While out cruising the other afternoon a cursory glance down at the ammeter showed the system was fluctuating between charge, discharge and zeroing out. The gauge was all over the place. When I turned the headlights on the gauge stabilized to just above charging and when I turned them off the gauge would go back to fluctuating. I found a pull over then proceeded top pound on the regulator which didn't effect the problem. It even showed charging at idle which is highly unusual.
I beat-feet back to the barn, popped the hood, saw no wiring issue then shut it down. This is when I noticed the gauge still showed discharge. Pulled the regulator cover and determined the cutout relay wasn't cutting out. I could force the contacts open and they'd go back closed. Sounding like the regulator right?
Well, I did find the issue. Anybody have a guess to what I found?
Yep, it sounds like you need a regulator. Something has shorted so enough current is flowing through the cutout relay to keep it magnetized all the time? I've got a feeling there's something we don't know about this situation, however. How about channeling Paul Harvey and giving us the "rest of the story"!
I'm going to guess there's a broken spring that's supposed to hold the cutout points open. Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
Forgot to mention the truck is a stock 1949 3100 with a 6v electric system, a generator (fairly new brushes), stock 3 relay regulator, the wiring is mostly the original cloth covered wires, a horn, add-on right side tail light, turn signals, stomp starter, heater blower and a 6v to 12v step-up inverter that powers a power outlet and a 12v tach. The problem was not in this 12v setup. All electrics work.
Jerry, you were getting warm then made a wrong turn LOL.
Martin '62 Chevy C-10 Stepside Shortbed (Restomod in progress) '47 Chevy 3100 5 Window (long term project) ‘65 Chevy Biscayne (Emily) ‘39 Dodge Business Coupe (Clarence) “I fought the law and the law won" now I are a retired one! Support those brave men/women who stand the "Thin Blue Line"! Hug a cop! USAF 1965-1969 Weather Observation Tech (I got paid to look at the clouds)
OK- - - -next guess- - - -is there something besides the wire to the ammeter junction block attached to the BAT connector of the regulator that might fool the cutout into assuming current is still flowing into the battery?
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
OK, not many want to come out and play so I'll spill the beans.
Short story 1st. Like Jerry 1st thought, I started looking for something putting a large electrical load on the system. SOP for this truck over the last 22k miles is once the battery is recharged after starting the ammeter stays at "0".
1st I disconnected my 12v step-up circuitry, no fixie. I then started tracing out the wiring which is still mostly the OEM cloth covered insulation. No obvious shorts or shiny breaks in the cloth.
Thinking what would be drawing power while running I reached down around the coil and dist wire and got japped before I actually touched it. I'm talking about the low voltage wire. My coil is still mounted upside down in it's original position so both the high and low volt leads from it to the dist are pretty short and there was a tiny gap of exposed wire where it crimps onto the spade lug that connects the low voltage wire to the dist. Shining a light down at the coil and dist cap they both shined back at me, kinda like they had a coat of wax on them but in this case it was a coat of oil film. Apparently there was enough oil film on the coil and dist low voltage wire to cause an intermittent short between the high voltage and low volt terminal on the coil and cause an intermittent short on that tiny exposed wire at the crimp on the dist to dist ground. I wiped them all dry and the problem nearly disappeared and I was getting zapped no more. Wiping dry the high voltage connection at the starter terminal completed the repair and the electrical system returned back to it's SOP.
Now during all this the engine ran fine, no miss or lack of power. The only indication I got of the electrical system's problem was the erratic ammeter. How or why it wasn't stalling out the ign system is a mystery to me.
Oh and the cause of all the oil film? Excessive blow by out the 3 valve cover vents and a leaky valve cover gasket directly over the coil. The permanent fix is sitting on a make shift run stand collecting dust, the temp fix is to keep it wiped down better LOL.
Tenacity for sure. That and keeping the smoke in the electric devices is key LOL
Carl You mean the coil right? I bet you do LOL. Am I sure the coil ain't leaking? Well now that you mention it no I'm not ,err ain't. I guess it's a possibility but the tell tale oil trail that was running down the side cover starting at where the valve cover meets it at the top is definitely contributing to my oil bath engine LOL. Maybe I should flip the coil upside down errr, downside up or whatever LOL.
I really need to pull that ole 216 and put that dusty ole 235 in. The 216 leaks oil and ign by products out every vent, sealed orifice and mating surface it's got. Once warmed up it barely pumps up to 7 psi oil pressure at the gauge and the compression is so low I can easily turn it over by hand with the plugs in. And yet it runs and sounds so good at 1900 rpm going down the road I haven't had the heart to pull it yet. I thought this last episode would tip the scales but alas, it just keeps ticking, literally LOL.
Had an "Old School" mechanic tell me 55 years ago that he never could understand why the ignition coils were hung upside down. He always flipped them over. But in thinking back he was known to take a sip or two. Coils will leak oil, I've personally seen it.
Martin '62 Chevy C-10 Stepside Shortbed (Restomod in progress) '47 Chevy 3100 5 Window (long term project) ‘65 Chevy Biscayne (Emily) ‘39 Dodge Business Coupe (Clarence) “I fought the law and the law won" now I are a retired one! Support those brave men/women who stand the "Thin Blue Line"! Hug a cop! USAF 1965-1969 Weather Observation Tech (I got paid to look at the clouds)
Gene Schneider, a Chevy expert that is almost always correct, posted this:
"The coil was mounted with the wire coming out of the bottom up through 1958. From 1959 and up it was mounted with the wire on top. A slight seepage of oil could be seen on the wire down models but never harmed the coil. Mounting it with the wire on top cured the rather common problem of the wire falling out of the coil and the engine stopping dead."
With the less-than-effective moisture sealing capabilities of spark plug and coil wire boots that was common in the 1950's and before, it was pretty common practice to have the coil output wire at least pointing downward, if not completely vertical. Any splash or condensation would drain away instead of providing a path for voltage flash over to the primary terminals. Chrysler Corp. engines mounted their coils at about a 45 degree downward angle, and up until 1949, most Ford coils had their high voltage terminals at the bottom of the coil housing. GM was probably just following the accepted industry practice. If a coil leaked oil, it got replaced. Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
