Generator problem???
Race Director
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 12,142
Likes: 54
From: Taylor Michigan
A bad regulator can kill a good generator....by over charging causing extreme heat and melting the solder out of the generators armature..There will be a thin silver line the full inside circumference of the generators case visible through the back by shining a light through the rear end plate...May have to remove the generator to accomplish this...Its from overcharging and heating the generator up that this line occurs...A condition referred to as throwing solder....in other words you would need another generator if that condition happened....
Racer
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 427
Likes: 49
From: Pgh. Pa.
You do not polarize a regulator, you are polarizing the generator field magnets. You should only have to do this if the generator has been laying dormant for a long time or during a generator rebuild.
The safest way is to remove the wire from the field terminal of the generator and using a separate jumper wire from the positive side of the battery momentarily touch it to the field terminal on the generator.
You are now done.
I am currently in the process of writing a paper on generator/regulator to compliment my paper on alternator/regulator.
Joe
The safest way is to remove the wire from the field terminal of the generator and using a separate jumper wire from the positive side of the battery momentarily touch it to the field terminal on the generator.
You are now done.
I am currently in the process of writing a paper on generator/regulator to compliment my paper on alternator/regulator.
Joe
Racer
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 427
Likes: 49
From: Pgh. Pa.
I have been rebuilding generators and alternators for 35 years and have NEVER seen a charging system cause the battery case to melt. Anything is possible, but I have never seen it. I have seen batteries explode, cases crack, connections melt, and batteries boil the acid and get literaly smoking hot, but never the side of a case melt. I suspect another problem, like rubbing or an external heat source. If the armature has thrown solder as suggested (a ring of solder around the inside of the gen case) and this or a worn or stuck brush is a good posibility because you got no spark when you tried to polarize it. The armature can be resoldered or replaced. At this point I would pull the gen and reg and have the gen rebuilt and then bench tested thru your reg.
