The Ford Barn - View Single Post - 3-brush gen problems

rotorwrench · 07-27-2021, 10:08 AM

A fellow on the Model A section of this forum used to fabricate a voltage regulator but I believe it was a similar design to the James Peterson system. This design regulated the current to the field which required modification of the internal circuit and removal of the third brush. The current regulator was installed onto the access band which placed it inside the generator.

The Regan design voltage regulator only required that the 3rd brush be set to a specific amperage output level prior to the installation of the voltage regulator/one way diode set inside an old gutted OEM cut out can. The only thing removed was the old cut out. I think they started putting them in new cut out cans so that folks that didn't have an old original cut out wouldn't have to find one.

If a person looks at the way the later 3-brush generators are made, it becomes apparent that the brushes are not 180 degrees apart like the later 2-brush design. This likely means that not only the brush holders but the armature is also different. It would take some research and possibly some modifications of the armature, fields, brushes, and terminal placement to get an older generator converted to a two brush unit but it likely can be done. Another method would be to modify the front support on a later two brush to beef up the bearing design.

Another alternative would be to mount the generator on the head and fabricate a fan mount for the centered location. A lot of folks did this to add the dual and triple deuce fuel systems on the engine. This was a common modification for the hot rod guys back in the day.

07-27-2021, 10:08 AM	#15
rotorwrench Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: San Antonio, Texas Posts: 16,422	Re: 3-brush gen problems A fellow on the Model A section of this forum used to fabricate a voltage regulator but I believe it was a similar design to the James Peterson system. This design regulated the current to the field which required modification of the internal circuit and removal of the third brush. The current regulator was installed onto the access band which placed it inside the generator. The Regan design voltage regulator only required that the 3rd brush be set to a specific amperage output level prior to the installation of the voltage regulator/one way diode set inside an old gutted OEM cut out can. The only thing removed was the old cut out. I think they started putting them in new cut out cans so that folks that didn't have an old original cut out wouldn't have to find one. If a person looks at the way the later 3-brush generators are made, it becomes apparent that the brushes are not 180 degrees apart like the later 2-brush design. This likely means that not only the brush holders but the armature is also different. It would take some research and possibly some modifications of the armature, fields, brushes, and terminal placement to get an older generator converted to a two brush unit but it likely can be done. Another method would be to modify the front support on a later two brush to beef up the bearing design. Another alternative would be to mount the generator on the head and fabricate a fan mount for the centered location. A lot of folks did this to add the dual and triple deuce fuel systems on the engine. This was a common modification for the hot rod guys back in the day.