charge/discharge

[Logan]

My ammeter has been showing discharge at driving speeds randomly.  Most of the time it reads normally, but then all of the sudden it will go way down, and if accessories are on, they slow down.  I have a new voltage regulator, and the generator is good.  I'm wondering if it can be anything other than the voltage regulator.

[superk226]

It sounds to me like you have an intermittent short in the wiring some where. I hope you carry a fire extinguisher.

[joefrazer]

You mention having a new regulator in place...did the old one do the same thing? If so, then there's either a ground or a connection issue causing the behavior. If the problem only started with the new regulator, make sure your connections at it and the generator are clean and tight. If so, then you may have abum regulator. I just installed one on my Jeepster that was new out of the box...and didn't work. I ended up having to replace it.

[Logan]

I think that this happens more when I first start the car.  Then, after I've been driving for a while, it starts charging andseems to keep charging for the rest of the drive, but if I turn it off and come back then it will start out not charging.  HOwever, not always.  Sometimes it just works.

[Barnum]

if the only time this happens is at startup....it is the regulator getting up to temp...it has to warm up to work properly. My Willys Aero does the same thing ...once warm, charges normally

[joefrazer]

One trick is to take a screwdriver and tap the top of the regulator case with the butt end. You should see the ammeter snap into a charge. An oldtimer showed me that many moons ago...and it seems to work.

[Logan]

I'm going to watch it closely over the next few days and weeks and make sure it only does it at startup.  Thanks for the feedback.

[84RabbitGTI]

My regulator started to do that too, and it was only two years old.  I took it back to the electrical shop with the generator and they determined it was faulty.  They replaced it with another new one, which btw was exactly like the original, at least externally, and the Delco-Remy housing bolted right on it in place of the generic one that it came with. Now it works happily again.   

[Kaiser Ranchero]

My 53 doesn't charge until it is rev ed two or three times and then shows charge above an idle.

[Logan]

But sometimes I'll be driving, say down the freeway, stop for gas for 5 minutes, and when I start it up again it won't charge for a minute or two, but then it seems to kick in.  Usually after it starts working, though, it keeps working until I turn the engine off again and restart it.

[Jim B PEI]

We are spoiled with electronically regulated alternators, which charge right away and charge even at idle. Generators and the old VRs are fussier, and it usually takes a bit of higher than idle revs to get it to start working. I notice this both on the Green Goddess when it still had a generator (now with a 12V alternator, with a Rube Goldberg set-up now with 2 six volt batteries, starter (only) on 12 and everything else on 6V--designed by Mr Mobius and Igor) and my Studebakers which are all generators or alternators, but with old style VR all of them.