While I don't drive my 1950 3600 much at night, I do notice when I do that the lights will flicker. At first I thought it might just be the instrument lights as the light switch is an aftermarket unit and there is a "sweet spot" in the rotation to get the instrument lights to come on - I thought maybe a faulty switch. The other night however, I was driving along and the instrument lights were off and I noticed that the headlights flickered as well and they do not flicker when at a stop (but do get dim). Then I tried racing the engine while in neutral and found that flickering will commence once the engine reaches approximate driving rpm. Should I be looking at a generator rebuild or is it possibly a voltage regulator issue? It is still a 6v system. Thanks for any help on this!
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Also spray some WD40 into your headlight switch and your generator brushes. Carbon collects on these items causing intermittent power fluctuations; WD40 is a miracle cure. It fixes stuff like scratchy sounding volume control knobs, etc.
In my experience, even better than WD-40, use cleaner electrical contact cleaner designed for that purpose on switches and similar, such as CRC 5103 Quick Dry Electronic Cleaner. Walmart and FLAPS should have it.
Thanks for those tips. I'll check all the grounds tomorrow and spray the generator with some contact cleaner and see what happens. I'll let you all know! Thanks again!
Take a look at the dimmer switch. It lives in a very hostile environment with road splash, dirt and salt, and the contacts inside it corrode and get intermittent high resistance situations which translate to dim and/or flickering lights. Setting up the headlights to run on relays and just using the dimmer switch to turn the relays on and off is the best solution to the problem. 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!
Gazz, if you decide to add light relays (a good idea), and want to be "period correct," there are usually several listings on eBay for NOS Delco PN 116789, sometimes for a reasonable price. These are 6V units, and were used as a dealer installed option through at least '53 for cars, specifically to aid with customer complaints about dim headlights. Just be aware, some sellers don't know what they have, and it's not uncommon to find a used unit that was put back in a box, so the seller thinks NOS (or hopes the buyer will think so) when in fact the part is not. Or, simply add a modern relay, or 12V unit if the truck is converted to 12V.
Here is the installation sheet dated 4-10-40 for the Delco part, which may be helpful even if you decide on a new relay (or two).
There are Bosch-type relays with 6 volt coils that will work just as well as (or probably better than) some overpriced 70-year-old OEM relay of questionable quality. There's plenty of places to hide a relay like the front of the radiator support where they're out of sight to the casual observer. 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!
