runaway charging

[guam2250]

Originally Posted by guam2250

Good evening all in the Brain Trust. My '31 stock(mostly) truck developed a hole in the radiator, on a hot day. Noticed steam coming out the radiator cap and the overflow tube, towards the ground. The Boyce temperature gauge needle started dropping(no water to measure?) and the ammeter started showing an increase in charge (10 amps) with no lights on. I am using a '57 Ford, 2 brush generator with a voltage regulator hidden up under the gas tank, on the inside of the firewall. This setup has worked well for years. Why did the ammeter charge rate go up significantly with the overheated engine??? Thanks for your ideas!

* I topped off radiator and ran the truck the next day with normal readings on ammeter and temperature gauge. This engine and A have been very stable for many years, and since things have returned to normal, I can't help but wonder if this was a high heat event. Could the heat cause the contacts, on one of the regulator coils, to stay closed and allow the generator to just keep on charging? Thanks all for the comments!