The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay 6 volt generator

Is there a way to check to see if my 6 volt generator is working?

Is there a way to make sure the two wires are on right?

TIA

You mean before it's mounted and you start the engine?

You can "motor" the generator on the bench by connecting 6 volts to the Armature terminal and ground. Sometimes it's necessary to give the armature a little spin by hand to get it moving, but it should turn itself like a small electric motor. If it will motor, it will also charge.

Wire connections- - - -The Armature lead is the one closest to the top of the generator, and usually has a fairly large wire, #12 or so. The Field lead attaches to the lower terminal, and is usually smaller in diameter, #14 or #16.

On the vehicle, attaching a jumper wire from the field terminal to ground and revving the engine slightly will cause the voltage and current output at the Armature terminal to increase without limit. Don't rev it very high.
Jerry

The generator is mounted on the engine. When I run the engine the battery goes dead so I am questioning myself on if I put the wires on right. Or should I pull the wires and is there a way to check with a multi meter if the generator is generating any power. I did jump the two posts on the regulator (if you were wondering).


Thanks for any help

Have you taken the top off the regulator to see if the cutout relay points are closing? That's the set right behind the Battery wire. As the voltage at the Armature terminal increases above battery voltage the cutout should close and connect the battery to the generator. If it doesn't close, no matter what the generator does, the battery won't be charged. Grounding the field terminal should make the cutout close pretty quickly. If the voltage doesn't rise, yank the generator and get it rebuilt.
Jerry

Can I simply put a meter on the generator while the engine is running to see if it is producing power? Or take it down to autozone?

Thanks

Getting electrical advice at auto zone is like getting brain surgery at the drug store. There's a reason those mouth breathers are selling parts instead of fixing cars at four times the pay rate. If you're not comfortable doing your own diagnosis, let me strongly advise finding a real electrical professional who can find the problem. DC generators aren't complicated, but it's absolutely essential to do some basic diagnosis.
Jerry

Had the generator checked out by professional. It works

Back to square one

It's very likely the regulator isn't connecting the generator to the battery by closing the cutout relay, then. As voltage rises at the armature terminal, the cutout relay is supposed to close at about 6.5 volts. Take the cover off the regulator and see if that's happening. If not, make sure the wiring between the generator and regulator is good, and clean and adjust the regulator or replace it. It is essential that the regulator gets a good ground back to the generator, so install a wire from the regulator base to the generator housing if one isn't there already.
Jerry

Why is the engine qrunning bad? Could this or a low battery have anything to do with that? Or should I look elsewhere? Points/condenser?

Thanks again

If the battery terminal voltage drops below 5 volts or so, the engine will run lousy, especially under a load. Fix the charging system before you start chasing ignition gremlins.
Jerry

Hi Jerry. I read the manual and now what you are saying is beginning to make sense. Sorry. I am not an electrician.

I had the generator and battery checked by professional shops. They are both fine.

I think I have an extra regulator so I can take it apart and see if I can understand the rest of what you are saying before tearing into the one on the truck. I think my wiring is fine. It appears to match up with the schematic.

Thank you for your help and patience.

The only disassembly you'll need to do is to take the cover off. The tech tips article I wrote some time ago has some pictures of a regulator in it, and some information about how it works. They're not complicated, but the points must be clean. Disconnect the Battery wire before tinkering with a regulator- - -the cutout relay points can stick and damage the regulator and possibly the generator if they get closed accidentaly with the engine not running.
Jerry

Will do. I will go to your tech tip article. Sorry. I didn't check for it.

Thank you

I cannot find a picture of a generator which shows the field post on the generator. I want to make sure I have the wires right.

Also. Everything exhaust looks black and sooty. Improper ignition?

Thanks again

Looking at the generator from the brush holder end, (opposite the pulley) the Armature terminal is the one nearest the top of the housing. The Field terminal is further down the housing toward the bottom. Look into the back end, and you'll be able to see that the field wire is much smaller than the one that takes the charging current from the armature.

If the spark plugs and tailpipe are sooty, that's from a too-rich mixture. The carburetor could be flooding for some reason, or the soot could just be the result of lots of idling and no on-the-road running. Unless you're seeing black smoke out of the tailpipe, at least some of the sooty deposits should clear up once the engine gets a few road miles on it.

If the generator has a lot of black deposits near the brushes, that's normal brush wear. They're made of carbon.
Jerry

Edit: In this pic from the tech tips article, the Armature terminal is at the 9:00 position, with the Field terminal below it. The wire from the insulated brush is always attached to the armature terminal. The field coil lead is the tiny wire that's not attached directly to the brushes.

http://www.stovebolt.com/techtips/6v_charge_system/6volt_e.jpg

Jerry

I looked at two trucks over the weekend that had the larger wire on the lower post. That is the source of my question. Before that I believed it is the way your show in the picture. Thank you.

