To Charge or not to Charge This is my Question

[TK in LA]

I recently acquired a '30 Coupe that has been sitting since the mid 90's. After installing a new battery and some gas it started right up. The problem is that when I disconnect the battery the motor dies. I tried again with the RPM's high enough to generate enough electricity to keep it running but alas it died again. The AMP gauge showed no charge either time. The motor is equipped with a generator that I don't recognize. It looks like a field (?) connection on the back. It has the cutout on top but also is attached to a regulator through a harness. Has anyone else had any encounter with this set up and is it worth saving or should I just replace it with a stock generator, cutout and wiring harness?

[vinepro]

the car must have a full bat if you are running a generator or it will die, check the amps coming out of the gen that is on the car to see if you have a good generator or not. if not it could be in the amp meeter but i don't think so.
good luck
Tom

[mike37cdn]

looks like a late 30,s gen try pollarising the regulator it might start charging mike

[Bob C]

Hi Tom, I would take the band off and see if it is a two or three brush
generator. Also where does the wire coming off the back go, my guess
is the ARM terminal on the regulator. Where does the field wire on the
regulator go? Some of the Russian engines Ford Parts Obsolete sold in the 60's had a similar generator I think.

Bob in RC

[Bob C]

One more thing. The voltage regulator looks like it says Standard VR 10, if it is
the Standard catalog says it's for a negative ground system.

[CWPASADENA]

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I would chuck all that stuff and put an original generator on it. I think in the long run, you will be a lot happier.

The one thing I would recomend with the original charging system is to convert it to Electronic Voltage Control. Tom Wesenberg makes a unit that goes into the generator that looks like it will do the job very well. [email protected]

Good luck with your new acquisition. Let us know how you make out.

Chris

[TK in LA]

I guess one of my questions is why is the cutout still attached with a Regulator? And yes it is a VR-10 and still running 6 volt + ground.

[Bob C]

Maybe the cut out is just so it will look more original with no guts
in it. Does the wire from the regulator field go to the front of the cut out?

[Tom Wesenberg]

Some previous owner may have added the terminal in the rear end plate and connected it to the field. You'd have to check all the wiring to see what's really going on with that system. I would remove it and go with the stock generator with an EVR.

I just finished a mid 1930 generator today that came off an unrestored car with fairly low miles. It wasn't generating and the only thing I found wrong was the commutator wasn't undercut. With the low miles I'm wondering if that was a factory screw up. The commutator had never been turned and the brushes were still Ford script.

Anyway after I undercut the commutator and turned it a couple thousandths to make sure it was true It now charges great. In fact it starts charging at a lower RPM than any generator I've ever worked on, including my own powerhouse. This is the first generator I've ever worked on that had never been taken apart before. It's nice to work on things that haven't been cobbled up or put together from a box of parts.

You could try polarizing the generator, but you'd first have to study the wiring to see how he has the voltage regulator connected. If you're not familur with this, a MOTOR'S manual from the 40's or 50's could be a big help. They have good schematics on charging systems using the electromechanical voltage regulators.

[Keith True]

I would just get rid of that stuff and go to the stock setup.I have two machines with generators that look like that.One is a mid 60's Ford backhoe,and the other is a 1978 Swinger loader with a Ford industrial engine.While they look alike,one generator has an A circuit,and the other a B circuit.The shop I use explained the difference,bottom line is they take different regulators.He gets a lot of people that go to a yard and buy a generator that looks like the one they have,but they can be wired different internally.