ammeter 1937 ford truck
 

Resurrected a 1937 ford flathead that was dormant for 20 years and poorly maintained prior to that. I cleaned the connections on the gauges and the ammeter is registering zero when running and discharge when I turn the lights on and the engine is running. The gauge returns to zero when the lights are off. Does this mean the ammeter is simply showing a load or that the generator is not charging or keeping up with demand?

Re: ammeter 1937 ford truck
 

My 35 Cabriolet does the same thing. Since I don't drive at night, it doesn't bother me. My gauge will return to zero with the lights on when I increase the RPM's. I just assumed the output of the generator at idle is less than the demand from the lights and, as soon as the RPM's increase, the output satisfied the demand.

Re: ammeter 1937 ford truck
 

At what RPM is engine running? Does it change as RPM increase? Do you have a multimeter?

Re: ammeter 1937 ford truck
 

is your generator charging or just spinning the water pumps?

fordman