Hopeing someone has some insight as to why my 6v delco generator isn't charging on my 1950 cadillac. To begin when I bought the car it worked I would see it charging on the ammeter gauge in the dash when driving but since removing it to rebuild the engine and also taking it apart to clean and re grease it doesn't show a charge. I tried grounding the field terminal then looking at the guage with no change so that rules out the voltage regulator and means it must be the generator. What can be the issue with it? And are there any tests to pin point the issue? Thanks Some other context: I also took apart, cleaned and regreased the started at that time and have no issues so I cant see it being something I majorly screwed up.
If you grounded the field and it still didn't charge, the problem is in the generator itself. That is; if you grounded the field terminal on the generator itself. You could have a bad wire going to the generator field if you grounded it at the regulator. Also, does the ammeter show a discharge when you turn on the headlights? You need to be sure it is actually working.
Yea the ammeter definitely works and shows a discharge when I turn the headlight on. I ground the feild terminal by connecting it to the actual copper braided ground wire on my battery. Should I have done it differently?
Yea it appears so. What do you think tge issue could be? What are some ways to test for specific problems?
Seeing as you had it apart before I’d look at the brushes and wires to them to start, also check for continuity at the external terminals.
This is a link to the electrical section of the service manual for 1954 GMCs. It doesn't really matter what particular make or year, any six volt General Motors generator is going to be pretty much the same. Look through the part of the manual that covers generators. There are some tests with a growler that you can't do without the proper equipment but it does cover the basics - mainly you want to make sure the brushes are in good condition and the commutator is clean where the brushes contact it, and there aren't any breaks in the windings. https://oldcarmanualproject.com/manuals/GMC/1954/620-980/Section7/index.htm
That is fine. What I was getting at is did you connect a ground to the field terminal on the generator or at the regulator. Either will work as long as the field wire from the regulator is good. If you did it at the generator, you eliminated the possibility that the wire is defective. The problem has to be in the generator.
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