this is a 390in a 63 galaxie, is the generator light supposed to be on? Night before last I noticed it came on and thought the generator had died because the battery was drained and it wouldn't start. The other day I looked at the connections at the generator and soleniod and they had that copper-green corrosion on them. I used a wire brush and cleaned everything up real good. (i didn't mess with the voltage regulator, just the generator and solenoid) Then I test drove it for a while with the lights on near sunset. The gen light during the day was only visible when I really got on the throttle. Later on, after it got dark, I could see that the generator light was on constantly (barely lit at idling speeds) and that the gen light got real bright when I accelerated (brightest just before shift @ highest rpm's). I came back home and the battery tested 12v, so I guess it's ok? Is that Gen light supposed to be on all the time? Please help, thanks!
My first reaction would be the voltage regulator. A dim light tells me the generator is putting out. Borrow an old motors manual for the Ford trouble shooting proceedures. (Fords are diferent from GM) I just went through the same thing but I never try to memorize the proceedures. Go by the book. I had similar symptoms and mine was the V/regulator.
Take a voltage meter and check the generator output at idle and high RPMs. If ya don't know how ya might try a autoparts store. Just be careful, they might not know what a generator looks like!?!?
Based on the symptoms. I'd guess.... Check the fan belt tension. If that ain't it... it could be any one of the following. High resistance in field circuit. "that copper-green corrosion" This would be my second guess. Double check that the connectors are not creating excess resistance. Voltage regulator set to low. Current regulator set to low. Defective Generator. Al Al@AutoReWire.com
Ok set to low... I don't understand. Lemme explain what I did today: I pulled the negative terminal off the battery while the motor was running and it died. So I discovered there definately is a problem. Either the voltage reg or the generator is bad. I was told to play with the points on the volt reg and then remove the neg terminal to see if the car dies. If I can bridge the correct points (contacts/ whatever you call em's) and pull the neg terminal off the battery and the car still stay running, then I need a new voltage regulator. - Right?? If I try to bridge each point and then pull the neg terminal and the car dies, then I need a generator, right? I dunno... that sounds good so far. Thanks for all the help!
Is it positive or negative ground. If it's negative ground, of course it would die when you pull the neg cable off, it has no ground! I tried messing with my wife (then girlfriend) on a first date... we went to a haunted house out in the country, and on the way back I stopped at a 4 way in the middle of nowhere. Being a smart guy, I dumped the clutch to simulate a stall... and you know what. "oh no, the truck is dead, whatever shall we do out here where noone else is around for miles? " She didn' buy it. So I go to restart the truck and no ****, it really was dead. No flashlight, middle of nowhere. So this one eyed bearded dude comes up in a beater truck, sees we need help and brings a bic lighter over. My neg. cable FELL OFF! This was a 2 year old truck, mind you, and the ****ing thing was GONE!!!! We got her jumpstarted (the truck, not the wife) and I ran every red light and stop sign on the way home. Wierd ****. Anyways, that's how I know neg ground systems won't work without a neg cable. Jay
Oh yeah, I cleaned all the terminal connections... The voltage regulator had been painted up solid and had overspray on points! - still didn't fix the overall problem, but now the Gen light in the dash is reading accurately. (it gets brighter @ higher rpms which I discovered is correct if your having charging problems) Voltage regulator set to low. Current regulator set to low. Defective Generator. I don't have a clue what you mean by that. - Please explain.
Ok, how do I know if it is a negative ground vs. positive ground system? I spoke with a guy who restores these 63 and 64 fords btw, that is where I got the pull the neg cable idea. I don't understand what all is happening with the charging and electrical (I'm not a mechanic!) so I am totally going on what other people say. If the generator is supplying power back to where the positive terminal off the battery is (both battery and gen lines meet at solenoid), would'nt it make more sense to pull the positive from the battery and leave the negative terminal on the battery hooked up? then you would only be running off the generator and no +12v from the battery. This way wouldn't be messing with any negative? I didn't think the negative post on the battery was considered a ground. I am onto something here... I feel so close to understanding
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