Dynamo E3L felt washer assembly question.

[Steveba10]

Hi Guys,
My dynamo is I believe, a E3L for my ‘57 Golden Flash with a ball bearing at each end and no rubber seal.

Having cleaned up all the components and lubricated the bearings I came to assembly and am a bit stumped concerning a felt washer.

My bike had been left dis-assembled, totally, some forty years in a shed before my purchase. The dynamo was in a biscuit tin, all in bits but with grease protecting much of it, it looked to be complete.

There were two felt washers, one thin, about 2mm width that appears to fit into a collar secured in place by the drive-end bearing securing nut.
One photo below shows my guess at the fitting sequence, left to right of the drive end components.

The other photo shows the commutator end bearing and the other felt washer, of about 5mm width. This was impregnated with grease that had thickened over the years but washed out ok.

I’m guessing this felt washer fits close to the commutator bearing to provide a reservoir of lubricant, see second photo.
If it does belong here, is there a missing end cap to hold it in place?  The pressed steel end cover is not flat enough to do the job.

I’ve searched the internet and and service sheets but cannot find a diagram for the E3L with two ball bearings or for that matter one showing the A10 model with tapered chain sprocket.
Any help here will be appreciated,
Steve.

[trevinoz]

The quick reply is - discard the open bearings and felt washers and fit sealed bearings.
The comm end felt seal goes between the bearing and the pressed steel washer which is located by a spacer.
I have never seen a felt washer on the drive end but that doesn't mean that one was not fitted. I have pulled down an awful lot of generators over the last fifty years or so.

[Swarfcut]

 Earlier variants of the E3L are fitted with a bakelite end cap which abuts onto the comm bearing carrier, sealing the bearing location. Your pressed steel cover is the later type. As Trev says, modern shielded bearings are a better choice.

 Have a look at the excellent  Brightspark Magnetos Website. Lots of Lucas Parts and Service details in the Library Section, all provided by a fella who knows his stuff.

 Swarfy.

[Steveba10]

Thank you for your replies.
I’ve done the sensible thing and ordered two rubber sealed bearings.

Although my dynamo was largely disassembled the commutator bearing was still on the armature.
And as Trev says there is a felt seal between it and a pressed steel washer.

There must have been some sort of cap to protect the open commutator bearing originally and guess this may have held the felt washer I have left over. It’s internal diameter is slightly too small to fit along the shaft at the drive end.

Thank you Swarfy, I looked at BrighSparks, and in their library they show Lucas’s parts list for the E3L.
There is only one felt seal listed, I think for the commutator end.
So I think my second felt must have been added by the previous owner.
The sealed bearings will an excellent upgrade.
Thanks again,
Steve.