1930 Essex Generator Questions

30essex

My 1930 Essex generator quit last fall. I brought it to a shop for repair and finally got it back yesterday. He had replaced the armature. When I installed it it would only put out 5 amps and would discharge 10 amps with the lights on. I brought the car in this morning and they adjusted the generator so that it puts out 15 amps and discharges only 2 amps with the lights on. Joe, the repairman, told me that with it charging this much the generator was likely to burn out again. My questions are:

1. How much should the generator be putting out?

2. How much should the lights, etc. be drawing? Joe says that they should only draw about 5 amps which is why he originally set the output at 5 amps.

3. What does the cut-out do? Joe says that the cut-out only cuts out when the engine is turned off. Is he right? Isn't it supposed to cut out when the battery is full?

4. How can you test to see if the cut-out is good?

I'm hoping to drive this car to Wetaskwin (about 50 miles away) for Reynolds Alberta Museum's "History Road" next week Saturday and I want to make sure I make it without problems. Any hekp on these questions from the experts would be much appreciated. Thanks.



Arend Stolte

Geoff

30essex wrote:

My 1930 Essex generator quit last fall. I brought it to a shop for repair and finally got it back yesterday. He had replaced the armature. When I installed it it would only put out 5 amps and would discharge 10 amps with the lights on. I brought the car in this morning and they adjusted the generator so that it puts out 15 amps and discharges only 2 amps with the lights on. Joe, the repairman, told me that with it charging this much the generator was likely to burn out again. My questions are:

1. How much should the generator be putting out?

2. How much should the lights, etc. be drawing? Joe says that they should only draw about 5 amps which is why he originally set the output at 5 amps.

3. What does the cut-out do? Joe says that the cut-out only cuts out when the engine is turned off. Is he right? Isn't it supposed to cut out when the battery is full?

4. How can you test to see if the cut-out is good?

I'm hoping to drive this car to Wetaskwin (about 50 miles away) for Reynolds Alberta Museum's "History Road" next week Saturday and I want to make sure I make it without problems. Any hekp on these questions from the experts would be much appreciated. Thanks.



Arend Stolte

1. 15 amps is about right for this generator to constantly charge. Anything heavier is likely to cause it to overheat.

2. It depends on the wattage of the bulbs you are using. Most headlamp bulbs today are 36 watts, and the dash and tail lights are 6 watts, a total of 75 watts, + another few watts for the ignition, giving a total of around 78, which using ohms law totals 13 amps current draw. Most likely your ammeter is inaccurate, hence the discharge rate shown

3. The cut-out is just that - a cut out to disconnect the generator from the battery when the engine is not running. It does not regulate the charge rate, that is done by the third brush setting.

4. If the generator is charging, and disconnecting when you turn the engine off (no discharge showing) the cut-out is good.



My suggestion would be to see if you can get lower wattage headlamp bulbs, which although not quite as bright, will draw less current. They used to be available in 30 watts, which would just about bring the current draw down to equal the output. Otherwise, don't worry too much, unless you are travelling for several hours or more, as the battery will handle the discharge. the main problem with a constant 15 amp charge when travelling long distances in daylight is that you will overcharge the battery and boil it dry. Hence it pays to drive with the side lights on to reduce the charge rate.

Another alternative is to change over to a later type two-brush generator and regulator. any series 4000 or 6000 generator and regulator as used on Post-war Hudson, Studebaker, and Chrysler will fit right in the cradle without any modification. You just need to weld the drive collar to the pulley nut. Some generators have a wide flange, which will need to be trimmed off so it fits against the engine block. These are usually positive ground, so you will need to reverse the battery and ammeter terminals. I have been running a Generator and regulator from a 1942 Dodge on my Essex for over 40 years now, and use 6 volt quartz-halogen bulbs which give amazingly good illumination. And with the regulator, the charge rate is automatically handled no matter what the load.

Sorry to be so long winded. Good luck.

Geoff