59 battery not charging
As the title says I took the 59 out for a spin Wednesday and after about 8 miles, when I glanced down at the gauges (as I do every couple minutes), I noticed the gauge was discharging. It would deflect every time the brake pedal was engaged and the headlights were turned on. Returned to the house and unscrewed the battery post disconnect. The engine immediately cut off which tells me the generator is not putting out. What would be the most likely culprit, the generator or the voltage regulator. I was also wondering if the generator poles could have become reversed with the battery switch disconnected. This hasn't happened before, so its got me wondering which way to proceed 1st. As always, TIA Al
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Re: 59 battery not charging
It won't hurt a thing to polarize your generator just to see if that wakes it up. If that doesn't work I'd be looking at the regulator for stuck contacts. You could also remove the fan belt from the generator and spin it by hand. If it spins free and silent your brushes are probably gone.
Tom -
Re: 59 battery not charging
Thanks Tom, I have just got back home from carrying the generator to a shop in Raleigh, NC I did try polarizing the generator as you suggested, and it immediately began charging at 15 volts then jumped up to 30 and down to 0. This was at 900 to 1500 RPMs. Same thing at both RPMs. It then went to -5 volts approx. and would not start charging again even though I tried polarizing it again. I took both the generator and voltage regulator to the shop. The technician tested it on the machine and showed me were it would put out 13.5 to 14.5 freewheeling, but as soon as it was put under a load, the gen. quit charging. They will get it going again by the end of next week, hopefully.Comment
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