Hello All! I haven't had chance to do much to my truck yet, because I don't really have a garage at our new (100-year-old) place yet, and there's 30" of snow here. And it's cold. haha.
But; I did get a new battery in it so I could fire her up and start to get a baseline.
For background; this is a '34 Chevy pickup. A previous owner converted it to 12v. It had a dead battery and, even with a jump was barely-running when it arrived to me a few weeks ago.
So now with the new battery in it, I fired it up and was trying to dial-in the ignition timing when I noticed the battery was spraying out both weep holes. I threw a multimeter on it and it's pegging >17v. !!!!!
There's an old voltage regulator on the firewall. No markings, but 3 terminals on the bottom of it. Can somebody teach me how that regulator works, so I can understand how to test it? I mean, it's got to have a reference-voltage applied, right?
Could you load a picture of the alternator or generator?
Thank you, yes ! Please see attached.
You'll note the yellow and white are obvious. The large red wire dives in the dash (haven't traced insure yet, but I'd guess the key?) The small red wire goes to the relay you can see. The brown wire goes to the battery.
I recommend that you return your truck to its original 6 Volt configuration. Your life will be much simpler and there will be real wiring diagrams to follow. It's not hard or expensive to find an original style generator.
Your generator is running full out. Either it is hooked up incorrectly to the regulator or the regulator is bad. You can go to the online shop manuals and see how to troubleshoot it. I would pick a shop manual for something that is 12 volt. I think there are some truck manuals on there that will do.
I recommend that you return your truck to its original 6 Volt configuration. Your life will be much simpler and there will be real wiring diagrams to follow. It's not hard or expensive to find an original style generator.
Mike
Thanks Mike. If she were "all original" otherwise, I think I'd agree with you. But this is a 'driver', and the expense & effort of changing back to 6v doesn't make much sense to me.
Your generator is running full out. Either it is hooked up incorrectly to the regulator or the regulator is bad. You can go to the online shop manuals and see how to troubleshoot it. I would pick a shop manual for something that is 12 volt. I think there are some truck manuals on there that will do.
Yes, I agree about the gennie running full-tilt. I will assume (perhaps erroneously) that their conversion to 12v worked at one time, and therefore I'm looking at a bad / worn voltage regulator. I'll check out the links you sent and see if I can learn myself up on this. Some googling last night led me to "stovebolt" forums, where I found a very knowledgeable individual on these VR's. I printed those instructions and I'll try to get to it this weekend. Wish me luck!!
Cannot make out the background color of the generator tag. Is it black or red? Black color was a 6V genny, red a 12V genny. If it is a 12v Genny as Old 216 said its time to replace the regulator. The regulator voltage regulator points could be stuck closed causing the hi voltage. You will need an old fashioned analogue voltmeter to reset them after cleaning. A modern digital one will drive you crazy with its jumping around readings. The wiring in your pictures looks correct. An old car instruction book such as Motors can assist you in this electrical knowledge required.
Another fault Maytag which could cause hi output is the earthing of the field coil wire inside the generator by one of the long mounting bolts. An internal single copper wire connects both halves of the field coil together inside the generator. This is a soldered connection which could get in the way of the through bolt.
I’ve had a few 6V generators converted to 12V so I could maintain original looks with the wide belt and get the convenience of 12 volts. You should be able to find a shop fairly close that could go through the generator for a fair price. I’m guessing that it’s the regulator. They’re cheap enough to replace, and if it should not be the problem you’ll have a spare for when it does become a problem. Note too that the armature and field connections are reversed on 6 and 12 volt generators. Pay attention to the A and F markings.
