I have been getting my 3800 back on the road. I have run new wires, rebuilt the generator and replaced the v regulator. I am having a strange situation occur where the meter shows charging when the vehicle has started in the same manner as my other three trucks. After 15-20 minutes of running/driving the meter drops to just into the discharge side. I have pulled the generator and v regulator out and tested them at my local service shop(the guy hooked it up and let me witness the testing, with both hooked up according to the manual, and all for free.) I have also traced every wire in the truck and found two loose screws, but other than knowing I have a few screws loose I found nothing out of the ordinary.
The armature shop guy suggested that the ammeter could be going bad to where after it has run it heats up and causes the issue. He mentioned the word "shunt" and a few other terms. He was not certain of any way to test because of it being an intermittent problem.
I have three original ammeters, two from jimmies(wrong color and marking) and one old chev. I would like to reuse as much of the original equipment in the spirit of being jack Benny esque! Is there a way to test these units? Or is it time for a replacement?
Thanks,
Sam