Now what I have found is that the carburetor leaks between the bowl and pedestal. I guess a rebuild is in store.

And I am not sure if the timing is where it should be to just start the engine. I am hoping I have the wires right and get the distributor in the right location to start the engine. Dumb me - I thought the timing was set at the octane gauge. I found a distributor in the shop and found that the band loosens so the timing can be set. Dumb me. I need to find out 1) how to find the position for the #1 wire on the cap, 2) where the distributor should be for a "starting position" for the engine.

I guess back to square one. I am learning a lot.

Thanks again for all the help, guidance, and patience.

For your next learning experiment, here's a link to the section from the shop manual that sez what to do.

http://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com/shop/1948_51truck/51ctsm1229.htm

After you have the dizzy back in, and know which wire will go to #1, you just wire the rest of the plug wires, according to the firing order, 153624. We we learned on the site a few weeks ago (thanks fried-green!), you can remember this as too-young, too-old, just right. Hahaha. You might find reading the whole electrical section enlightening. I know I never knew anything (still don't) about car-electrics, until I was forced to, I also pulled the dizzy from a truck once, never dreaming I should have known what I was doing!

Hmmmm- - - - -I guess it's possible those generators might have had the internal wiring swapped at some time in the past. To be absolutely sure, look into the end frame on your generator, and trace the wire from the insulated brush to the housing terminal. That one will be the ARM. connection.

The octane selector needs to be centered before you set the initial timing with the clamp band, then it's used to do minor tweaking of timing for different grades of gasoline, etc.
Jerry

Thank you both very much.

Mr. Lang. Nothing like learning to read Greek. I am unclear on whether the valves open and close once in a cycle or multiple times. I have a feeling this is my problem. But do not know. I did do the embarassing thing of pulling the distributor and turning over the engine some years ago. Along with not changing out the pan gasket while out of the truck and on an engine stand. Dumb me.

Jerry. Thank you. I believe you are right on the post positioning of the field/alternator for the generator but need to work on getting the engine to run.

I think a carburetor rebuild and timing review may be the first step.

What bothers me is that the engine ran and I drove the truck this summer. I don't know what I did to change that. I guess my 'tuning up' for better operation did not work out so good.

Thanks again

Ah, well, when you take the valve cover off, and the spark plugs off, you can tun the engine over by hand, and watch the valves and rockers move.

This awesome Chevrolet film will give you some ideas.

http://www.archive.org/details/DowntheG1935

Did you polarize the generator to the regulator...? There is a free information on how to check the regulator and generator on the vehicle as well as how to polarize the generator to the regulator at fifthaveinternetgarage.com/techtips.

Thank you all very much.

Thank the Good Lord for the rain during last weekend

I rebuilt the carburetor but may have missed on one thing so I will open it back up and fix that. There is a ball with a spring and a T shaped metal thing at the top. It pops loose so I held it in place while I put the top on. This may not be good so I will take the top off and push it down at 90 degrees like I noticed on another carburetor I have for a 235.

I took off the top valve cover and turned the engine. I thought with the second valve down that was where the first spark plug wire needed to be. It started raining so I couldn't change the wiring. Thank God for rain. This is when the valve is open not shut. I need to do that again.

I thought I polarized the generator but will go to that site to make sure.

I will get this thing running. I will take some time.

Thanks again for all the help.

I think you're confused about how to set the firing order. The pistons come to the top of the stroke twice, once at the top of the compression stroke, ready for a spark, and again one turn later, at the top of the exhaust stroke with both valves slightly open. Two cylinders top out at once, #1 and #6. Here's the best way I've found to get it right the first time:

1. Turn the engine, clockwise from the front. Watch the valves on the #6 cylinder.

2. The #6 exhaust valve is the last one in line, right back by the firewall. Turn the engine until it's fully open, with the spring compressed. Keep turning until the exhaust is almost closed and the intake just begins to move. It's the second one in line from the firewall.

3. With the #6 cylinder in this position, called "overlap" or "rocking" THE DISTRIBUTOR ROTOR SHOULD BE POINTED TO THE #1 PLUG WIRE POSITION ON THE DISTRIBUTOR CAP.

4. Start the firing order with the #1 plug wire in the cap position the rotor is pointing toward, and follow with the 5-3-6-2-4 order.

This is the simplest, most foolproof way I've found to make sure the distributor is installed correctly. It's more accurate than trying to stick a thumb over the spark plug hole and look for compression pressure.
Jerry

Thank you Jerry. I will check this next weekend. Weekends are the only time I have. And usually it is only for an hour or so.

Thank you very much