More generator woes
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I put an amp meter between the field and armature poles on the generator and nothing. Even though the generator turned when I set polarity on the regulator and the generator checked out fine for continuity for some reason I'm not getting any juice. Does anyone have any ideas? I'm thinking I should be showing amps. The amp light goes out when the car starts but glows even without lights on and gets brighter with more rpm's. Any help or ideas will be appreciated. I should also state the regulator is pretty new.
Harry
Harry
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Comments
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Just ramblins...
did you polarize the generator? Check my site for information on how to do this task.
Are the connections going to the correct places on the regulator... check the site again for this information.
Are the brushes in the generator servicable and making contact properly?
Is the brush service on the generator armature clean and are the mica blocks undercut enough to isolate each section?
Wishing you success ...0 -
Ken, I did polarize the generator and regulator and I have checked the wires to see where they are going and all is correct. I had the generator sent to a shop and they said all is right with the generator. They just didn't check it for output, said they didn't know which regulator to check it with. I'm not sure I buy that, I don't remember that being a problem in the past, seems to me they could just hook up a generator and check it for output. It seems it shouldn't be too hard to see what the voltage output is.
Harry0 -
I agree that putting an ammeter between the field and armature poles on the generator should result in current flow. However this is not a standard test and I recommend that no one do this test because of the potential of having a dead short to ground through the ammeter applied to the armature (A) terminal and burning up the generator and ammeter. A better test would be to turn off all lights and accessories and connect a voltmeter between the armature (A) terminal and ground. Start car and note voltage. Then connect a jumper between the field (F) terminal and ground and note voltage. The voltage should greater then the voltage with no jumper. If the voltage does not increase, the generator is bad. If the voltage does increase, the regulator or wiring is bad. This test should only be run for a few seconds because the generator is running full on and excessive voltage could be generated.0
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Harry:
Heres what my mechanics made me do. I also had bought a new regulator from Napa.
Take out the battery, old and new regulator, generator, and took it to the Alternator/Generator people who have been in business for 25yrs.
They put everything on the benchand machines and line everything up.
That will tell you whats wrong. The reason I wasn't getting any charging was the brand new regulator was defective. Reinstalled and I am still using the old reg,
and is charging fine. They know how to bend or set the points in the reg, to get what is supposed charge the battery. They will also be able to tell the health of the generator.
Everything works find now, but that was a chore, in this town as there is only one shop that knows what they are doing. Employees were topnotch.0 -
PS:
I queried one Alternator shop around the corner from me in person, and asked the first guy if I could bring my Generator in for repairs. I got that blank look, said just a minute, had to go and talk to the manager, and he said, With a look of disdain like I was from another planet, "You have what"? "We don't mess with Generators".0 -
I went by our generator guy today with the car. We tested things in the car and it is something in my new regulator not working. I am only getting two volts at the field post and the car should be putting out about 3.7 volts at the field post. I will check the points this evening and see if I have pitting or another problem, he told me running with a low battery will cause the points to pit and cause problems. I still have my old regulator to try and if that doesn't cure the problem I will put another new regulator onto the car. The generator right now is only putting out about 6 volts at best which will cause me to slowly lose power, it should be putting out about 7.2 volts.
Harry0 -
I filed the points in the regulator and everything worked great for about five minutes then the light came back on, it dims when reved now, it didn't before, but I'm only showing about 5 volts now. Also now I'm not showin any voltage at the field post. Tomorrow I'll try another regulator. No cruise over to Route 66 though tonight, I don't want to run out of battery in San Bernardino.
Harry0 -
I have found something peculiar in that I have continuity all through the regulator. It doesn't matter if the points are open or closed there is no break in continuity which tells me there is a dead short somewhere in the system. I'm not an electronics expert for sure but I still think there has to be a break somewhere in the system so that the points make or break a circuit. If there is a continuous circuit no matter the position of the points there has to be short somewhere. Is that logical or am I all wrong in my thinking?
Harry0 -
Harry Hill wrote:I have found something peculiar in that I have continuity all through the regulator. It doesn't matter if the points are open or closed there is no break in continuity which tells me there is a dead short somewhere in the system. I'm not an electronics expert for sure but I still think there has to be a break somewhere in the system so that the points make or break a circuit. If there is a continuous circuit no matter the position of the points there has to be short somewhere. Is that logical or am I all wrong in my thinking?
Harry
THe following diagram is from the Hudson Manual. Using it will show the continuity paths ...0 -
Thanks Ken, I have that manual and from what I can tell there should not be continuity between the battery and armature until the generator excites the field and causes the battery points in the regulator to close. Since that isn't happening I'm guessing I have a regulator problem. I'll know tomorrow when I try a new regulator.
Harry0
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