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JMOR 06-01-2012 06:33:18 72.190.9.193 Report to Moderator

Quoting Removed, click Modern View to seeWild ammeter needle: the needle on my Farmall has done this ever since I had it ( 27 years) and all is well. Why does it do it? To my way of thinking, it is either a too sensitive VR that had inadequate hysteresis such that it is constantly turning field on/off/on OR the current sensing portion of the regulator senses generator overload & cuts back & then the overload is of course gone & then it turns back on & the cycle repeats itself. If it is the latter, and I believe it is in my Farmall) then you can steady the ammeter by slowing the engine to keep a very slightly positive ammeter reading, i.e., low charging current & no over current. I have, in my infinite curiosity, installed two jumpers, generator field to ground AND generator armature to battery with engine running and ammeter needle settles. This tells me that the ammeter wiggle is related to the unstable field control of the VR or the on/off current control function of the VR or both, since with these jumpers the regulator is out of the circuit & is set to maximum output. I satisfied my curiosity & removed the jumpers and it continues to flail about wildly & continues to keep the battery charged just as it always has done. Further, if you run the tractor all day, by the end of the day the battery should be charged enough to prevent over current & steady the meter or the VR is set so high the the battery will be boiling electrolyte. [Reply]   [No Email]