Lucas RB 106/2 Dynamo Control Box

[jaknight]

I am restoring a 1965 Cooper S with a Lucas RB 106/2 dynamo control box. I believe the control box is original to the car.
The control box has some corrosion on the under side metal contacts and the electrical wires have very dry insulation.

Can this control box be refurbished / restored? How to clean the corrosion ? And re-insulate or replace the wires ?

The suppliers are selling reproduction " Lucas " dynamo control boxes. Is the quality good ? ( Maybe I already know the answer. )

A company called Dynamo Regulator Conversions offers an electronic control box ..
* Who has purchased and installed one ?
* Good quality ?
* Uses stock wiring loom ? I am installing a new wiring loom.

Thanks for your assistance.

Jim

[woodypup59]

If you do decide to clean the contacts, use sandpaper, not emery. The points are very soft metal.

[850man]

Glass beads in a blasting cabinet will sort out any corrosion issues you have, without causing any damage. I use our blasting cabinet on just about everything, it makes fuze boxes, wiper pivots, generator ends etc look like new. Great for rheostat switches and fuel sender resistor boards as well.

[iain1967s]

My experience is that the 'modern Lucas' components i.e. made in India, are not very reliable.

When the control box on my '67 had issues, I chose to replace it with a modern solid-state regulator
(positive earth version, in my case)

Details here: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=22513

Much like the debate between points vs electronic ignition, there are opinions either way.
But for me, the ADR solid state RB106 from http://www.dynamoregulatorconversions.com has been working great.

[jaknight]

Iain1967s
How long have you been using the electronic dynamo regulator? Did you use the stock wiring loom? Any problems after installation?

I also have read that the Lucas components that are produced in foreign countries other that England are NOT of good quality.

Thanks

Jim

[iain1967s]

Hi Jim. It’s been installed for a couple of years now. With the old box it was intermittently charging the battery, and sometimes over charging it too. Modern batteries really don’t like getting high voltages applied to them, which is basically what the cutout relays on the original box are designed to do. The solid state box has been rock solid - battery has stayed charged, and on the one occasion i ran the battery low over the winter, it was able to recharge it again fairly quickly while driving. Using the same wiring loom that I had installed with the original box, although it’s an autosparks loom not the original, but the same design and cable weights. Best thing is it still looks period correct, and the mod is totally reversible if a future owner wants to go back to the electro-mechanical box.

[Rich997]

The solid state control box I bought from Dynamo Regulator Conversions has been faultless.

Having mucked about buying several so called NOS items from eBay (typically not less than £20), cleaning contacts and measuring gaps on the old units, I gave up.

If you use a Lucas cover (fully interchangeable), the rivet counters cant tell the difference anyway.

When my original regulator fails on the 60 Morris, I will be buying another solid state item to replace it.

Be sure to specify polarity when ordering the item.

Cheers