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EFV-8 Club Forum / General Ford Discussion / Not charging help.

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Posted By Discussion Topic: Not charging help. -- page: 1 2     37RAGTOPMAN 04-24-2011 @ 4:00 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1992 Joined: Oct 2009 hook a volt meter and drive the car, if it still goes to 8 volts your generator fields might be on the way out, what is your amp meter reading on the road 30-35 mph,. ? this is also important. the generator only starts charging after 10 mph ,and should not go any higher no matter how fast you drive, it should stay at the set voltage and amps. It should charge the same at 10 mph as it does at 60 mph, it should read steady with a cutout, with the lights on it should just show a slight charge, and keep you eye on the battery so it stays charged.and not overcharged. being you boiled the battery once, I suspect the fields in the generator, I smoked a generator 2 summers ago,on the way home from a cruise night, it was 65 mile ride,and I smelled the fields burning, which also destroyed the ARM, I could not find a replacement right away, and I called CERTIFIED auto electric and orders a ALT,with all the adapters to install on my 37 85 HP,with original Ford fan, a one wire hook up and bolted on in 20 minutes, I can tell you one thing it does work excellant hope this helps this is my 3 cents 37RAGTOPMAN This message was edited by 37RAGTOPMAN on 4-24-11 @ 4:11 PM MG 04-24-2011 @ 3:37 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1301 Joined: Nov 2009 This has been a very informative thread. I've learned a lot about the charging system in these old Ford's and about what to expect from my bad back. Given the information posted here, I went out and made some voltage measurements on my '37. With the engine off the battery read 6.23 volts. I found that at idle the measurement at the battery posts read 7.5 volts. At high RPM it measured 8.2 volts. This would explain why my battery boiled several months ago? I will adjust the 3rd brush for 7.5 volts at fast idle. A question I have though, will the cutout points ever open with the 3rd brush set to the extreme mine is now set at? This message was edited by MG on 4-24-11 @ 3:50 PM lightflyer1 04-24-2011 @ 8:30 AM reply profile send p.m. New Member Posts: 107 Joined: Oct 2009 Constant pain is a good motivator. I used a spine surgeon here rated in the top 100 in the world. Pain free since the surgery and still doing excellent after two weeks out! Used Dr. Dryer from Central Texas Spine Institute. Assisted my surgeon 25 years ago for the first one and now did 2 more fusions this time. Much different in a better way than the old days. I am extremely satisfied thus far. Will be checking the car in a few weeks. http://www.spine-ctsi.com/ ford38v8 04-17-2011 @ 8:18 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 2883 Joined: Oct 2009 David, You're a braver man than most. I have a bad back myself, but can't imagine the constant pain that brought you to your decision. I wish you a speedy and successful recovery. Alan lightflyer1 04-17-2011 @ 7:13 PM reply profile send p.m. New Member Posts: 107 Joined: Oct 2009 Double fusion complete and trying to heal now. Doing very well though. Might be a few more weeks before I can get back in there. Thanks for continueing to discuss! TomO 04-11-2011 @ 4:57 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 7385 Joined: Oct 2009 My experience is a fully charged battery in good condition, will read 4.8 volts or more across the terminals when cranking the car with the starter. Any reading below 4.5 volts should be investigated. Either the battery is weak or the starter is drawing too much current. Tom supereal 04-10-2011 @ 10:43 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 6819 Joined: Oct 2009 The usual pole-to-pole voltage of a "six volt" battery is about 6.5 volts, on average. A much better indication of battery power is a specific gravity test. It can be done with an inexpensive "eyedropper" tester that contains floating balls. Any test that shows the specific gravity below 1250 indicates a weak or dying battery, or both. This is after running the headlights a few minutes to remove the "surface charge". With the battery connected and engine running fast enough to close the cutout, look for about 7.5 volts at the battery. When trying to locate the source of electrical problems (and most others) it is important not to just start swapping parts or moving connections. Using a voltmeter, check between both the input and output of the cutout and the negative pole of the battery. The reading will show the loss in that part of the circuit, likely due to a defective battery cable and/or terminal. At six/seven volts, a relatively small resistance can "drop" the entire power. Do the same test between the positive (ground) pole of the battery and the frame of the generator. More often than not, charging problems, like many other auto electrical dilemmas, is the result of poor grounding from rust, paint, corrosion, and other obstacles. By swapping generators, cutouts, etc, you have probably eliminated those components. Do these recommended tests, and it is likely you will narrow down the cause. If you don't have a full wiring diagram for your '36, I can post one for you. It is a vital "road map" when diagnosing problems. To answer your other question, when running the starter, it is not unusual to see the battery voltage fall to around four volts. This message was edited by supereal on 4-10-11 @ 10:45 AM tudorbilll 04-10-2011 @ 10:06 AM reply profile send p.m. New Member Posts: 108 Joined: Oct 2009 Super-What is the voltage at the battery if it is good and fully charged.Engine off.Also whats the votage drop to while cranking This message was edited by tudorbilll on 4-10-11 @ 10:35 AM lightflyer1 03-11-2011 @ 12:25 PM reply profile send p.m. New Member Posts: 107 Joined: Oct 2009 I will see if I can do this but I have a back surgery coming up to fuse two more vertebrae. One already done so it gives me some trouble when bending. I will see what if anything I can do. 37RAGTOPMAN 03-11-2011 @ 5:17 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1992 Joined: Oct 2009 lightflyer. you can try running a jumper wire, from the cutout directly to the battery..but first remove the original wiring, this will rule out the original wiring and gauges, use a volt meter on the battery, if the generator will work you will see a rise in voltage, did you try motoring the generator.?? lets hear how you made out, 37RAGTOPMAN

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