Need help diagnosing my charging system .

[elwood]

Hey guys, I took the alternator off my new car, and put a generator on it, I built the generator, and bought a new regulator, 12 volt .
I ran the "battery" wire from the regulator the the battery cable side of the starter relay, this should work, wright ?
Well, the only way I know to see if its charging, is to hold the idol up a tad and disconnect the battery.
When I do this the engine dies, so Im thinking the generator, or regulator is not working .
Am I correct so far ?
So what is the best way to test the regulator, then if its ok, test the generator ?
Thanks guys ...
O and, I did try and polarize the generator via the regulator by clipping a wire to the battery post on the regulator and striking it across the armature post on the regulator, sparking it ..
Still when I disconnect the battery, the engine dies ..

[JSeery]

Your connections sound correct. Try checking it with a voltmeter. You should see a little above 12v at the battery not running and something above 14v running. Be sure the regulator is connected correctly.

[PeteVS]

Grounds are very important. Be certain that there's a good ground engine to chassis / body and engine to regulator. Also, to tell whether or not the generator is working (for Ford, not GM) use a jumper to connect the battery to the field terminal on the generator. Rev the engine with a volt meter on the generator. It should go way up. If it doesn't, the generator isn't working. Since you said that you put on a 12 volt regulator, I'm assuming that you're running a total 12 volt system. If that's so, it should be charging at 14.2 volts. And, yes, the engine should be able to continue running if the battery is disconnected if the generator is working.

[elwood]

Thanks for the help guys, I have the generator hooked to the regulator correctly,
I have the battery grounded to the frame, and the regulator, engine and body grounded to the frame, and yes, I changed the fields to 12 volt, and am running 12 volt system.
Pete, do I need to disconnect the generator from the regulator before testing it ?
And where do I connect the volt meter ? ground to the generator body and positive to the field ?
Thanks ...

[RalphM]

[QUOTE=
O and, I did try and polarize the generator via the regulator by clipping a wire to the battery post on the regulator and striking it across the armature post on the regulator, sparking it ..
.[/QUOTE]

I thought you are supposed to disconnect the field wire at the regulator and touch it to the bat terminal to flash the field.

[1931 flamingo]

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That is one sweet looking automobile ! ! ! !
Paul in CT

[elwood]

Originally Posted by RalphM

I thought you are supposed to disconnect the field wire at the regulator and touch it to the bat terminal to flash the field.

Hey Ralph, I ment to say the field, my bad ...

[elwood]

Originally Posted by 1931 flamingo

That is one sweet looking automobile ! ! ! !
Paul in CT

Thanks Paul, I have a LOT of hard work in it, thanks to Henry for the design ..
Can you believe Ford ever even quit making such a beautiful car ...

[koates]

To test the generator remove the field wire from its terminal on the regulator and connect it over to the gen or armature terminal on the reg. Rev the engine up and voltage should go up to 16 plus volts. If you have an ammeter in the car it will peg the meter on the charge side. Remember the cut out in the regulator is still connected during this test and the battery is being charged without any regulation. Another way to test the generator on its own is to remove both the armature wire and the field wire from the regulator and join both these wires together and connect your voltmeter between ground and these two joined wires. Rev up engine and volts reading should be quite high as in around 30 volts plus approx. Don't EVER connect any wires or power to the field terminal on the regulator as damage to the regulator can be the result. Your car should have an ammeter or voltmeter fitted in the dash so that you know what is or is not charging. A voltmeter should be reading around 14 volts if charging system is all good. Remember these tests are for the FORD generator field connection set up. Some others are different inside the generator such as many GM and some other generators. Generators have to be at above engine idle speed to be able to charge. Regards, Kevin.

[fordor41]

polorize the gen?

[koates]

Originally Posted by fordor41

polorize the gen?

Read post # 1 where he said he did polarize the generator. Regards, Kevin.

[elwood]

Kevin, thanks mate ...

[koates]

elwood, Just some more info for you. When you changed the generator field coils over to 12 volt ones its very important which way they are connected. One field wire goes to ground inside the case or on to the earth brush screw. If its not done this way then the generator will not match with the Ford type voltage regulator. It has to be correct to work. Regards, Kevin.

[koates]

Woops incorrect info on last post. The other field wire goes to the field terminal inside the generator. Regards, Kevin

[elwood]

Thanks Kevin, I took the generator back apart lastnight, and have them correct