Another generator or cut out question.

[Fred K-OR]

This is the guy that knows little about an A and most of all, nothing about electric things. This problem is on my 29 coupe stock rig.

So have question about my generator charging. When I start up in the morning and engine is running, the amp meter just stays at zero. I can rev up the engine and it still stays at zero. Nothing else on like lights, etc. After I drive for awhile, the amp meter goes up to where it should be like 8 to 10 amps and stays there the rest of the time on a trip.

So the additional question is: Is the cutout defective and going to fail? Stock cut out and it was on the rig when I purchased the car. Is it the generator? Or something else? Or is this the way it is suppose to work?

Would appreciate comments about what is going on and if I am going to have a problem somewhere along the way. Thanks for comments.

[Tom Wesenberg]

It sounds OK to me, but I don't like to see that high of a charge. If you don't use a voltage regulator then I like to set the output about 3 amps, unless you do a lot of short drives. The generator starts putting out more than battery voltage at about 750 generator RPM, which is about 500 engine RPM, so if you idle at 450 to 500 RPM it should be about 0 on the meter, but go up as soon as you rev the engine up a little.

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

Fred, When it's cold & engine off, does it show discharge with the lights on? Minerva had a stuck ammeter needle shaft & it wouldn't move at all, until the car vibrated awhile. I opened the ammeter & put a drop of 3 in 1 oil on the needle shaft ends & it worked well. Bill W.

[Fred K-OR]

Thanks Tom. I will check the amps again. But the concern I had, was that when starting up "cold" and letting it run for a little awhile, maybe 5 min, when I would rev up the engine, no charge would show until I got down the road a tenth of a mile or so. Then it would work the way it has in the past.

[Fred K-OR]

Bill you may have a point, because when I get it out on the old gravel, ruff road is when it starts to work. I have another amp meter around somewhere, so I may change it out and see what happens. The other thing I could do would be to "beat" on the dash after starting while still parked and see if it works,.

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

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Originally Posted by Fred K-OR

Bill you may have a point, because when I get it out on the old gravel, ruff road is when it starts to work. I have another amp meter around somewhere, so I may change it out and see what happens. The other thing I could do would be to "beat" on the dash after starting while still parked and see if it works,.

Fred, Chief would oil things like that with old YELLOW, BRILLIANTINE hair oil! Even old wind up clocks.
He'd even free up speedos by pokin' cotton in the back of the case, pour in hair oil, poke the works back in the case, & let it soak for weeks!
He bought hair oil in the BIG bottles! (And his hair always looked GOOD too!) Bill W.

[Mitch//pa]

yes my first thoughts also was a sticking needle. flick it with your finger and see

[Fred K-OR]

Thanks guys. The wife and I are heading out rather early in the A.M. for a club tour so it will be a good time to check it again.

[700rpm]

Fred, if it comes up after driving a bit it's fine. Even original ammeters get sticky sometimes. If it never comes off zero, that's a problem, usually a bad cutout.

See you on the tour tomorrow.

[Mike V. Florida]

Originally Posted by 700rpm

Fred, if it comes up after driving a bit it's fine. Even original ammeters get sticky sometimes. If it never comes off zero, that's a problem, usually a bad cutout.

See you on the tour tomorrow.

Would not the meter still read if the battery is connected?

[Fred K-OR]

Thanks again guys for the comments. Today the "Boss" and I took about a 100 mile tour with our club and the old meter worked great. That is when I started this A.M. it registered the way it should (did not "stick") or not register when I started. So to give maybe an answer to my original question it seems like Bill and Ray had the correct answer in that it just sometimes sticks and takes a jar to get it unstuck.

[Fred K-OR]

Me back again on the amp meter situation.

I started the coupe up today to warm it up to change the oil and service it. Amp meter did not move when engine was speeded up. It did show a discharge when lights go on. I beat on the amp meter, no change. I beat on the cut out, no change. Then after the engine warmed up I turned it off to get the oil changed.

After getting new oil in the engine and restarting, the amp meter worked the way it should! The engine at this point was warm as was the generator.

So guys, does this sound like a bad cut out? Or what? Need some ideas and thanks for the ideas so far.

[Patrick L.]

Try turning the lights on after it hasn't been run for awhile and see if it discharges. If it does, that kinda tells me the meter is probably OK.
Then try hot wiring the generator and see if it tries to motor. I don't loosen the belt and keep it pretty loose so it can be easily if it trying to motor. If it tries to motor every time it would appear the generator is OK.
That kinda leaves the cut-out as long as the rest of the electrical system is OK and connections are tight. If you have another original cut-out, try it. If not, you can test the cut-out. Or, you could remove the cover and clean and adjust it. Set the points gap to .020". Remount it and try it.

[Fred K-OR]

Thanks Patrick. Will have to try some of your ideas. It did show a discharge before I started it the first time because I had left the lights on from the last time I ran it. (I have a cut out switch when turned on the lights came on)

[700rpm]

Fred, the next time the ammeter isn't showing a charge, run a jumper wire from the front terminal to the back terminal. If the ammeter then shows a charge, that tells you the cutout is not working properly, which would be my guess reading your symptoms. The cutout on my coupe was erratic; I replaced it with a diode cutout. No more troubles.

[30ccpickup]

With all electrical accessories off, the Ammeter should read to the right while driving, and zero when the engine is at low idle or turned off. If you believe your cutout is sticking or not closing properly it can be taken apart adjusted and cleaned. I use a wet stone to true the points. Here is an article on how a cutout works.

http://modelabasics.com/Cutout.htm

Paul

[MrWzrd]

Check your tGenerator brushes.
I've seen this behavior when they are are minimum.

[Fred K-OR]

"front terminal to the back terminal" Ray, unschooled me, does that mean the front terminal of the cutout to the back terminal? Like I said, I have a thick head plus I tend to blow a lot of fuses based on my work sometimes.

Thanks again guys for the ideas.

[700rpm]

Originally Posted by Fred K-OR

"front terminal to the back terminal" Ray, unschooled me, does that mean the front terminal of the cutout to the back terminal? Like I said, I have a thick head plus I tend to blow a lot of fuses based on my work sometimes.

Thanks again guys for the ideas.

Yes, that's it. You're just circumventing the cutout points in the circuit. I learned this from Gordon Fischer. Don't let your alligator clips touch the cutout housing, and you might avoid blowing fuses.

[whirnot]

FWIW that is how my gauge was acting before the cutout gave up the ghost. Only took about 100 miles though.....