'47 bucking and stalling, ammeter won't work

[cabrioletgalaxie]

My '47 convertible is at it again. Have taken care of the fuel system so the car starts and runs well. But on a tour yesterday it bucked and stalled going up even a minor hill.
Ammeter does not work. Wiggled wires at the generator, etc. and it came on for about 10 secs and went out again. Tightened gen connections, but no change. Next step is to remove generator and go through it.
Any other general thoughts on what to look for?
Thanks,
David
[email protected]

[JSeery]

Sure sounds like a wiring or generator issue (or regulator). Might check for output from the generator before removing it.

[Willit Stop]

A similar situation on my friends hot rod model A. The amp gauge and ignition shared the same wire. As it turned out, the wire that goes through the amp gauge was broken at the gauge. It might be worth a quick peek.

[cabrioletgalaxie]

Thank you guys for both comments.
It is an induction ammeter with the wire passing over it which activates the ammeter. We did not have a volt ohm meter to test it on the tour but used a test light and the bulb showed very dim most of the time. I suppose the output could have been low enough not to fire the plugs especially under load. I'm not a good auto electrician that's for sure.

[JSeery]

If the generator output is low or non-existent it will be running off the battery only. And as the battery voltage goes down so does the ignition voltage. When the engine is under a load it needs an increase in ignition energy, that would lead to poor engine performance.

[cabrioletgalaxie]

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JSeery that makes sense to me. I think the ignition needs only 4 Volts to operate but guessing more at the plugs after it goes though the coil.
The ammeter has never worked on the cars and not sure why it doesn't. I will load text the battery tomorrow and then place a charger on it. It is less than 2 years old.

[JSeery]

While your at it check the battery without the engine running and then with the engine running. Should see the difference at the battery. Should be over 6v not running and over 7v running.

[cas3]

brushes in the generator worn out ?

[cabrioletgalaxie]

Load tested the battery. Registered 6V, and then under load it dropped to 5.5
Generator is coming out and going on the bench for a look see on Thurs. I come back with an update.

[cabrioletgalaxie]

Generator update:
Pulled the generator off the car and bench tested it. No problem. Pulled the end off and checked brushes and they were fine. So will re install the gen. and checking all wiring, voltage regulator, etc.
It's a bit unusual that we got neither charge or discharge at the ammeter with the motor running, except for 10 seconds, and then it went back to neutral. Very strange making me think the system should work but something is interrupting it.
My mechanic is coming down next Thurs to continue to search.
I will update.

[deuce_roadster]

It is called a voltage regulator for a reason. I would start there and the wiring to it.

[cabrioletgalaxie]

Correct and yes, we'll begin there with proper testing equipment we didn't have on the road.