The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay Electrical problem

I have a '51 AD 3/4 ton with a new generator, new voltage regulator and a new battery (all 6 volt).

The problem is that the ammeter showed a good charge (about half way between 0 and full charge) up until a few days ago. For a while the ammeter showed that the system was discharging, but now the needle sits almost exactly at 0, showing a little bit of charging at higher RPMs and a little bit of discharging at idle. Turning on the headlights moves the needle to the discharge side.

What should the readings be? What might have happened? What can I do to get the system functioning properly?

Thanks in advance.

Rob

This may be normal.Amps are current flow. If the battery is fully charged there is little current flow into it. Turn on the lights & heater. At idle it will show discharge. Acelerate the engine & it should go to charge & settle back to very slight charge. That is normal. Check in back of the amp gauge & make shure the wires are not loose or hot. It would help to hook a voltmeter up to the battery. When you accelerate the engine you should have 6.8 To 7.2 volts.

Just a shot in the dark,I've had regulators go bad early,a couple that didn't work rright from day one. It's a long shot,but just because it's new,doesn't mean it's good.

If it discharges with the lights on and the motor speed above idle, something has gone wrong, no doubt about it. If you still have your old regulator, you could give it a try to see if that is the problem.