To charge or not to charge

[1930artdeco]

Ok, suddenly the car has not been holding a charge or has been holding a charge. I can’t seem to figure out how and why. There will be times when she fires up and other times she doesn’t crank over. Checked the Amm meter and she’s charging at 10 amps (I set the gen for about 2-4 amps).

So thinking the battery has gone south, I got another optima. Today she fired right up and I went out just fine, still charging at 10 amps. I returned home not wanting to damage anything and used my meter on the gen. I put the Neg lead on the forward post and Pos lead on the block for ground. And got a negative 0.00. So what am I doing wrong and what is going on? I have a diode instead of a cutout. Oh, and when I return the car to a low idle the amm meter drops down to about 2 amps.

Thanks,

Mike

[ndnchf]

If you are showing 10 amps charge on the meter, and you don't have lights on, you may want to adjust the 3rd brush for lower output. More like 3 - 5 amps. Here is a short video I made about adjusting the 3rd brush and its affect on amperage.

https://youtu.be/PL94VX3GIq8

Your diode cutout could be leaking, allow the battery to slowly discharge through the generator.

[Big hammer]

Ever common for the brake light switch to stick on! I do a post flight and walk around !

[Tom Endy]

Clean the ground cable where it connects to the frame and see if that corrects the problem.

Tom Endy

[1930artdeco]

So far the I checked the gen out and it moved on its own to a higher gen rate. Not sure how that happened but it did. As far as the slow starting, I tried to start her up and starter stopped and went thunk. Not locked up just stopped. So, I will have to check into that now.

Mike

[ndnchf]

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The cut does not change the charge rate. It is simply a switch that opens to prevent the battery from discharging when the motor is not running. It closes when the generator starts charging. Nothing more. Please post a photo of your generator and cutout so we can see what you have.

[john in illinois]

See post #4.


John

[eagle]

Use a voltmeter on the battery with the engine off. What does it read? Also what does battery voltage drop to when cranking?

[Dino's A]

If all still fails, check the condition of your starter. Trust me, you don't
want to know what I ignored for about 25 years, until it hit me!

I also recommend having a battery stress checker handy. I use it more
than I thought. Schumacher makes an affordable one around $60.00
I believe.

[1930artdeco]

Eagle, I check before I put the battery in at 6.33 volts. I have not checked the drop during cranking. Hoping to check things out a bit more tonight or tomorrow.

[rotorwrench]

The battery is your voltage regulator so it has to have good connections at all times for both power and ground path. The generator can work on overtime if there is resistance anywhere in the charging circuit.

Your battery, whether an Optima AGM type or a wet cell type should have a voltage at rest from 6.1 to 6.3 volts depending on how long it has been since the last charge. The headlights should be strong if turned on with the engine not running. They will dim if you hit the starter but they shouldn't dim down to nothing.

The third brush adjustment needs a good amp meter. If the one in the car is a modern reproduction then I wouldn't trust it. Amp meters have to be connected in series to get a reading. Volt meters can be in parallel and give a good reading but not an amp meter. Series would be if you disconnect the output wire from the generator and connect the amp meter between the removed lead and the terminal it came off of. Parallel is when you connect from the generator output terminal to ground. A person can read voltage that way but not amperage. I would try to find an original amp meter for the panel. They have a much better magnet set up in them and are much more sensitive than the modern reproductions.

On the generator 3rd brush, remove the cover band and see how easy it is to move the 3rd brush. It should be easy enough to move down toward the power brush or back up toward the ground brush. It should have enough tension to stay where you put it. If not then it would need some maintenance to get it that way. All of the brushes should still have some length to them. If they get too short then they should be replaced. The commutator should still be in good condition with some undercut in between the segments and a nice copper color and finish. If the belt is withdrawn from the pulley, the generator should turn easily in direction of rotation with no shake and very little end play. Brushes should ride smoothly over he commutator. Quick checks like this will tell a person what shape it's in.

If the battery charges and has good cranking amps and the starter still won't function then check it out. They aren't too bad to remove and check for bad bearings or worn out brushes. It may be coincidental to the battery problem but things happen in strange ways sometimes.

[1930artdeco]

UPDATE: Ok, everyone was right, it was ground and starter issue. Tightened the ground bolts down after repositioning it-nothing. Pulled the starter out and tested it-spun right up when I hit it with the cables. Then I noticed oil on the mating surface-yep just enough. Clean both surfaces off and she fired right up and charged normally. I also had to 'de-amp' the generator as the third brush had migrated from about 11 to 9 o'clock. Thank you all for the ideas.


Mike