The first nighttime drive in the 58 Spartan revealed a problem: the generator doesn't seem to keep up. The lights, which include headlights (not on high beam) as well as cab marker lights and of course taillites, dash lights, etc. were all on....got home last night and the battery was very low and needed to be charged before it would start again. The generator is an NOS factory rebuilt unit and not original to the truck...it seems to keep up fine normally, but with lights, is apparently insufficient. I do notice that, even in daylight driving, the ammeter shows little to no charge at lower RPMs, but I thought this was normal for generators. Dumb question: would a slightly smaller pulley increase the output? Also, maybe I'm looking at a short somewhere ??....as in, when the lights are on, an extra drain is occurring? Your expertise/personal experiences with generators would be appreciated....thanks!
