So as some of you may have seen the 59 fried out another generator this past Friday while trying to limp her back to her garage. Just dropped off the burnt-out unit and another similar unit (both "restored") and at first glance the guy at the counter said, "melted solder and one has a shady looking field coil". Both were purchased on Ebay through sellers with good ratings. I'm curious to see what might be causing this. Is it just cheap material or poor workmanship? Perhaps there's a problem with the 59 thats causing it? As of today she has a new battery, all new charging leads/cables, NOS voltage regulator, and a new ignition coil. Volt meter shows it charging at 14.1 volts. What gives?
Can you open the regulator? If it can reasonably be done may be worth it for an inspection. Could be some corrosion maybe making things stick occasionally or otherwise not always function correctly.
14.1 at idle with a fully charged battery? Like after a drive with minimal load like no ac sort of thing. Is it stable if you rev it up?
Have you added anything to the car that would have increased the electrical load? If so you could just be overloading it.
Regulator was brand new old stock. I can open it up and its the adjustable type. 14.1 at idle and it'll get up to 14.5 if I rev it. I haven't tried to put a full load on it as I don't want that possibly kicking out until I get the other two units back in a few weeks.
Does sound like excess current, do you have big loads?
After a few problems with my 62, I put in an internally
regulated alternator, which is designed to current
limit without any regulator help. Bruce Roe
Everything on the car is 100% stock. Most of the time I'm driving I just have the radio on.
Okay this may be a silly question but will not having a condenser by the voltage regulator cause too much of a draw from the gen? I didn't have one installed this entire time, only by the coil.
I'm going to say, no.
One of the electrical experts will chime in, I'm sure.
Quote from: Cadillac Jack 82 on July 01, 2024, 02:26:12 PMRegulator was brand new old stock. I can open it up and its the adjustable type. 14.1 at idle and it'll get up to 14.5 if I rev it. I haven't tried to put a full load on it as I don't want that possibly kicking out until I get the other two units back in a few weeks.
In my experience, just because a voltage regulator (or anything with contact points ) is NOS or "Rebuilt" does not necessarily mean it's ready for "plug and play" as most consumers today would expect on purchase. A small film of oxides can form on the contact faces during decades of storage; even sealed in a Delco Can. Before I install them, I open them up and carefully clean the contact surfaces with contact cleaner and crocus cloth (or matchbook striker or contact file etc.
Personally, I also bench test and adjust mine if necessary. But that's because I've got a variable DC supply available and it's practical. That way if there's abnormal happenings when it's back on the car I know to look elsewhere; not the regulator.
If I remember right, weren't you having very similar issues with generators / regulators back in your LaSalle days?
Quote from: Joe G 12138 on July 03, 2024, 08:49:12 AMIn my experience, just because a voltage regulator (or anything with contact points ) is NOS or "Rebuilt" does not necessarily mean it's ready for "plug and play" as most consumers today would expect on purchase. A small film of oxides can form on the contact faces during decades of storage; even sealed in a Delco Can. Before I install them, I open them up and carefully clean the contact surfaces with contact cleaner and crocus cloth (or matchbook striker or contact file etc.
Personally, I also bench test and adjust mine if necessary. But that's because I've got a variable DC supply available and it's practical. That way if there's abnormal happenings when it's back on the car I know to look elsewhere; not the regulator.
If I remember right, weren't you having very similar issues with generators / regulators back in your LaSalle days?
Joe,
Yes my 37 was eating up batteries until I had the generator rebuilt by a reputable company in Springfield, VA. That fixed my charging issue. I currently have two "rebuilt" generators being looked at/fixed by a reputable company here in Mesa, AZ. Hopefully that will fix my issues. As of now she's charging with an older rebuilt Gen.
So GENCO, a company here in Mesa, AZ, said that both generators require a rebuild. One has a bad armature and the other both an armature and field coil (this one had been rebuilt twice by the same guy). As mentioned before I've switched out my old battery for a new one and the voltage regulator is NOS and the contacts clean. What would cause those generators to fry out? Bad parts? Poor workmanship? GENCO is renowned here for their rebuilds so I'm hoping this is the end of the road for toasty gens.
Swap in a 10 SI. It's simple deal. I know you run no power draws. Eliminate the regulator and wiring and have a steady charge rate.
Nope if it wasn't equipped with it, I'm not playing the modifying game. Both cars are 100% OEM and I try to source only the correct stuff for it. Pain in the backside? Absolutely! Worth it? Maybe not to some but for me it makes me happy.
No argument from me. I'm only a purist to a degree.
I just had so much extra on my '59 that OEM wasn't possible. A/C, 700 watt sounds, electric fans, etc... I had a 150amp 12 SI running things.
Yeah the 59 is far too original to be adding extras on her. She's never been restored or messed with so I intend to keep her that way :)
Tim,
There are multiple things that may cause a generator to "burn-up" age (mechanical or electrical), bad VR or pitted contacts, failure to polarize it, heavy load due to either a weak or bad battery by constantly providing a charge w/out cycling on/off, etc.
If the solder at the commutator from the armature windings got melted that is an indication of either/or very high RPMs or excessive heat cause by high amp loads.
The field coils will make the necessary current is produced by the generator to build up and increase until it can be use by the battery and the accessories.
The field coil can go bad same as the commutator (shorted windings), having either or both go bad on the generator is a toss-up between the causes above.
Good luck..!