Click on image for the lowdown. 
====
| | | Forums66 Topics128,017 Posts1,055,338 Members48,419 | | Most Online14,466
Apr 26th, 2026 | | AD Chevy Trucks  Over 6,000 pictures Brad Allen has an awesome collection of Chevrolet factory pictures that he has set up from film strips. Check them out!
Lots of work on Brad's part ... pure enjoyment (and references) for you!
| | THANKS!
For helping keep this great
old truck web site
on the Internet for over 30 years! and not clogged down
with Ads!  Again, thanks!
| | | | Joined: Apr 2008 Posts: 27 Apprentice | | Apprentice Joined: Apr 2008 Posts: 27 | My generator light comes on at start up and stays on for a while. It will go off at a higher speed then come back on for awile. Its radom but persistent. I have taken it off and I have plenty of brush. Would it still have output problems with good brushes or could there be a build up on the brushes or something. The headlights do not seem to be affected. When the generator light it on am I running off the battery?
Thank you for any comments | | | | | Joined: Feb 2004 Posts: 29,746 Kettle Custodian (pot stirrer) | | Kettle Custodian (pot stirrer) Joined: Feb 2004 Posts: 29,746 | The problem is most likely dirty voltage or current regulator points. Disconnect the Battery wire from the regulator, take the cover off, and burnish the points with a piece of index card, a business card, or some other form of thin cardboard.
DO NOT USE A FILE OR SANDPAPER!
Regulator points have a slight "wiping" action as they move, and scratches left by a file will cause them to stick. Don't tinker with spring tension; just clean the contacts. Reconnect the Bat. wire and see if things improve.
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!
| | | | | Joined: Apr 2008 Posts: 27 Apprentice | | Apprentice Joined: Apr 2008 Posts: 27 | Thanks for the reply. I think my voltage regulator is up by the radiator. Will it have a wire coming from the generator?
| | | | | Joined: Feb 2004 Posts: 29,746 Kettle Custodian (pot stirrer) | | Kettle Custodian (pot stirrer) Joined: Feb 2004 Posts: 29,746 | It will have three wires, Battery, Field, and Armature. Armature and Field wires go to the generator, plus a ground wire from the regulator base to the generator housing, sometimes. The regulator housing is rectangular, usually painted black, and about 2 1/2 inches bt 4 inches, about 2 2 1/2 inches tall. The cover will be held on by two sheet metal screws. One wire will be connected to the battery by way of the ammeter in the dash. A test light or a voltmeter will identify that one, as it's the only one with constant voltage, engine on or off. Be sure that wire is disconnected, or remove one battery cable before working on it. If the cutout relay is pushed closed with the engine stopped, the points will stick and the battery will try to discharge through the generator. That usually ruins both the generator and the regulator. Once the voltage is disconnected, give all three sets of points a good cleanup with clean card stock, reassemble, and check the system for proper operation. Jerry Edit: Check my tech tip article: http://www.stovebolt.com/techtips/6v_charge_system/index.htmJerry
Last edited by Hotrod Lincoln; 08/08/2008 7:38 PM.
"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!
| | | | | Joined: Jan 2008 Posts: 4,960 'Bolter | | 'Bolter Joined: Jan 2008 Posts: 4,960 | If it's not the regulator, it could be the communtator in the generator is a little round and the brushes are bounding. You can tell by taking the metal band off the generator and watch them. If this is the case, you will have the armature turned. | | |
|
|
