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#439836 08/08/2008 2:29 PM
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 27
T
Apprentice
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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

Tulsa #439840 08/08/2008 3:01 PM
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 29,746
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Kettle Custodian (pot stirrer)
Kettle Custodian (pot stirrer)
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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!
Hotrod Lincoln #439876 08/08/2008 5:13 PM
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Thanks for the reply. I think my voltage regulator is up by the radiator. Will it have a wire coming from the generator?

Tulsa #439921 08/08/2008 7:31 PM
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 29,746
H
Kettle Custodian (pot stirrer)
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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.htm

Jerry


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!
Hotrod Lincoln #440110 08/09/2008 8:34 AM
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 4,960
C
'Bolter
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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.


Moderated by  Jon G, Rusty Rod 

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