The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay Charging Problem

I need help troubleshooting a problem with the charging system. This is a 53 Chevy 1/2 ton with original everything and 6 volts. It was working fine up until today. It had sat for a week. Cranked a little slow, but it usually does after sitting that long. Started, but the ammeter didn't go over into the + side like it usually does for a while until the battery recharges. Six miles to work and needle didn't move off center. At idle it showed a slight discharge as usual, and the directionals were slow blinking. I checked the belt and it's not slipping. CHevcked for obvious broken wires. Tapped the voltage regulator but that didn't budge anything. According to the manual, it could be anything from corrosion to a malfunctioning generator or regulator. Where do I start? I've got a multimeter, but electricity isn't my strong suit and I don't want to fry anything. I'd appreciate some help.

Check for bad grounds, of course ... also, what size battery cables do you have on there? Make sure they're a good size - like #2 ... which I guess they are; you said this just started up, so I'm thinking something is grounding out.

Are your battery cables hot? Sounds like a ground to me as well. If you have the common grounding strap for 6 volt, you might disconnect it from where it is grounded to the frame and wire brush it to make sure you are getting a good ground. Mine did that before and the cables got hot as well. Once it was cleaned off, it was fine. I'd check both terminals for corrosion while you're at it. Don't know much about generators as mine has an alternator, but could it be worn brushes? Probably not, but just a thought. Somneone else will know better than me on that.

It sounds like you are driving on your battery power. I had the same problem last monday.
My generator went south and quit. One brush broke of.
Check with your multymeter if you have any power comming out from your generator.
Engine has to run higher than idle.

My 46 acted exactly the same. It was working OK then went 'dead'. I took the generator and regulator to a shop and it was the regulator at fault. Had the generator refurbished and bought a new regulator, all for less than $100 US. The system works perfectly now and even carries the headlights at a relatively low speed.
Hope this is what you need for the 53!
Cheers. George

Either your generator or regulator has problems. Here's some good advice in a previous post.
Generator not generating