hey guys, as you may have seen in my "almost got home" post my gen isnt working. i didnt have time to test it before i left so i just went for it, oh well its a memory or 15 made lol. im going to buy the parts and bum a ride up on wednesday to fix it. ive never torn a gen apart but i torn the starter all apart and from what ive hear the guts go together preety much the same. would you figure i just need new brushes? or??? im afraid of pulling it apart and the brushes look brand new and im left wondering what the hecks wrong with it. anybody want to give me a "how to" in rebuilding one of these? thanx tim
Are you talking "dirt lot" rebuild or proper rebuid? Dirt lot, pull the armature out and s****e clean the slots between the copper strips (commutator on the end). Clean the strips with a piece of emery cloth. ***emble with new brushes. When I worked at a generator shop, they would turn that commutator in a lathe, check it with a meter, then ***emble it with new brushes and bearings. An interesting side note, that lathe had a quick release chuck. Meaning the operator would hit a lever, and would grab the part out of the lathe with the lathe spinning at full speed (pre-OSHA days). I think you have to do something with the relay when you install the generator. I don't know what, someone else can chime in on that.
given those discriptions dirt lot lol. i know when i instale it i have to polerize it and ive done all that previously so im just kinda trying to figure out how the guts on one work. your description soulds fairly simple, does any one have a blown apart photo so i can see the parts hes talking about? im sure once i have a drawing or a photo with an arrow saying "this part is this" ill be good to go. am i correct in thinking that it looks alot like an old ford starter on the insides? thanx tim
Before jumping off the big end... beg, borrow or steal an old Motors manual from the late 50's. It will give you a step by step procedure to figure out what is not working. It could be the voltage regulator. The manual will have pictures to help you understand the process including polarizing the system when you get it fixed. Diagnosing the problem can save a lot of time and money. If it's not the generator you can still overhaul it at your leisure.
very good point there, the i doulbe double checked all the wiring and replaced what looked iffy and the regulator is new so im still thinking generator. dont realy know were id grab a manual from but it sounds like a good idea tia tim
On the right side of the pic is the commutator (cylindrical shape with the parallel strips). The brushes are pressing against that so the brushes wear down and get smeared all over it. That is the part you want to clean so it is a bright copper color again before you put the new brushes back in.
the only things you need to worry about in normal use are the brushes and the commutator (the moving electrical contacts), and the bearings. Also make sure the wiring inside is all ok, terminals tight, insulation intact, etc.
its 1953 ford generator and a 56 regulator. that pic helps a ton, im preety sure i can handle it now. maybe just a little frustrationinvolved. it was a pain in the *** getting the brushes to sit right when we put the starter back together thanx tim
alright stupid question but how many brushes are there? im looking online to find who has them localy and they are listing them as sold in pairs? from napas web site Item#: ECHF404 Price: $4.99 Attributes: Additional Contents:Two brushes per set. Features & Benefitsim: .875 x 1.00 x .291 x .975 Type of Packaging:Box i dont want to buy stuff and drive the 60 miles to the car to find out im short a few peices :S tia tim
This post is great, I'm ripping into my harley generator this week and that pic makes a lot more sense than the stupid factory manual diagrams.
Ill be rebuilding my generator for my 55 chevy. Its only putting out 1.3v I changed the brushes, but nothing changed. this IS a great post.
i oreilys on O should have a set for me tomorow morning, said he didnt know how many was in a box so he ordered a few but will have to wait for the rest of them to show up on thursday morning. if i can figure out how many it needs and thatshow manys in the box tomorow we'll rebuild it in freemont and come home, stoping at your place on the way threw. if its not enough ill just charge it up and drive it back to lincoln stoping in wahoo and ceresco to charge it up some more. and then just fix it in the school parking lot whenthe rest of the parts show up. no sence in tearing it all apart only to replace half the brushes. tim
Here's a really confusing bit of info, might want to print these out to read at your leisure....probably just mess you up more, but at least you can see what's involved http://www.selectric.org/manuals/generator/
i thought someone posted a chevy gen had 4 brushes--though i dont see it now? either way i looked up the brushes for a chevy gen figureing if it said 4 then the 2 that come with the ford one must be how ever many it needs so i looked it up and it said that the chevy is also sold with just one pair of brushes. so that leads me to beleve im going to need more then one box -two brushes to rebuild this thing to the top in hopes of someone telling me how many brushes are inside a ford generator tia tim
This is A great post now my question I just had my starter chromed we couldn`t get the screw that holds the exciter wire off so the chrome shop chromed it with it on so my question is will it work?some one said so long as it is magnatized that it would work ..........thanks....
You might want to leave the field coils in place. They're held in with a square screw and the book shows a special tool used on a press to remove them. What's the truck doing, not charging? Flatman
They chromed it with the field hold down screw in place? As long as it is metal, it'll conduct. Flatman
Remember when doing the continuity/ground checks that Ford gens and regs ground differently than most others, and be sure you have the right diagram. Only hard part is likely unnecessary: if fields are not fried or otherwise trashed, they can be left alone. Changing them is WAY too much fun. Rest of job comes down to packing and/or replacing bearing, changing rear bushing if shot, changing brushes and perhaps springs, and general cleaning. Armature needs to be checked electrically, but is likely OK if you didn't smell anything burning... Commutator needs cleaning and brightening, perhaps just a buzz with one of those little br*** wire toothbrushes if not seriously worn. It is traditionally skimmed on a lathe to clean; used to be undercutting the insulation between segments was a big deal, I think more recent thought is that it doesn't matter. Method for people without the special circular slotting saw giz was a careful shallow cut with a hacksaw blade with reliefs ground off. I have heard numerous warnings to eshew emery paper from old timers--most say it leaves conductive particles to cause trouble, a few say it leaves a greasy residue. I have no idea if any of this is true, but avoid it and use any light colored abrasive just in case. Then, do a cosmetic clean&paint, put it back together, and polarize--again, use method specific to Ford!
lol **** i never thought about how to take it apart only how to swap the brushes out ect. lol yeah its not charging, well i think its charging a tiny bit its got enough juice that after jump starting it you can drive for how ever long youd like--never ran out of juice but i did stop a few times to charge it with jump cables. but if you waited a while after driving and turned the headlights on itd kill the car. so im thinking that it is charging a tiny bit, just enough to keep it running. if some one will let me know how to pull it apart enough to swap the brushes out ill take about a thousand photos and post a tech thing on it. i put new brushes in my starter that just had two the long bolts holding it all together. i havnt got it in front of me right now so i dont realy know whats holding this all together. i would asume one long bolt going threw the entire body? tia tim
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