Charging to much
 

Took my s/w out Saturday for a drive, the amp meter was charging all the way over and was hot to touch ,wires also. Could this be a bad cut out or a short somewhere?











Thanks



Bill

Re: Charging to much
 

Was it doing this the last time you drove it?
You could crank your third brush down, tap your cutout, replace your cutout, etc....
Hot to touch wires are a big red flag warning...take heed.

Re: Charging to much
 

I would first try the simple thing like the third brush adjustment . Raise the adjustable brush in the generator to reduce charge rate , lower the brush to increase charge rate .

Re: Charging to much
 

Your going to have to take some accurate voltage readings in order to make any informed decisions about what is going on. Check battery with car off, idling, and driving rpm.

Re: Charging to much
 

If the ammeter was hot, then it might be that the connection to the ammeter is getting hot due to one of the crimp-on connectors going bad and inserting some resistance. The generator uses the current coming back from the battery to determine how much to put out. If there is resistance in the loop somewhere the generator will just keep on chugging away. It's worth a shot to check that. Such was the case with my car when I first got it.

Re: Charging to much
 

Ammeter post shorted to tank, likely.

Re: Charging to much
 

Any loose connection will cause resistance. Resistance results in heat generation near the site of the resistance. Resistors get hot. Dead shorts to ground usually get way hot way fast and burn something up. It could be any connection on instrument panel or in the terminal box but it's likely close by there somewhere. Check all of them and make sure they are tight and conductor wires are in good condition.

Re: Charging to much
 

The stock cut out is just and on and off switch.