Almost a fire in the 36
 

Out for a ride yesterday when I smelled burning wires. Pulled over , lifted one side of the hood and saw that the wire to the voltage cutout which sits on top on the generator had burnt back the wiring insulation about 6 inches exposing a red hot copper wire. I used a kill switch to shut all power down.
When I finally got the car home, I pulled off the cutout switch off the generator and opened it up to see what happened.
The points had been melted together....
COULD THIS HAVE BEEN PREVENTED ? Or was this just a freak thing ?
Does anyone know what the point gap should be on a 36 cutout ?

Re: Almost a fire in the 36
 

I hate fire! To eliminate the cut out check with funprojects.com. They work for A and Ts. Should be something for yours too. Nice folks.

Re: Almost a fire in the 36
 

Yes - checkout the updated voltage regulator that is made to look like a regular cut-out. I ran one of these for quite some time - worked flawlessly:

http://funprojects.com/products/10505v.aspx

Re: Almost a fire in the 36
 

Wll order one Monday....thanks

Re: Almost a fire in the 36
 

As a suggestion pry the contacts apart and run a point file across them. the contact gap is not significant. put it back together and try it to make sure you have found the problem area, before installing the new Fun Projects regulator. Closed contacts while the car is running is no problem. Closed contacts with the car turned off is a problem. You may have another problem that caused the contacts to fuse together such as a short in the wiring.

Re: Almost a fire in the 36
 

Yeah, Terry....I suspect an internal short to ground within the cutout or to the cutout cover to ground....

Re: Almost a fire in the 36
 

Check you generator. It maybe fried also. The Fun Product replacement had been on back order for some time. I hope there back in stock as I need a couple.

Re: Almost a fire in the 36
 

get the one with a dioed

Re: Almost a fire in the 36
 

Look like still on backorder per their website

Re: Almost a fire in the 36
 

I would go with Terry's suggestion, best to trouble shoot the problem first with a cutout you can sacrifice.

Re: Almost a fire in the 36
 

Yes, and been on backorder forever it seems too.

Re: Almost a fire in the 36
 

I called them, they are now called BIRD HAVEN, they have no idea when they will have them available.. The tel #is 515-674-3949.
I believe the problem with the cutout was that the power wire shorted against the can. The insulators were really flattened out. I was able to free up the points using a propane torch and then dressed the points with sand paper. I replaced the insulators and installed the cutout back on the generator and started the car and the amp meter shows the gen is charging. I will keep a close eye on it....

Re: Almost a fire in the 36
 

Sandpaper is a big no no for any contact points. The grit comes looses from the paper and embeds into the contact metal.

Re: Almost a fire in the 36
 

Terry...I misspoke. I used 1500 3m paper. Not sure what type other than no actual sand in it. Thanks ..