generator voltage

45' 2N with single wire generator 6v
Just finished restoration and got lights wired and working.
Showing slight discharge when lights are on, and I want to ajust
the generator for more voltage but dont want it to be putting out
too much when lights are off. My digital ammeter don't work
and am picking up an analog one this week, I am reading this
off the ammeter on the tractor. What should the generator be
putting out with lights on and off?
This is for 2 headlights and one rear work light.
I dont see any settings in the manual.
Thanks
Corey
 
corchel.......alright heres the deal....amps??? Yer 6-volt 2N genny is an 11-amp genny. It takes about 3-amps to power yer sparkie coil. You now have 8-amps left fer yer headlites. The original 2N headlites were a separate bulb and lenz scheme. Now all you can gitt are the BETTER sealed beam headlites.

You MANUALLY set yer genny voltage regulator screw so it shows about +3 amps while the engine is running about 1/3-throttle. (unlike modern 12v alternators, 6v gennys don't charge at idle) The 3-amps is enuff to re-charge yer 6-volt battery.

Yeah yer 1-wire 6-volt genny has a MANUAL charge adjust screw on the backside of yer genny. That means you haffta MANUALLY adjust yer genny charge every time you turn yer headlites on-or-off. Otherwize you will BOIL all the acid water out or run outta volts to sparkle yer sparkies.

BTW you do know the weird 4-nipple front mount dizzy is designed to be removed from the tractor to change/adjust the points (0.015") don't you? Just un-snapple yer capple and remove the 2-bolts and walk to the kitchen table. Installation is a reversal of the removal ...except... finger start the 2-bolts, put the rotor on and rotate the rotor until the OFFSET drive tang fits the OFFSET camshaft slot. Now tighten the 2-bolts and re-snapple yer capple. Simple, eh?

Yeah, modern digital voltmeters don't like all them stray sparkies flying around. Cheap analog needle meters are plenty accurate for tractor work.

BTW, yer 30-0-30 ammeter is plenty accurate fer adjusting the genny screw ...except... you haffa do some walkin' to read the ammeter on left side of dash and genny adjust screw is on the right side of the engine. ......Dell, retired electrical calibration engineer
 
ditto what the others said. but here's the deal.

yer 11 amp genny, at full tilt, won't keep you out of a discharge situation while running the ignition AND (2) 35w headlamps, ot to mention whatever wattage your tail lamp is. with headlamps and ignition, your needle will likely be 0 or a hair negative. Not a huge problem, as the battery holds LOTS of electrons... just don't run her for 12 hours at night and expect to shut down without some charge time and still have a charged battery.
 
Thanks for the info. I will set it as Bruce has listed. I plan to put it on the trickle charger when its done working, especially in the winter time after plowing snow after dark ( which seems to be the only time I have to plow).
 
(quoted from post at 11:34:18 12/08/14) ditto what the others said. but here's the deal.

yer 11 amp genny, at full tilt, won't keep you out of a discharge situation while running the ignition AND (2) 35w headlamps, ot to mention whatever wattage your tail lamp is. with headlamps and ignition, your needle will likely be 0 or a hair negative. Not a huge problem, as the battery holds LOTS of electrons... just don't run her for 12 hours at night and expect to shut down without some charge time and still have a charged battery.

x2. I could not get enough juice outta my 11 amp genny on my 8n to show a charge with lights on. I ended up picking up a newer 20 amp genny and swapping it.
 

With lights (front only) on you may have been discharging your battery at ~5 amps per hour. More if also running rear lights. Running it say 12 hours would give you a total discharge of about 60 amps. Provided that you have a good battery its reserve should more than be able to handle that.

Eventually when you ran it with the lights off the battery would begin charging again and refill its depleted reserve until the next time the lights are on.

Now if you run with lights on all of the time then all bets are off.
 
what you are not also factoring in is duty cycle.

i bet that 11 amp genny hates being run at 11amps constantly!
 
also. if that rear lamp is another 35w job, you may need to up your calc of discharge for that battery.

is it a new battery?

was he going full rpm, or doing something that needed ground speed but not so much engien speed, so he might not even be kicking 11.

overall, running a battery in discharge mode all day ( night? ) and parking is not a desireable situation for status quo.
 

Very true did not take duty cycle into consideration. Don't really know what the duty cycle on the 11 amp genny's are. Looking at there construction I always assumed they were near bullet proof.
 
hard to say without knowing the original engineering specs.

When i design electronic equipment or circuits, I generally don't have 'rated' operating characteristics that are more than 80% of MAX capability. in other words.. onthat 11 amp genny.. for a continous output.. I wouldn't want it doing more than 9 for a long term basis.

you start getting thermal issues.. etc.
 
Who knows, maybee ford rated it 11a continuous?? Dunno. I just know running in discharge means the Genny is loaded to the hilt ;)
 
" I plan to put it on the trickle charger "

Trickle charger or float charger?

Big difference!

The only thing I use to get out of trickle chargers were boiled out batteries. ;)
75 Tips
 
You must be old as I am! :)

Took me a while to call them float chargers.

The last trickle charger I had went across the garage into the trash can about 20 years ago when it boiled a lawn mower battery dry in 24 hours.
 

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