I lurk on the HAMB a lot, but rarely post. Most of my stuff is not HAMB friendly. But at the moment I've got this in my garage. It's just so pretty to look at! And according to the owner, the original powertrain. And as you can see by the picture, the generator mount snapped right off the intake manifold I've got a new manifold to install, but before I do I wonder a couple things- Has anyone ever tried to make a bracket to help support the rear of the generator? I think something to take the weight off the front would help prevent another failure? The generator has a squeak when I spin the pully - I'd like to throw fresh bearings in it before putting it back together. Anything special I should know? I've done plenty of GM type alternators, but nothing this old. Note before the manifold broke the generator worked fine (other than the squeak). I added a little oil to the filler cups but it didn't help. I suspect no one has remembered to add oil in a long time.
The manifolds will crack when someone is careless and does not make sure the bracket is correctly seated when they tighten down the nut. This is not a common problem. the gennie if original will have two tapered bearings on the front to carry the load from the fan. The squeak is most likely just the dry brushes , which they should be---oil free. Not a bad Idea to inspect the bearings, and the fan and hub for fatigue cracks, as the make quite a mess when parts fly thru the hood !
I got everything together with a new manifold. No fatigue cracks I could see in the pulley, hub, etc. There are no bearings as part of the mount, just a large bolt & washers. That said everything went together well, the generator fits snugly in its mount & seems very solid. I'm unsure of wiring, it was taken apart before it got to me. The generator has what I ***ume are charge wires coming out the top. Every generator image I've seen on line shows a stud out the back for charge wires. That would make more sense, as the wires from the regulator have ring terminals. But I've got no idea if this is the correct generator... As well, unsure which of the two terminals on top are ground & field. There are no markings on the generator.
You are missing the cutout that is held on with the two screws ahead of the wires. There should only be one wire there, wonder if some one put a ground on there ? Check at http://www.vanpeltsales.com/ for a wiring diagram
I looked at those diagrams. They were helpful but don't show the exact terminals on the generator. This truck has a firewall mounted voltage regulator; I thought that these either used the cutout or the regulator but not both? It's possible the regulator was added at a later point. Some of the other wiring has been messed with as well...if anyone has a photo of the cutout it would be much appreciated.
Further to the above I found a YouTube video with a rundown of the cutout & it's function. That's exactly this generator looks like, except for the extra wire and the missing cutout. Here is the regulator. When I look closely it doesn't seem to fit flat on the firewall, it has the look of an add-on. Yellow/black and green wires joined together on the armature terminal. Yellow wire on the field. Orange to the battery, white to ground. I know from the wire colors & crimp on ends someone has already messed with this wiring; I wonder if someone has modified the early generator to work with a later style voltage regulator? I included a pic of the generator end of the wiring.
Slide that inspection cover off the back of the gennie, and look inside. If there are 2 brushes, its a later gennie that needs the regulator, if there are 3 brushes, its early, like the 35 should be, and uses a cutout. I've never heard of a 3 brush being converted to a regualtor, but what do I know. While the cover is off, see where those wires go
Pulled the inspection cover as suggested. There are 3 brushes. one on each side (3 o'clock & 9 o'clock) and one at 12 o'clock. The black wire is attached to the 9 o'clock brush ( the drives side of the thing). Inside there is another crimp on end so it's not Ford.....I can't tell where the other wire runs without taking the thing further apart. Tonight's job.
I looked at my generator stash today, and learned something new myself. I stated earlier you should only have one wire out of the case. This is, well, partially true. All my model A gennies have one wire, most, not all, my v8 gennies have two wires. The extra wire comes off the 3rd adjustable brush, and goes to ground. The one wire units ground internally off the brush, the two wire units run that ground out the case and ground with a screw that holds the cutout on to the case. You stated you have a wire off the brush, that is the ground, and that is the adjustable brush that controls the output. Looking from the back, it should be the top left brush, and it will slide back and forth in the direction that the armature turns. In those days, you were supposed to increase the output if you were to drive a lot at night, and reduce the output if driving with no lights or load on the charge system. The cutout is not a regulator, it simply turns the gennie off when battery voltage maxes out, then back on as needed. If the charge rate is left too high you cook the water out of the battery. The other wire will come off one of the windings and thru the case to the cutout. Original cutouts are pretty good, the repros not so much. Lots of folks like the modern one with a diode inside instead of points. There was a modern one that actually was a true regulator, but they have not been made for a few years now, on hold for some reason. happy motoring
Your description of how it should work makes perfect sense. I looked again at this generator; the "extra" wire is not attached to the adjustable brush, but one of the "normal" non -adjustable brushes. But who the hell knows what a past mechanic has done to the generator. The entire wiring system is suspect, ****py crimp connectors everywhere.... I talked to the owner - he has a fair bit of spare parts, including a later generator. At the end of the day I don't know what's been done done to the original generator, I don't have the cutout, and I don't want to pull the voltage regulator off the finished firewall & leave a bunch of screw holes...I'll try install the later generator & see how that goes. Thanks for the help! Even if I don't use the original generator on this truck at least I understand the whole shebang a lot better for next time.
The problem with using a later generator is the fan. The early gennie has better bearings on the front to take the load of the fan. Also, the pulley that the fan mounts on will not fit on all later gennies. One year only, 1939 standard (?) has the fan pulley, and is a two brush gennie with a regulator. Very hard to find
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