rewired, rebuilt generator...still no charge

Hi,

frustrated as all holy you know what at my 1952 8n. Bought it three years ago, rewired it right away with tractor supply wire harness. Been running it reliably (sans it flooding four times before starting when cold) by just charging the 6v battery for a few hours every10 or so hours of run time. Had enough and just pulled the generator and had it rebuilt by a theshop that did the starter and alternator on my boat.

hooked it back up...no charge, slight discharge with rear light on, big discharge when all 3 on. Jumpered battery and arm on VR to polarize and this shows discharge on ammeter when running to. No change attempting to ground VR case or Field to ground. Generator shows .24 volts running between large post on rear and ground....help! About ready to throw a new VR at it anyhow.
 


6v or 12v?

" Generator shows .24 volts"

Digital meter? They don't usually like points & generators.....see tip # 47. You could have a meter problem.

" with tractor supply wire harness. "

Well, that in itself could be the problem. I'm not the only one around here w/ the opinion that TSC tractor parts are overpriced junk.

That being said.....the v/r is just as much a part of your charging circuit as the generator & battery.

First, check the battery. You can't charge a battery w/ a dead cell. (see tip # 49)

If the battery is ok, use the flow chart to see if it's the v/r or battery.
RevisedFlowChart.jpg

75 Tips
 
(quoted from post at 14:17:37 12/19/14) Hi,

frustrated as all holy you know what at my 1952 8n. Bought it three years ago, rewired it right away with tractor supply wire harness. Been running it reliably (sans it flooding four times before starting when cold) by just charging the 6v battery for a few hours every10 or so hours of run time. Had enough and just pulled the generator and had it rebuilt by a theshop that did the starter and alternator on my boat.

hooked it back up...no charge, slight discharge with rear light on, big discharge when all 3 on. Jumpered battery and arm on VR to polarize and this shows discharge on ammeter when running to. No change attempting to ground VR case or Field to ground. Generator shows .24 volts running between large post on rear and ground....help! About ready to throw a new VR at it anyhow.
oosen/remove fan belt from generator. Connect jumper from gen Field terminal to gen ground terminal. Connect jumper from ungrounded battery terminal to the gen ARM terminal. Does the generator spin like an electric motor? We will continue after we see those results.
 
hey cruiser.......you write..."slight discharge with rear light on, big discharge when all 3 on" why does that surprize you? Sounds about normal to me. And that you have yer ammeter connected correctly.

Then you complain....."Generator shows .24 volts running between large post on rear and ground".......uh? you do now that LARGE post on rear of generator is the 6-volt genny OUTPUT which should go to yer square can voltage regulator ARM contact. As you describe, you are SHORTING yer new rebuilt genny OUTPUT to GROUND.......sheesh!!!

Surprizingly enuff, yer 6-volt genny don't care positive (+) or negative (-) ground as long as the voltage regulator is polarized to match yer 6-volt battery ground. There are some obscure advantages to positive (+) ground but don't sweat it. Problem cumms from shadetree mechanics used to the mandatory negative (-) ground of their BelchFire-V8 alternator.

BTW.......to POLARIZE yer genny, "arc-spark" yer side-by-side BAT and ARM terminals of yer squarecan voltage regulator. That is ALL it takes, a QUICK "arc-spark". Simple, eh? I use a wide blade stubby screwdriver. You can use short piece of bailin' ware, iff'n you want. .......HTH, electrical Dell
 
Battery is OK...holds a charge quite a while. Yep generator does spin when connected as instructed -pretty well too.

Dell.. Sorry for the confusion. Ammeter always reads 0 or negative...never positive. And I misspoke...the voltmeter was between the output and ground for the purpose of readings
 
Digital meter? They don't usually like points & generators.....see tip # 47. You could have a meter problem.

Did you run all of the checks on the flow chart?
75 Tips
 
(quoted from post at 15:42:47 12/19/14) Battery is OK...holds a charge quite a while. Yep generator does spin when connected as instructed -pretty well too.

Dell.. Sorry for the confusion. Ammeter always reads 0 or negative...never positive. And I misspoke...the voltmeter was between the output and ground for the purpose of readings
ery high likelihood that generator by itself is fine when they motor. It is also now polarized. Reconnect, making sure Arm gen to Arm reg. jumper field to gnd as when motoring. Start and observe ammeter. While running jumper Arm to Batt and observe. With this last setup, the reg is being bypassed. If ok like this, then it pretty well points to reg, assuming that reg is grounded to gen. Be sure you know gen Field terminal from gen ground terminal.
 
Thanks I will try that..just to be clear I leave the jumper on the generator. Start it then also jump the arm and Batt terminals at the regulator?

thanks for all the pointers so far..back to it in the morning.
 
(quoted from post at 23:11:29 12/19/14) Thanks I will try that..just to be clear I leave the jumper on the generator. Start it then also jump the arm and Batt terminals at the regulator?

thanks for all the pointers so far..back to it in the morning.
es, but be sure ti remove the Arm to Batt jumper when you stop the engine.
 
Ok ..new regulator..polarized and started..showed 5 amps Positive...then nine or so at higher idle...then 0 then no change..jumper arm and Bart on regulator..shows negative 10 amps. Jumper field and ground as instructed above...needle pins well above 30 amps positive...scary..shut it down lickety quick...now what? Wiring double and triple checked..regulator mounts ground down to bare metal ground checked with good (analog) meter...removed jumper on generator. Still at 0...did I get a bad regulator? From local tractor dealer...not TSC...even used dielectric on all connections clean bright and tight.
 
A little further experimentation..while running with field and ground on generator jumpered..she charges at 1000 rpms at 11 or 12 amps..with all lights on...25 off...mid throttle a solid 20 with all lights on...is it possible the generator is putting out too much power for regulator to handle? No change with generator jumpered and Batt and arm jumpered at regulator
 
(quoted from post at 18:02:33 12/20/14) A little further experimentation..while running with field and ground on generator jumpered..she charges at 1000 rpms at 11 or 12 amps..with all lights on...25 off...mid throttle a solid 20 with all lights on...is it possible the generator is putting out too much power for regulator to handle? No change with generator jumpered and Batt and arm jumpered at regulator
o, you are not over powering the VR. The field contacts in the regulator are not closing to ground as they should. Are you sure you have the correct regulator?
 
Undo the battery wire & clean the points in the regulator. Leave the cover off & start it up. watch what the points are doing & report back.
 
I think its the correct one. Looks the same as the old ( minus all the rust) Dealer confirmed twice that it was 6v 52, sidemount...so I think so..i guess old could have been wrong too,they do act the same. How can I tell?
 
(quoted from post at 23:11:54 12/20/14) I think its the correct one. Looks the same as the old ( minus all the rust) Dealer confirmed twice that it was 6v 52, sidemount...so I think so..i guess old could have been wrong too,they do act the same. How can I tell?
hat is the terminal order, as read with terminal facing your eyes? B-A-F (left to right) or A-F-B? Should be B-A-F. Take wire off of VR's Field terminal and connect a light bulb with one bulb terminal to the ungrounded battery terminal, the other bulb terminal to the VR Field terminal. Does it light? Does it light if, instead of on Field terminal, you touch it to the VR mounting base(case)?
 

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