judging from what everything else looks like on the car and the guts of the starter it prolly just needs brushes and s****ed clean like previously mentiond. the gen is still shiney-ish black with the red tag so it shouldnt be a big deal. what would you suggest for a "light colored abrasive" if not emery cloth? im kinda unsure of what to grab when i go to a partstore and theres 800 of the same thing with differnt names. with this tight of budget id rather not buy even 6 bux worth of stuff im not going tobe able to use thanx again tim
I meant any kind of fine sandpaper type stuff that doesn't seem to be emery--but if the thing isn't noticeably rough or badly grooved, i'd just brush it with a little br*** brush. Final clean with NAPA electric motor cleaning spray--lord knows what kinds of ancient lacquer are on the windings and what all might just dissolve them. Brushes--just yank rear plate off for that job, battery unplugged of course, and maybe a piece of duct tape to keep shell attached to front plate, if you care--it doesn't really matter. When you put it together, as an experienced pro you will note that brushes can be hung up with their springs pushing them ****ed against their little holder openings in such a way that they don't interfere with putting plate back over the commutater, and you can then give them a slight push with a screwdriver through the slots to pop them into place. If you don't do this, holding them back while installing requires 17 fingers. Make sure gen ground has direct lead to reg--next tests will be motoring the gen and also shorting the field to see if gen charges with reg out of system...
is there supposed to be a band over the slots on the generator? i know my starter has a metal band that goes around it but my generator doesnt currently have one on it. just a random thought tim
No band on late gens--those are cooling slots. Note fan on pulley! Other get another core disasters: gen run with totally shot bearings will rub armature against fields, turning the whole thing into a 2-pound can of copper filings. Unlikely. A generator severely overheated by wiring or VR failure will throw solder from area adjacent to brushes on armature, leaving a neat little metalflake ring around inside of gen! I haven't had time to look up all the old timey no have ****ytic devices tests, but one good one is to disconnect F and G from gen, jump the terminals together, and watch amneter as you rev engine into charge range. This bumps gen to full output, telling you if a problem is likely gen or reg. Keep test SHORT or see solder failure in paragraph 2!! Other tests include runnig gen as motor (G and A to bat) and simple continuity tests to determine fields are NOT grounded to case and segments of forgotten name thingy brushes ride on are not grounded to shaft of armature. Commutator. Unless you have a real failure point, rare on gens, rebuild is just simple take apart-clean -re***emble stuff.
I think what Bruce is getting at, is that most "generator" problems are really wiring or voltage regulator problems.
Exactly...the works are just a couple chunks of wadded up copper wire turning past one another without even touching. The only wearing parts (except commutater, which wears out VERY slowly) are cheap and available.
yeah ive got some sneaking su****ions about a few things myself. i think ill bring enough stuff with me to fix all my "maybes" and see what happens. after thinking about it i think i know what it is and it IS wiring problem. thanx guys for a great post. ill snap a shot or two when i tear it apart for some ones future referancing tim
Yeagh--I learned how to wire a car by carefully and comprehensively making every possible mistake on my '48; early in the learning curve and on a long road trip from college, my lights suddenly dimmed and the amneter swung to BAD...I pulled over, and noted that my brand-new rat's nest of cheap, nasty, and under-gauged wire was resting on the heat crossover of the manifold...I gently lifted the bundle with a stick, and engine RPM dropped a bit and the lights went back to bright...I just left that stick there for a while, and went on my way...
I am still worried about your "proven trucker trick" for using a 6v gen with a 12v regulator in a 12v system.... You are aware that a lot of truckers are speed freaks...right..(another proven trucker trick)... If your 6v generator is working properly and putting out all that it should, it will have half the voltage it needs, but roughly twice the amperage.... I think you would be wasting your time trying to fix the wrong generator, and your best bet would be to find a 12v gen while you are still at home, and swap it in when you get there..... Maybe if you explained this trick to me, it would make more sense.....
For the guy who spins his up and polarizes but it wont generate voltage, the commutator insulation probably failed. It's easy to tell, the bar looking things on the brush end are across from each other short, open to the others. They are the ends of the armature windings. The stator might not magnatize. There was a technique involving an electromagnet and a hacksaw blade to try and guess why the nice metal would not take the charge, the old books should show a shop testrig.
That would be a "Growler", used to test for shorts in the armatures. I still use one every now and then. Flatman
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