1964 countrysedan Generator dead?

Alright so I just got back from a very eventful trip to Tampa in my wagon, and halfway the GEN light popped on, I knew what was coming and I was prepared to be on the side of the road with a dead batt. So I eventually get home and when i run the car with a load (headlights) the battery only has 11.8-12 volts, I know that's not enough, but I just hope it isnt really the Generator (their expensive!), could it be the voltage regulator? And if so how would I check that?

Thanks, Brandon

 

Yea but generally generators simply wear the brushes. Those are cheap and you can replace them yourself. Also do all the tests, the charge switch in the voltage regulator could have gone bad. Those are mechanical and the points can burn. Sometimes all it takes is a emeryboard on the contacts to clean it up.

Generators almost never fail completely, just the brushes.

 

should i just take out the regulator and pop it apart? and check out the points? the generator was recently re manufactured too thats why im surprised

 

You shouldn't need to remove it unless it's too hard to get the cover off. Generally the mechanical regulators have screws (2) holding the cover on. The other thing is that most have 4 switches (contacts), you'll need to identify which one is the charge and whether it's open to charge or closed to charge. It's been one heck of a long time since I've touched a generator charging system. On a 1950 Chevy truck the points were open when charging once the voltage got to 7.2(six volt system) the points would close to prevent overcharging. My brother in law's Chevy wouldn't charge so he left the cover off and would put a cigarette but in the contacts so the battery would charge and by the time he got to work it would fall out about the same time the battery was all charged up. He would have to do that every morning.

 

I always think of more. I'm pretty sure you can check the output of the generator with a meter. There should be a wire or wires going to the volatage regulator off one post. There should be a second post that is ground maybe? Anyway if you have a schematic you should be able to measure the output of the generator. If that's OK then the voltage regulator needs to be checked.

I'm assuming a 12 volt system. I think a generator vehicle needs to be checked at 1500-2000 rpm or thereabouts. The output is probably in the neighborhood of 17-18 volts and the regulator is supposed to regulate that to 13.5 - 14.5 or so. Obviously if the generator is good then the regulator is bad or there is corrosion on connections or a broken wire. Generators are quite sensitive to slipping belts too.

On an alternator equipped Ford at idle the battery should be right at 14.5 measured at the battery posts. If not then there are procedures to measure at the alternator.

Here's a simple Buick schematic. I think you can meter between the A (armature) and ground to measure the output voltage. If it's good then it could be corrosion on wiring or ground wires or a broken wire or bad voltage reg. For sure check the ground from the battery to the engine block.

 

Alright thanks, I'll go do that now.

 

Ok, so I took the cover off the regulator (looks brand new) and it had three sets of points, two facing out front, and one off to the side (see photo attached). before I started the car all the points were closed, while the car was running they all were closed, and even at around 2 grand they were still closed. the last contact has some gray residue on it, could that propose a problem there?

 

Like Tbird said, look at the points for pitting ot carbon buildup and just use an emery cloth to clean them up. The rest is a matter of checking output voltage at the various points that he recommended. He uses his work computer, so he won't be back until Monday, to chime in again. What he said is pretty clear, and accurate. Ford's are not much different when it comes to generators than GM vehicles were.

 

It might be a little late for this instance, but rather than emory-cloth, use wet-or-dry sandpaper, moving from coarse to fine. Take a single layer, folded in half, and use a business-card or match-book cover in the middle for stiffness. This will give you the best chance to get the contacts as close to parallel as possible, and the WOD-paper will let you acheive a finer polish. Both will help your repair last much longer.

Lastly, breaker-points often have an alloy plating over the base conductor metal and, once that's gone, they'll be more prone to pitting. You might want to shop for a deal on an NOS replacement while this one's still gettin' the job done...

 

I'm possitive that to charge one of the three has to be open. It's supposed to close when charged.

 

Alright, so I took my generator to Ace auto electric and a guy there said my generator was fried...$260 fix. So I threw an alternator in, and I wanted to do it cheap and easy, so i hooked it up the the same three output regulator, now my alternator is dead. how is the correct way to wire up a generator vehicle to an alternator? do i need to by a different regulator?

 

Yep! Have a look here:
http://www.rowand.net/Shop/Tech/index.htm

These 1964 Comet wiring diagrams should be close to your wagon's system:
http://www.rowand.net/Shop/Cars/1964FordRanchero/WiringDiagrams.htm

 

i cant find my diagrams anywhere in my puter,,,its actually pretty easy...i'll keep looking

 

This is pretty straightforward. I've got the one by Chris Britton. Covers voltage and Alternator upgrades.

http://www.ntractorclub.com/howtos/howtos.htm