'61 Voltage Regulator
How can I check the voltage regulator on my '61? It is "new" but I'm not sure it is working correctly. When I rev the motor, the fuel and battery gauges both spike to the right. At idle the battery gauge falls into the negative side of the gauge. What could the problem be other than the regulator?
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Re: '61 Voltage Regulator
Seems normal to me. The generator does not charge the battery till the engine reaches about 1400 rpm. At idle the needle stays a little to discharge but when the rpms pick up the needle should go to the charge state till the battery recovers to full . -
Re: '61 Voltage Regulator
But is it normal for the fuel gauge to spike?Comment
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Re: '61 Voltage Regulator
'Spike' is a rather harsh term... It implies the pointer needles peg off scale in one direction or the other.
'Fluctuate' might be a better description of the process that was normal. Here's the deal.
Generators have a 'cut through' profile (I once posted a picture in a prior thread). This means their voltage/current output isn't constant, but varies with RPM.
At low RPM levels (engine idling), there generally isn't enough electrical power being developed by the generator to charge the battery and the car's B+ rail is pegged to the voltage level provided by the battery. This varies with the battery's current state of charge.
As engine RPM climbs, you reach a point where the generator IS capable of delivering battery charging power and the car's B+ rail climbs above the battery's voltage level providing charging current. That point is called the generator's 'cut through'. It's typically in the 1200 RPM range.
But, different generators were designed differently and those destined for vehicles that were expected to spend LONG periods idling (taxi cabs, police cars, Etc.) had generators with lower cut through profiles installed on them.
It's not abnormal for generator equipped cars to show a 'slight' degree of discharge at idle. In fact, you can also expect to see some gauges 'wink' in lock-step to the turn signal blinking when the car is at idle, foot on the brake and the turn signal engaged...
Don't expect a classic car with a generator based charging system to behave like a modern day alternator based car (ammeter almost never shows discharge).... Alternators are MUCH more efficient at delivering power under low RPM use...Comment
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Re: '61 Voltage Regulator
Richard
How much is the fuel gauge moving? Have you checked all your wiring for the dash?
TerryComment
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Re: '61 Voltage Regulator
Put a voltmeter on the battery, and tell us what you're getting at idle, 1500 rpms, and both with the headlights off and then on - 4 readings.Comment
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