Vintage Sun Automotive Test Equipment

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Currently have three pieces of vintage Sun automotive test equipment: a DT500 distributor tester, a VAT20 charging system tester, and a TDT-5 tach / dwell meter.

Sources of Info

1. Sun is now part of Snap-On. Bill Larsen of Snap-On's Equi-Serv division has been able to provide copies of a couple of manuals. No, they no longer have any parts for this old stuff. Bill's email address is William.K.Larsen@equiserv.com. Bill has referred me to -
2. Roger Kunz ( I've got to ask Roger the name of the company he works for) has been authorized by Snap-On to service the old equipment. Roger's phone number is (815) 344-6538.

Tools

1. The funny looking screws that hold the front panel to the instrument case are called clutch screws. At least that's what some former Sun technicians I know called them. Tru-Value Hardware sells a screwdriver for these screws, the markings on mine state "Master Mechanic 367169 USA CL532".

Manuals

This is currently just a list of the manuals I have. As I scan each one, I'll add the link. The files are Adobe PDF files.

• Distributor Testers
  • Instruction Manual Sun Distributor Testers Models 504 and 505. (3.3Mb)
  • Sun DT - 504/506 Distributor Test Report. (300Kb)
  • Quick Reference Guide Distributor Testing Using Sun's DT-504, DT-506 and DT-404 Distributor Testers. (605Kb)
  • Distributor Tester Adapters & Accessories (All Models) (224Kb)
  • Distributor Tester Adapters & Accessories (All Models) (149Kb)
  • Distributor Tester - Head Frame Model DT-HF-500, -1, -2, -3, May 1963 (1.2Mb).
  • Distributor RPM Dwell Tester Unit 50 Repair Manual, June 1963 (Revised September 1966)
  • Distributor Drive Model Unit #51 Repair Manual, March 1963.
  • Condenser-Vacuum Tester Unit U-52 Repair Manual, June 1963 (Revised June 1967).
• Others
  • Tach-Dwell Tester Repair Section, July 1958, with Product Change Bulletins.
  • Instruction Manual Sun Volt-Ampere Tester Model VAT-20. (909Kb)

Paint

I've been looking for a source for the blue hammer-tone paint. According to Roger Kunz, folks have been pleased with Sherwin-Williams Dimenso Dark Blue Enamel. The product code is 522-2302 and the Dimenso paint is described in product info sheet CC-B5. The paint seems to be available in only the gallon size and has a shelf life (unopened) of two years. So be sure to have the the sales person check the date code on the lid before you buy it.

I've bought a gallon, but haven't tried it yet.

Mercury Batteries

My distributor tester and the dwell meter use to use mercury batteries. The mercury battery had one very nice characteristic - the supplied voltage was constant until the battery was almost completely discharged. The voltage from current batteries tapers off as the battery discharges.

The AA mercury battery was Sun part number 1766-7 and was made by Mallory, part number RM12R.

For the distributor tester, I've installed a power supply to replace the 1.35 volt battery. I bought a variable DC voltage power supply kit from a local supplier. The kit (PN 68) was $13 and is also availabe from the manufacturer's web site. The kit runs off either an AC or DC input - for the distributor tester, I used line voltage through a transformer for the input voltage. I may have changed one of the resistors to drop the output voltage range.

I haven't decided what to do for the dwell meter yet.

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