stabilizers.  BTW, fill in an email address in your profile if you would please.  I was going to email you some additional information.

EDIT:  I forgot to mention, the picture shows that you have a generator as DrMini suggested.  Generators put out fewer Amps and they don't do a great job of recharging the battery if you make a lot of short stop and go trips.  There's nothing wrong with a generator though... just keep in mind that the battery may require a bit more attention if you don't routinely take the car on longer trips.

Doug L.

So i jumped the terminals and the guages worked! Going to place an order as soon as i find out what i need. Do i need the VOLTAGE STABILIZER MK2 (BR1310/00)? or VOLTAGE STABILIZER FOR SMITHS ELEC GAUGES ? Ok here's the picture you requested.

will have pictures by tonight. so i'm going to always have to charge the battery? how does this work?

You probably don't have an alternator at all.  On a 67, it would have come from the factory with a generator.  Could you post a photo of the engine bay?  Yes, a bad ground will cause the battery to not re-charge.

"Retired:  No Job, No Money, No Wife!  Will travel anywhere for Minis"

hockey91dad@hotmail.com

ok i'll give that a try tomarrow after work before purchasing one. One other problem i encountered today is the alternator not charging the battery. At idle the alternator isn't giving enough output to the battery (voltage dropping slowly) now once i rev the car up the voltage raises up. How's the battery not being charged when the car is hardly at idle? the voltage when revving the motor up is 14+ volts, isn't that enough to charge the battery? Bad ground?

I'm not sure what you're saying that you measured as 340 Ohms that makes you think wires are bad.

The 0V reading on stabilizer terminal "I" indicates that the stabilizer is not working.  There is one last test you can perform to confirm this .  This MUST be a very BRIEF test, no more than a few minutes.  Make a jumper wire with alligator clips on it.  Use this to connect the "I" and "B" terminals.  Leave the other wires in place.  Drive the car for a bit.  The temperature and fuel gauges should appear to be working.  HOWEVER, they will both be reading high.  Without the stabilizer you will be putting full system voltage to the gauges.  The extra voltage will cause the gauges to run "hotter" inside and you really can damage them if you run continuously without the stabilizer.  If the gauges don't respond when you jumper the "I" and "B" terminals, look for problems in the wiring.

There are multiple ways to handle a broken voltage stabilizer.  Our host should sell the stabilizer and you can buy a new one from them.  Recently Don (the host/owner of MM and this board) posted a parts link to what looks like the solid-state (modern) replacement of the stabilizer.  I wasn't aware until his recent post that MM now sold that part.  If they can confirm they sell the solid state stabilizer, buy it.  If they don't have the solid state stabilizer or the original electromechanical one, you can download my PDF document on making your own stabilizer. 

http://home.mindspring.com/~purlawson/files/SmithsVoltageStabilizer.pdf

Doug L.

ok so i did the test. B came out good, 12.5volts. I on the other hand 0. i tried the test stated on the "voltage stablizer" and the resistance between the I cables came out to 340ohms. so it says the wires are bad. what do you guys suggest?

You shouldn't need to take the dash apart to make the first inspection steps for the gauges.  From inside the engine compartment look at the firewall behind the air filter housing.  There should be an opening through which you see the back of the speedometer.  (Some cars have a vinyl/felt blanket on the firewall.  If yours has this you'll need to remove it to see the hole I'm talking about).  On the top, back of the speedometer should be a little rectangular metal box with wires going to it.  That's the voltage stabilizer that supplies 10V to the gauges.  It may be covered in dirt but it should be there.  All the wires going to/from the stabilizer will be greenish in color.  However, your car is old enough that it may have the original cloth covered wires so the color of the wires may be very difficult to determine.

