| fortyford | -- 06-23-2019 @ 6:33 AM |
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At say driving 55-60mph down the road what should the battery gauge read?My 40 use to read in the green but does not do that anymore.It usually in the orange area for some reason?If i just turn the switch on and wait about a minute it does not quiet get out of the red area?Any ideas on what I need to check or do?Been like that for awhile.Car cranks and runs good with no problems?
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| carcrazy | -- 06-23-2019 @ 7:06 AM |
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How old is the battery? It may need to be replaced.
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| fortyford | -- 06-23-2019 @ 7:26 AM |
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Battery is 3 years old.I did replace the voltage regulator and did not help?
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| carcrazy | -- 06-23-2019 @ 8:42 AM |
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Did you polarize the generator after you installed the new voltage regulator? You might want to check the brushes in the generator. Make sure that they are contacting the commutator of the armature and that the electrical leads are tightly connected. Sometimes the springs which force the brushes to make contact get weak or break.
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| fortyford | -- 06-23-2019 @ 9:40 AM |
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Something I noticed that I thought was strange is that if the car is sitting just idling very slow with headlights on and I rev the engine up there is no change in brightness of headlights?I thought there should be?Yes, I have polarized the regulator on many occasions. This message was edited by fortyford on 6-23-19 @ 9:42 AM
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| TomO | -- 06-23-2019 @ 3:55 PM |
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Check the voltage at the battery with the ignition and lights off, a fully charged battery will read 6.2V Check the voltage at the battery terminal of the voltage regulator with the engine running at about 1,500 RPM. It should be 7.2 - 7.6 Volts. If those readings are within specs, check the voltage at the gauge, it should be very close to the above readings, under the same conditions Tom
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| sarahcecelia | -- 06-23-2019 @ 4:31 PM |
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Those headlights should brighten when you rev it up! I had a problem with my system-The gauge wouldn't go quite to green. Took it to an old guy that was told was really good!- He had a set up with an electric motor would spin the generator, and he had my regulator hooked up to the system. He said that all was good, but the regulator was a little "iffy." I bought a new one, tested by him, from him. He said that now the system was putting out to specs. Still had a bad reading on the gauge? I told myself- It's got to be the gauge! Went on E bay- found a NOS deluxe gauge for about $40!, installed it and.. Read in the green!! Your problem is OUT PUT from the generator, or the regulator is BAD, or needs to be ADJUSTED by an expert generator man!!The headlights don't brighten because they are not getting enough power to them when you rev the motor!! They should get over 6 volts at that point, and they aren't. Regards, Steve Lee
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| fortyford | -- 06-23-2019 @ 5:23 PM |
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Thanks Steve,that is what I thought about the lights not getting brighter.I got the generator off and taking to shop tomorrow to get checked.It is really smooth when I rotate the pulley and the brushes appear to be good just looking through the slots.Does the stock generator just have two brushes?Thanks Tom,I don't think I ever seen the voltage get up 7 or so.The last time I checked that it seems like the voltage got up to like 6.41 with the engine reved? This message was edited by fortyford on 6-23-19 @ 5:26 PM
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| TomO | -- 06-24-2019 @ 7:16 AM |
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If your voltage is only getting up to 6.4V with the engine at around 1,500 RPMs, your voltage regulator is not working. Because you said that you have a new regulator, the first thing I would check is that it is grounded. The original regulator has a grounding strap between the lower right hand bolt and a tab that is connected to the base of the regulator. The aftermarket regulators ground through the screws holding the regulator to the firewall. To use a meter to check grounding, connect the + lead of the meter to the generator through bolt and the COM meter lead to the regulator base. Set the meter to the lowest scale. With the engine running at 1,500 RPM, the volt meter should read zero V. If you have a reading , you will need to make sure that the generator is making good contact with the intake, the grounding strap from the intake to the firewall is making good contact and the regulator base to the firewall is making good contact. Tom
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| fortyford | -- 06-24-2019 @ 12:48 PM |
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Well they said the generator is working properly and I installed it back on and polarized the regulator(I did not know if I needed to or not?)Tom,I checked at the battery again at fast idle I am getting about 7.10 volts on the meter.I did try to check if I was doing it right the generator and the regulator base and I keep getting something like .15-.20 voltage???During all of this my car would not crank one time and discovered no fire to plug wires?I noticed with switch on my gauges were not moving so I tapped on switch block with screw driver and they started moving??I did clean the switch block a while back.Could it be worn out causing these problems?For some reason I got fire back and car is cranking again.
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| TomO | -- 06-25-2019 @ 6:41 AM |
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The readings you posted for the ground check, indicate a grounding problem with the regulator or generator. Clean some paint from the back of the generator mount and the mounting surface of the generator on the intake. Make sure that the grounding cables from battery to the firewall and from the firewall to the intake are in good condition and tight. I like to place a star washer under the firewall and intake connections. It does sound like your ignition switch is worn. I would replace the Bakelite switch body and the brush. You need to raise the RPMs to about 1,500. Pull your throttle out about 1/3 of its travel to check the charging system out put. Tom
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| trjford8 | -- 06-25-2019 @ 7:00 AM |
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If you have the old woven style ground straps they have a tendency to corrode causing poor grounding. If they are old or look old change them.
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| fortyford | -- 06-25-2019 @ 4:01 PM |
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Well I pulled the battery cables off today and I am actually embarassed!I know y'all like photos so here is two of the cables.I cut the insulation back so the ugly can be seen.I been driving this 40 for several years,put about 10,000 miles on it?I did not realize the cables were that bad!The ground from firewall to engine is mounted to head bolt.Is this the right place?Tom,I did remove the regulator and cleaned the paint off .Took the switch block off and cleaned it.Ordered new cables from Carpenters. This message was edited by fortyford on 6-25-19 @ 4:10 PM
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| fortyford | -- 06-27-2019 @ 6:54 PM |
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Wanted to give an update on the battery gauge problem.After changing all those nasty cables the problem is solved.At 55-60mph the needle registers in the green area now!I am going to sent a used coil that loses fire when trying to crank hot to Skip for rebuild.I found this diagram on the battery gauge-not sure if it is accurate or not?
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| TomO | -- 06-28-2019 @ 6:56 AM |
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Yes that diagram shows the voltages range for each of the colors on the gauge. These meters are accurate enough to determine if everything is working OK. Good work in diagnosing the problem without spending useless $$$$ on unneeded parts replacement. Most 1940's have the grounding cable from the firewall to the engine connected to an intake bolt. This give a better ground to the generator. Tom
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| fortyford | -- 06-28-2019 @ 11:54 AM |
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Thanks Tom for all your help on this problem. Russ
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| fortyford | -- 06-29-2019 @ 6:20 PM |
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Tom I sent you a PM.
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