[koates]

First of all I note you may not have an original 35 Ford foot operated starter switch but instead a solenoid starter switch which is operating only with the ignition switch turned "ON" or what ? and a push button starter switch on the dash. I think by removing the fuse during testing is confusing the issue for you and us as well, so leave it in place. Leave the fuse in which should be a 20 amp or 25 if you like. I would be obtaining an original 35 Ford wiring diagram and following closely the connections on each side of that fuseholder and ignition resistor to make sure they are all the correct way around on the terminals. Follow each wire ( colour) one at a time to make sure its destination is correct according to the diagram. There is a possibility that you have a short to ground in the high beam headlight circuit and if so it should have blown the fuse if in fact the headlights are powered through the fuse. What value fuse in amps did you have fitted in there ? If you are going to have the ignition switch turned on for more than 30 seconds with the engine not running then you need to disconnect the wire at the coil to save any overheating of the resistor, coil, points etc. All the wires only connect to one place ONLY and I suggest you follow them all through carefully to establish if they are correct. A high beam short to ground could be anywhere from the inside of the headlight switch all the way to either of the headlight bulb sockets. Do not set the generator third brush any higher than about 12 amps on the dash ammeter with the engine revs up quite a bit. This is a total generator output of around 15 amps allowing for 3 amps ignition draw on the dash ammeter. Any higher will cook the generator. For normal daytime running (No lights) I only set the brush to show about 5 amps on the dash ammeter otherwise any higher will overcharge and cook your optima battery. Regards, Kevin.