amp gauge problem

We have a 1953 Ford Jubilee NAA. Installed a new 6 volt voltage regulator did the polarizing but the amp gauge fluctuates so we put in a new amp gauge and it still fluctuates, any suggestions on why it does that.

I would clean the wiring harness connections and battery connection that was the trouble with my 35 Ferguson

Sometimes there is a gap of function in the voltage regular... meaning that it will charge the battery up,, then it will start pulsing the charge rate to keep the battery near its running voltage. This pulsing is actually somewhat normal as the battery reaches the fully charged state, the voltage regulator cuts off,,, then the as the battery voltage drops, it cuts back on. As long as the battery stays above 13 volts while running, its all good... Actually a perfect world, it would stay above 14 volts and below 15 volts if everything works as designed. Arguably around 14.2 to 14.6 volts is the desired level of charge while running, but remember that a tractor with a generator will put out almost no charge at low rpms or idle... So there is a lot of jumping around in the process. And if its a 6 volt system expect exactly half of what I quoted above.

In my opinion, that's not normal at all. I went through 3 voltage regulators on my NAA (one of them was so bad it damaged my ammeter) before converting to 12 volts and a one wire alternator. All is good now.

(quoted from post at 06:56:18 05/01/22) We have a 1953 Ford Jubilee NAA. Installed a new 6 volt voltage regulator did the polarizing but the amp gauge fluctuates so we put in a new amp gauge and it still fluctuates, any suggestions on why it does that.

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A certain amount of Ammeter "flickering" IS often "normal", and was when these machines were new.

Alternators with solid-state voltage regulators have been around so long there's a generation or two that doesn't remember how things used to be.

By nature, the old mechanical regulators are not as accurate/"steady" as what folks have grown up with, or if they did they are so uncommon anymore memories have faded.

Also, there used to be HUNDREDS, if not thousands of voltage regulators by part number, VERY closely matched to the generator they were intended to be used with.

Nowadays, a few generic units are sold as replacements for all those specialized units. That, in itself probably means regulation has become more "rough".

Quality, USA-made Ammeters were often "damped", made to smooth out fluctuations a bit and keep the needle more steady.

Not so much anymore with the cheap-made generic units sold today.

It certainly doesn't hurt to check that the generator's commutator and brushes are in good condition, check for loose connections, and verify that the generator AND VR are well grounded. Many tractors or vehicles used a ground wire between the "frames" of the generator and the voltage regulator to ensure that they are at the same ground potential, IIRC, yours should have one.

Beyond that the bottom line is, if your old generator charging system is keeping the battery charged, you can probably safely IGNORE it's imperfections.