55 F100 battery light

[tommyleea]

Wiring questions..I have the schematic for the dash that has the amp gauge. The wires going to and from both seem to be power wires. I don't see any ground connection. Problem is I have a gen light and not the gauge. There are two wires on the socket at the dash. One in the center, and the other at the outside of the base which I assume is a ground. Any help on where these wires connect to? 6 volt pos ground. Also, I have my generator connected, and I ran a wire from the B terminal on the regulator directly to the power side of the starter solenoid. I don't see any voltage increase at the battery with the engine running. I assume the generator isn't charging or regulator bad??? Thanks as always..

[fordor41]

I believe on your gen light power is supplied to both sides. charging and light is out. not charging and light comes on because the voltage difference between the two power sources, line from gen/alt becomes ground back to complete the circuit.....or something like that!

[big job]

question? when you turn ignition on, does the gen light come on? is the bulb good?
Lets say the generator / regulator is not charging. then the gen light stays on all the
time, so you have to take care of that first. You should be with a voltmeter around
7.5 volts above idle. As fordor41 said "something like that" and the something is
one wire on the gen light goes to the ignition switch terminal 'Ign" the other wire goes
to the 'arm' terminal on the regulator. What happens when the engine not running
the generator Armature turns into ground thus lighting the gen bulb. When engine
running the field excites the charging process and now is producing power +plus power
and that puts the bulb out because (the bulb) one side is ign power and other wire
from the bulb now is plus power from generator putting out. no bulb will light with
power going to both side of its filament. Also the bulb socket is insulated so simple
and the bulb don't care about pos or neg ground. One thing we all face is over the
years people with cutting pliers you wouldn't believe the wire butchering, wires that
come into our shop.. sam

[tommyleea]

[QUOTE=fordor41;1916104]I believe on your gen light power is supplied to both sides. charging and light is out. not charging and light comes on because the voltage difference between the two power sources, line from gen/alt becomes ground back to complete the circuit.....or something like that![

Thanks..That gets me started.

Originally Posted by big job

question? when you turn ignition on, does the gen light come on? is the bulb good?
Lets say the generator / regulator is not charging. then the gen light stays on all the
time, so you have to take care of that first. You should be with a voltmeter around
7.5 volts above idle. As fordor41 said "something like that" and the something is
one wire on the gen light goes to the ignition switch terminal 'Ign" the other wire goes
to the 'arm' terminal on the regulator. What happens when the engine not running
the generator Armature turns into ground thus lighting the gen bulb. When engine
running the field excites the charging process and now is producing power +plus power
and that puts the bulb out because (the bulb) one side is ign power and other wire
from the bulb now is plus power from generator putting out. no bulb will light with
power going to both side of its filament. Also the bulb socket is insulated so simple
and the bulb don't care about pos or neg ground. One thing we all face is over the
years people with cutting pliers you wouldn't believe the wire butchering, wires that
come into our shop.. sam

Thanks for info. I don't have the bulb connected yet. I have the two wire socket, but was confused as to where the wires go. It sounds like it doesn't matter which wire is connected where. For example the wire from the ignition switch can be connected to either wire at the socket. Is this correct? Thanks

[big job]

Like I said the bulb socket is isolated so either wire will work ......

[tommyleea]

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Originally Posted by big job

Like I said the bulb socket is isolated so either wire will work ......

Copy..Thanks

[tommyleea]

I need to sort this out. So, if I had an amp gauge, I would have power to one side, and the other would go to the B terminal of the regulator. Since I have a gen light and not amp gauge, I have power to one wire, and the other wire goes to the armature terminal of the regulator. Is this correct? I can't believe that there isn't a diagram for the gen light, but I have yet to fine one..Thanks

[dmsfrr]

Originally Posted by tommyleea

... Since I have a gen light and not amp gauge, I have power to one wire, and the other wire goes to the armature terminal of the regulator. Is this correct? I can't believe that there isn't a diagram for the gen light, but I have yet to fine one..Thanks

That description matches the '55 (Bird) wiring diagram I have.

A (Black/green stripe) wire from the Ignition/run position of the key switch goes to one side of the Gen bulb. The other (Yellow/black stripe) wire on the Gen bulb socket goes to the Armature terminal on the voltage regulator.

[tommyleea]

Originally Posted by dmsfrr

That description matches the '55 (Bird) wiring diagram I have.

A (Black/green stripe) wire from the Ignition/run position of the key switch goes to one side of the Gen bulb. The other (Yellow/black stripe) wire on the Gen bulb socket goes to the Armature terminal on the voltage regulator.

OK..great news..Thanks

[rotorwrench]

The two items are completely different in they way they function. The Gen light gets power from the ignition switch when you turn it on and ground is provided in the regulator (A terminal) as long as the cut out is open. As soon as the cut out closes to bring the generator on line, the light loses it's ground unless the generator stops charging. It can get power back through the generator armature if the cut out sticks closed. You can tell that when you shut the key off and the light is still on.

An ampere meter samples current flow from the output wire of the voltage regulator (B terminal) through a shunt that is generally built into the meter or it can be an external shunt wire. The other wire is connected to the power bus or electrical load. There is no ground involved with an amp meter. If you connect it wrong way around it will show a discharge when it is charging and a charge when it is discharging.

[tommyleea]

Originally Posted by rotorwrench

The two items are completely different in they way they function. The Gen light gets power from the ignition switch when you turn it on and ground is provided in the regulator (A terminal) as long as the cut out is open. As soon as the cut out closes to bring the generator on line, the light loses it's ground unless the generator stops charging. It can get power back through the generator armature if the cut out sticks closed. You can tell that when you shut the key off and the light is still on.

An ampere meter samples current flow from the output wire of the voltage regulator (B terminal) through a shunt that is generally built into the meter or it can be an external shunt wire. The other wire is connected to the power bus or electrical load. There is no ground involved with an amp meter. If you connect it wrong way around it will show a discharge when it is charging and a charge when it is discharging.

Thanks..Good description, which I need. It makes much more sense now.

[tommyleea]

So, I must have something connected wrong. My battery light is off at idle, but gets brighter as I increase the rpm. The generator is working. I have the generator light connected in series with the other gauges. Do I need to isolate it from the other gauges? I have switched to 12 volt negative ground, with a voltage reducer installed. I have one wire to power, and the other to the armature connection on the voltage regulator. What am I doing wrong? Thanks....

[dmsfrr]

Originally Posted by tommyleea

So, I must have something connected wrong. My battery light is off at idle, but gets brighter as I increase the rpm. The generator is working. I have the generator light connected in series with the other gauges. Do I need to isolate it from the other gauges? I have switched to 12 volt negative ground, with a voltage reducer installed. I have one wire to power, and the other to the armature connection on the voltage regulator. What am I doing wrong? Thanks....

It isn't connected correctly and isn't a gauge, just a 12v light bulb.
Go back and review the correct Gen light wiring in comments 7 and 8.
It should not be connected in series with the gauges, or be connected to a voltage reducer.
.

[tommyleea]

Originally Posted by dmsfrr

It isn't connected correctly and isn't a gauge, just a 12v light bulb.
Go back and review the correct Gen light wiring in comments 7 and 8.
It should not be connected in series with the gauges, or be connected to a voltage reducer.
.

Copy..I will correct the routing today. Thanks..

[tommyleea]

Originally Posted by dmsfrr

It isn't connected correctly and isn't a gauge, just a 12v light bulb.
Go back and review the correct Gen light wiring in comments 7 and 8.
It should not be connected in series with the gauges, or be connected to a voltage reducer.
.

Corrected the connections, and all is well. Thanks again.