The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk 6V regulator

I plugged that into the search feature and got (among others) my own post from a long time ago. So here's the question to which a human element might supply a satisfactory answer:

Odie and I (he's our 4 1/2 month-old boxer cross pup) were headed down to our favourite pharmacy to get some stuff to make mom feel better. We started Epic #2 and off we headed down the street. Came to a stop sign signalling a right turn, and noticed an anomalous display from the indicator light. I didn't think much on it as I haven't overhauled the turn indicator switch yet, but in glancing at the ammeter I was surprised to discover a discharge reading about 1/2 way from zero to the peg. About what I'd expect if the engine was shut down, switched on with the accessories - heater fan, lights - running. Drive belt, I thought: another thing I haven't done yet. So, watching the temperature gauge carefully - no problem there - I returned to the house and popped the hood. Everything apparently OK. Jiggled some wires and rechecked the ammeter: no change.
H'm. Later. We walked to the nearest (not favourite) store, took care of Mom, had a cuppa while I checked the swapmeet section for generators - Epic #2 and I have a meet & greet to attend next weekend, No result - so out I went to the rain and the problem. I'd have taken Odie, but I couldn't have kept an eye on him and, where we live, he's a bit too young yet to be outside unsupervised.
Recheck time: In goes the key, turn, one shot of gas, drop the starter pedal and up she runs with a perfect ammeter reading.
I know. It has taken me a while to get here at last, okay? You'll be old one day, too, so relax. Here it is (the question), really, this time: What the heck? It's a regulator issue, right? what, if anything, can I do short of actually hurling money at the problem by replacing this (currently) working regulator with one which works about the same way, but probably originated in some third-world country, assembled from inferior components by wage slaves being paid $1.36 a day or something like that? It's not that I want to deny those poor people their miserable existence. What I want is to deny astronomical profits to the fat middlemen who source shoddy parts from the lowest-bidding under-engineering piece-a-trash suppliers who contract those poor, underpaid suckers who just want to go hungry so they can buy baby some used shoes. Baby will get the shoes, I believe. There will never be a shortage of bargain-hunting dummies with tunnel-vision as long as a place like Wal-mart exists, I am certain. I just don't want any part in it. Also, I want Epic #2 to be happy. So what can I do to keep this from happening again, after cleaning all the connections?

I think that's more than one question, isn't it?

hotshoe,

When was the last time you inspected and adjusted your fan belt tension?

Are you using the correct fan belt size to match the 216 engine pulley? [modern fan belts sit too low in the root of the pulley]. Many fellows use the wrong size fan belt , just like the wrong size of battery cables for 6v trucks.

The correct size of fan belt rides just a hair thickness above the pulley.

The fan belt I am using is made by Dayton, model 22435.

You will generally see a slight "discharge" reading in your ammeter at idle.... you will also see a slight "charge" reading upon acceleration.

6v systems do not charge your battery at idle...unless you have your RPM's set way too high.

I do not profess to claim that what I write is the correct solution...diagnosing electrical gremlins over the internet is a crap shoot.

I hope this electrical glitch you observed does not stop you from attending our meet & greet on February 10th!... remember, it is all about meeting a fellow bolter....we can always see your truck in the Gallery!

Greg

One more thing hotshoe,

This topic would have been better posted in the "Electrical Bay" area of the forum.

Greg

Was there actually a question in there somewhere?

If you're experiencing intermittent "no charge" or discharge situations, you've probably got some dirty regulator points that aren't allowing full field coil current at times. The points have a slight wiping action as they meet, supposedly to be self-cleaning, but occasionally they need a little help. Pull one battery cable, and then remove the cover from the regulator. Two of the sets of points under the cover will be spring-loaded in the closed position, and the other one will be open. Take a piece of business card stock, or a clean file card, and cut it into strips about 1/4" wide. Insert a piece of this card stock between the points, and gently slide it back and forth, buffing off any carbon or other residue. repeat this process on all the points, holding the cutout relay (the open points) closed gently on the card stock. Reinstall the cover, hook up the battery, and go about your business. Don't tamper with any adjustments unless you know exactly what you're doing!

DO NOT DO THIS WITH THE BATTERY CONNECTED! You can short out the generator, and ruin both the generator and the regulator. If the cleanup doesn't help, seek out an oldtimer who knows his way around a DC charging system, and pay him well to check out the system. He's probably starving to death on his Social Security income, since the last of the 6 volt DC systems went away in 1955!
Jerry

Some very good technical stuff you mentioned Hotrod..
Thank you!
Greg

Yes, Jerry. Thanks. This was the first time I've seen this, and it's nice to know what to do the next time it happens. Greg, you can count on seeing us next weekend. Maybe I SHOULD have posted this in electrical, but with the story and the rant and all, it might have better been placed in the Greasy Spoon. So I split the difference.