Hey guys, picked up a 1940 Ford Standard recently in Nebraska. Amazing car however I ran into my first issue with it and that is the car has started putting off crazy power from the generator and the generator its self is getting very hot. Thought it was the regulator, however I put a different one on to see if that changed anything and it did not. I suppose it could be grounding out somewhere? any help is much appreciated. Thanks!
I would suggest taking tis question to "The Ford Barn" forum if you are a member there. There is a member that knows these things inside and out and would probably be of considerable help. If you're not a member there and a new '40 Ford owner, you should be.
A lot of Ford guys are in both forums but the knowledge base on "original" and especially things like Generators is a lot stronger there. I can't think of anything internal in the generator that would cause it to overcharge on it's own. That would be caused by something external to the generator. The one thing I have to ask is what condition is the battery in? If there is an issue with the battery where it isn't getting charged up fully or the regulator is seeing a higher demand for current in the system the regulator will cause the generator to charge at a higher rate to try and make up for it. That is headlights on, radio playing or any other draw on the car. All charging systems work that way with the regulator calling for enough volts/amps to supply the power to replenish what is being drawn out of the battery by the rest of the system.
I second what Tubman and mr48chevy said about The Ford Barn. Lots of knowledge here, but probably more original type tech help over there.
In the way of troubleshooting, disconnect the battery and charge it with no connection to the car. Check the battery with a meter and see what voltage you have and continue to check to see if it drifts down. Un clean battery connections could be part of the problem.
I bought 2 new regulators before I took the OPtima and the regulator and the generator to a shop that was able to check and set the regulator. problem solved
Stock 40 Fords are not negative ground. And did you clean off all the ground and charging cable connections? Did you polarize the generator when you installed the new regulator?
Yes, it’s positive ground. All connections are. Did not polarize generator after installing the regulator.
If it is charging, it doesn't need to be polarized. Ford charging circuits are a "B" circuit in that you have to send current to the field to get the generator to charge. The first thing I would try would be to remove the field wire from the generator and see if it still charges. You really need a voltmeter connected from the armature terminal to ground to see if it is charging or not. If it still charges, the problem is in the generator. If it quits charging, the problem is that something external is feeding the generator field.
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