The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay 6 Volt regulator problem

On our way back from a trip with our 1942 3/4 ton the gage stopped showing a charge on the battery. After doing some checking I noticed the contacts on the regulator were loose. Question is how much gap should there be between the coils and the plate and which contacts need to be open to produce a charge to the battery? What is the best way of approaching this so I don't start a fire.

Here is a good overview of how to check and adjust your regulator. Basically the coil on the left is the "on/off" switch that tells the generator to charge. The center coil controls the current and the right coil controls the voltage.

Thanks Tiny, very clear and the page you linked was easy to follow. I have a manual but it's written by a techy type

Be sure to check your regulator points to see if they look pitted while you have it apart. Most of the times I've had generators just 'drop dead' it has been due to pitted regulator points. Also check the condenser and replace it if it is more than a few years old, this is a big contributor to pitted regulator points!

Justin Rubsam,

I have a layman's understanding of the theory behind a condenser/capacitor. In one of your previous posts you cited the benefits of tagging these devices onto a DC switch to reduce, or help quench any arc that might degrade the contact surfaces.

It is my understanding that the capacitors located on the generators, coils (proper) and voltage regulators were put there only as anti-static devices to help suppress electrically generated radio static, and not for the benefit of the device itself.

It was also my understanding that the truck wasn't equipped with these little capacitors unless a radio had been installed by the dealer or by the factory (if the factory did this!). While they might prolong the life of the regulator contacts, this wasn't their main purpose in life and running your rig without one probably wouldn't result in any premature regulator failure. Am I was off base on this theory?

Stuart

I believe your theory is right on Stuart.
The first thing to do is find out if the problem is the gen. or reg. Remove the wire from the field term. on the reg. & ground it. Start the engine & the charge ind. should go way over on charge. Obviously don,t run it very long like this. If it doesn,t you will need to repair the gen. You shouldn,t have to adjust the gaps on the reg. but the voltage & current can be if you read up on it & are very careful.

Yes, whether the condenser was installed with a radio or not, you can see what a drastic difference it does make if you ever have a distributor apart... remove the condensers (in dist. and on the coil) and manually open and close the points. With the ignition turned on and in subdued light, you'll see a noticeable spark. Now reconnect the condensers and try again; no spark.

The idea here is that the condensers do suppress sparks which shorten the life of the contact surface, whether it is the distributor points or a voltage regulator. RF (Radio Frequency) is a byproduct of the spark, thus the noise.

All the condenser is is a capacitor. Anyone with experience in electronics can attest to the fact that these devices are very failure prone as they tend to 'dry up' due to age and exposure to heat... and sometimes they short out. This is why when a radio is restored, ALL of these condensers (or capacitors) have to be replaced. It's cheap insurance.

I could be wrong historically about the installation of condensers from the factory and it probably varied by each vehicle manufacturer. At any rate, installing a condenser in an appropriate location can always be considered an upgrade.

Sometimes at car shows I see vehicles that have undergone a meticulous 100 point restoration, and sometimes on these cars I see the owner has meticulously cleaned and reinstalled the original condenser I've had these things short out and start fires!

Maybe we should start another thread about this and discuss the particulars of the condenser... just so that we don't detract from this help thread and get more input... The general idea though being that if it's an oldie, replace it. That way you'll at least eliminate that as being a problem and a source of future headache.

The problem could be any number of a thousand things though, Wrenchbender's got you covered on a few tests you can do in the mean time to further narrow it down.