voltage?

[brian.b]

how far should the voltage meter go when its charging mine goes all the way to 40 is that normal.

[joefrazer]

No it is not normal for the indicator to read that high. That said, if the battery is low, the charge rate may be high for a short time (less than a minute) while the generator works to recharge it. Soon though, the voltage regulator should kick in and you'll see the indicator start to flutter and move back towards the center. If you have a volt meter, test the current flow placing the positive lead on the plus battery terminal and the negative lead at the BAT connection on the voltage regulator with the engine running and all accessories turned off. You should not see more than 7.6 volts. Any more indicates the voltage regulator isn't working and should be replaced.

[brian.b]

ok what should the hand read if it is working right.thanks.

[joefrazer]

When working correctly and with a fully charged battery, a voltmeter should read between 6.2 and 7.6 volts. Anywhere between is acceptable.

[brian.b]

ok what about the guage in the car where should it be,,,mine goes from 40- to 40+ and mine stays on 40+ all the time,,,

[retired wrench]

 Brian is calling the amp meter a volt meter. No 6 volt gen is going to put out 40 volts. Its going to take some diagnosis to find out what is going on. If the batt is sulphated and wont take a charge this could casuse the high charge rate. The regulator could be defective also. As stated upon starting the amp meter will go high on the plus side then gradually drop back near the center. Are you running it long enough to charge the batt fully? It takes up to 20 minutes driving to put back what you took out by starting.

[dpledger]

Actually the meter in the car is an ammeter, not a voltmeter. It is a simple direct reading of the current passing into the battery. You didn't say what car you have, but 51K's have generators rated at only 35 amps and it increased to 40 for 52-3. Your generator or regulator would, it seems, have burned out by now if that were a real reading. I suspect there is something wrong with your gauge. Check the voltage from the regulator, as advised above. If this is OK, then your gauge is  defective. If it is also way high, then your regulator is defective, and needs to be fixed before you burn out your generator armature.

[JoeKeys2010]

I had a good deal of trouble with mine (a 1949). I had my battery tested by several different people and all said the battery was good. Next I sent the generator off to a rebuild shop (I had a spare and sent it too). I bought a regulator. Somewhere along the line either the previous owner or me reversed the two wires on the top of the generator do when I installed the correctly everything went to working. The car charges, the gage reads and I'm happy with it.

The only thing I don't like about the 6v is if the car does not crank right away (give or take) the battery will die quicker than a 12v one will.

I have a spare gage for a 49. Is used. If you need it let me know.

[brian.b]

sorry about not telling you guys what car i have i thought it was in my signature,its a 48 kaiser special,would the 49 guage work on a 49,

[joefrazer]

If you mean would a 49 dash gauge work on a 48 car...no because they look different and they are physically a different size.

Dash gauges rarely go bad. It's usually the unit sending the reading that is at fault. For the ammeter (voltage gauge), that would be the voltage regulator.

[JoeKeys2010]

Sorry I was thinking you had a 49.