Dim signal and brake lights

[sunshine]

47 pickup RUNNING STOCK GEN. 6V. POS GR. 3RD. BRAKE LITE Signal lites and brake lites are very dim when idling , like when I stop to turn GEN is showing charge when RPMS are increased and lites are then bright . IS THERE ANYTHING I CAN DO SHORT OF GOING TO 6V. ALT. THANK YOU FOR ANY ADVICE Sunshine

[Joe Immler]

You might try setting your idle speed up a bit. The 6 volt generators show negative charge at idle with lights on. Experiment a bit. I am sure there will be other comments but this has worked for me. Might try this first.

[JSeery]

Going to have to get the generator output up a little. Do you have really good connections and grounds? That will help, but will not make up for low generator output. Have you measured the output at idle and at say 1500 RPM?

[sunshine]

JOE thanks but if I set idle up any more it would be to fast, J SEERY I have checked the voltage with a meter while increasing RPM. , what should the voltage at 1500 RPMS.be THANK YOU Sunshine

[Lawson Cox]

Originally Posted by sunshine

47 pickup RUNNING STOCK GEN. 6V. POS GR. 3RD. BRAKE LITE Signal lites and brake lites are very dim when idling , like when I stop to turn GEN is showing charge when RPMS are increased and lites are then bright . IS THERE ANYTHING I CAN DO SHORT OF GOING TO 6V. ALT. THANK YOU FOR ANY ADVICE Sunshine

That's the nature of the beast. Go to a 6V alternator or one concealed in a stock generator case.

I had the same problem and I put an alternator on it and that solved the problem. I am not fully stock, so I'm not concerned about authenticity on that item.

[JSeery]

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Originally Posted by sunshine

JOE thanks but if I set idle up any more it would be to fast, J SEERY I have checked the voltage with a meter while increasing RPM. , what should the voltage at 1500 RPMS.be THANK YOU Sunshine

Should be battery voltage or a little above. At least 6.8v say and in the range of 6.8 to 7.3v. Do you have good and properly size battery cable and ground?

[sunshine]

J SEERY I DO HAVE CLOSE ED UPTO 7V. WHEN ENGINE IS REVVED UP . I am using 6v. cables, I checked my grounds. This truck has a home made harness there in may be the problem . I believe the alternator may be my best fix since this is just a driver.THANK YOU AGAIN FOR YOUR HELP SUNSHINE

[JSeery]

Another option would be to change the pulley size on the generator so it turns over a little faster at lower speeds.

[Old Henry]

Originally Posted by Joe Immler

You might try setting your idle speed up a bit. The 6 volt generators show negative charge at idle with lights on. Experiment a bit. I am sure there will be other comments but this has worked for me. Might try this first.

Originally Posted by sunshine

JOE thanks but if I set idle up any more it would be to fast.

That's what the throttle knob is for. I always watch my amp gauge when idling at night and nudge the throttle knob out just enough to keep the generator charging at idle. Also helps with oil pressure that otherwise goes to 0 when idling.

[JSeery]

Originally Posted by Old Henry

That's what the throttle knob is for. I always watch my amp gauge when idling at night and nudge the throttle knob out just enough to keep the generator charging at idle. Also helps with oil pressure that otherwise goes to 0 when idling.

Good idea!!

[JSeery]

Originally Posted by sunshine

J SEERY I DO HAVE CLOSE ED UPTO 7V. WHEN ENGINE IS REVVED UP . I am using 6v. cables, I checked my grounds. This truck has a home made harness there in may be the problem . I believe the alternator may be my best fix since this is just a driver.THANK YOU AGAIN FOR YOUR HELP SUNSHINE

Before you switch to an alternator it might be worthwhile to have an electrical shop (someone who understands old generators) and see if there is anything they can do to increase the output. Does it have a voltage regulator?

[sunshine]

J SEERY YES IT DOES HAVE A VOLTAGE REGULATOR . OLD HENRY I GUESS I WILL INSTALL A THROTTLE CABLE WHICH I DONT HAVE NOW. thank you I AM NOT CONCERNED ABOUT MY HEADLIGHTS BECAUSE I SELDOM DRIVE AT NIGHT . IT IS THE SIGNAL AND BRAKE LIGHTS DIMNESS IN THE DAYLIGHT WHICH I AM CONCERN. thank you. SUNSHINE

[JSeery]

The voltage regulator can be adjusted to increase the voltage output, but the idle output has to be balanced with the higher RPM output.

[40cpe]

Are there smaller pulleys available for generators?

[Old Henry]

Originally Posted by sunshine

IT IS THE SIGNAL AND BRAKE LIGHTS DIMNESS IN THE DAYLIGHT WHICH I AM CONCERN. thank you. SUNSHINE

Get these bulbs from Sacramento Vintage Ford: http://www.vintageford.com/part_sear...-6sb&Category= They have 15 candlepower in the tail light filament and 50 candle power in the brake/signal filament whereas stock bulbs have 3 candlepower for the tail light and 21 candlepower for the brake/signal filament.

[Old Henry]

Originally Posted by sunshine

OLD HENRY I GUESS I WILL INSTALL A THROTTLE CABLE WHICH I DONT HAVE NOW. thank you

I don't always use the throttle cable to get the generator charging. Sometimes it's just a little pressure on the gas pedal that gets it going and keeps it going while I'm sitting at a light.

[big job]

My three cents having raised in the 6vt days , something is defiantly wrong.
I'm positive you have leaks and or ground problems. Corroded bullet connectors
wrong gauge wires wimpy batt. the battery is a voltage regulator too. My 23 Ford
lights are bright as the sun whether running or not. And these only put out
10 amps if lucky and I have no brightening or dimming with rpms. Case #2 46 V8
bright as the sun no brightening or dimming with rpms. I would check voltage at
the rear lights engine off then engine on. I bet that will be surprising. Next common
thing we see now is junk batterys. Went through that yesterday with a fairly new
6vt commercial. They tend to get a surface charge which tells the regulator that
its charged when its not. A good healthy battery will provide bright lights with engine
off for quiet a long time. With that said you should not have lights going to dim for
a few minutes at a stop sign, meaning you are using quarter of the battery, thats
where that surface charge or false charge comes in. Oh it may start fine but way
down there in the battery its doing nothing thats a classic case of getting brighter
with rpms that means the generator is rapidly replacing used up volts sitting at a
stop sign few minutes so of course lights will brighten. Hope I wrote this right.

[sunshine]

THANKS big job I AM GOING TO CHECK OUT THE BATTERY AND ALL GROUND CONNECTIONS AGAIN SUNSHINE