Look carefully at the back of the stabilizer and you should find one terminal marked "B", the other terminal will be marked "I".  The case of the stabilizer is a ground connection so it has to make a good connection with the back of the speedometer.  Rather than go into too much detail now, let me just suggest that you turn on the car's ignition and use a volt meter to measure the voltage between the stabilizer terminals "B" and ground, then between "I" and ground.  Write back and tell us what you found.  If the wiring is intact and everything was working you'd find 12V on "B" and 10V on "I".

Doug L.

You should be able to get at the back of the dash from the engine side, the area behind the air filter housing should let you explore behind the dash binnacle.

If you want to remove it, again go behind the air cleaner housing, detach the speedo cable, now go into the car and remove the dash card (cardboard on each side of the dash) this is quite tricky so do it carefully as you don't want to buy new ones as they are expensive, You will see large screws on the outer rim of the dash binnacle, remove those and detach the wiring harness plug and you should be holding the binnacle, only other thing would be to detach the oil guage which can be a touch tricky, take you time, don't force anything and you should be fine, I don't think you need to take it out however to do what you want to do.

cheers. Peter

No more cars left, Westpaminis is now just a memory, Good luck to all those hard working dealers left out there, We can tell you its not easy. We have fully enjoyed meeting all the fine folks we have in the business.

ahhh so that's where it is. I was going nuts when i couldn't find the oil filter and dipstick! So to change the filter i have to take apart the canister? Do i do so with the canister attached to the motor still or do i have to completely remove the canister then take it apart? So i jumped the wires on the side of the gas tank and the gas guage didn't move and stayed in position at E. Where do i go abouts now? My plan for this car is to just take out the rust, get it reliable and have a fun, good looking little car to take around town. Sell in the future? maybe but my dad LOVES this thing, and i'm probably going to end up regreting it because of this rare opportunity.

 

EDIT: Before i go and start tinkering with the dash, how should i go about taking it apart? i want to get behind the speedo and check the voltage stablizer and make sure it's getting power. But i don't want to start breaking interior peices. hopefully i get help before i start on it tomarrow.

 

BTW! thanks ALOT for your guys help. don't worry, you guys aren't wasting your time on me.

Impossible as designed to switch over to a spin on canister.  I have an automatic and would definately do it if I could....but can't.

"Retired:  No Job, No Money, No Wife!  Will travel anywhere for Minis"

hockey91dad@hotmail.com

I don't know automatics.  However, I thought they operated at a higher pressure and could not be switched to the spin-on filter.

Doug L.

Can he not change the cannister filter setup to the screw on filter set up? I know I used to do that to all cannister type 4 speeds that I got in stock when in florida. I don't remember the auto well enough to know if it can be swapped, a very worthwhile changeover.

Peter

No more cars left, Westpaminis is now just a memory, Good luck to all those hard working dealers left out there, We can tell you its not easy. We have fully enjoyed meeting all the fine folks we have in the business.

Give us some info. Where did you get it?

What are your plans for it (ie. leave it alone, do it up wild)

If you get tired of it, it won't be hard to sell fer sure! it looks good from the pics and your in Cali.

 

 

Travis        

 67' Cooper S 

 62' Mini Cooper Vtec Project underway (Operation Kwik-E- Kart)

Here is the filter you need:

http://www.minimania.com/web/Item/GFE104/AddedFrom/Search/InvDetail.cfm

"Retired:  No Job, No Money, No Wife!  Will travel anywhere for Minis"

hockey91dad@hotmail.com

No, the Corvette filter will not work.  Mini automatics use a canister filter, which means that it is a paper filter that does not have an outside metal can around it.  You have to take apart the canister that is mounted horizontally on the front of the engine and swap out the filter.  Very messy job.  Also, there is a rubber ring at the end of it that seals it from leaking.  That part is fun too.  I think the only place you will find filters for a Mini automatic is from one of the Mini suppliers, such as our host.

"Retired:  No Job, No Money, No Wife!  Will travel anywhere for Minis"

hockey91dad@hotmail.com

ahh i understand now. so there goes that confusion. now how many quarts of oil will it need? and will i be able to get away with the 5.7liter corvette oil filter?