I recently purchased a 1960 Vette and on the 1st day it die while driving. I changed the battery and had the generator checked out which turned out to be fine. I am in the process of replacing the VR.
How do you check the VR to determine if it is bad? If the VR is fine, what is the next step to take to correct?

 

The checkout procedures are in the '61 Passenger Car Manual. One quick check is to run the car up to a fast idle with a voltmeter across the battery terminals; if charging you should see from 13.8-14.2V DC there.

If you see much higher your V/R may have run away and fried your battery...much lower and the generator may have an issue or there is bad wiring. More in depth checks are in the manual though.

BTW - there are NO, repeat NO longer any sources of solid-state voltage regulators for generator driven Corvettes so you're stuck fixing yours or getting a mechanical replacement. The older gentlemen that made the only SS V/Rs passed away last year.

 

Would a bad VR cause the battery to not charge? I had my generator checked and was
told it is fine.

 

How was your generator checked. If it was remove from the vehicle you have to polarize it when re-installing. The procedure is in the service manual.

Don

 

I pulled it and took it to a alternator/starter shop. I did not polarize it when I reinstalled it. I read several posts on the subject of polarizing the generator and almost ever post said that it was not necessary.

 

well then I guess my Car generators are the exception to the rule. I had to do it in both my 60 Vette and 1956 Belair. My luck I guess.....

 

See post #2, first paragraph; that will tell you if the voltage regulator is working properly (assuming the shop was correct when they told you the generator is OK).

 

Don is correct. You have to polarize your VM every time you install a new unit or unhook the generator. I installed a brand new VM years ago and bought a brand new battery too and within two days of driving the battery was completely dead. It only takes 2 seconds to do and the "tool" is cheap. I used a 12 guage piece of coated wire bent inthe shape of a "U". All you have to do is touch the correct terminals on your VM (cannot recall is it is the outer 2) and it will spark. Now you have polarized the system and if you check your voltmeter in the dash with the engine running it should register the system is charging.

Good luck.

Ted V.

 

I had five different C1's over a 40-year period, and polarized one of them once, after I rebuilt the generator and it sat on a shelf for four years.

 

Well, unfortunately, your experience is of little help to the OP who is trying to trouble shoot a charging issue. He can recheck if his system is correctly polarized in 2 secs and cross that off his list of things to rule out.

Best of luck to the OP and let us know what you find out.

 

First off I assume VM means VR and that means Voltage Regulator.

You don't polarize a voltage regulator; you polarize the generator it is usually done at the V/R terminals. And, as JohnZ has pointed out there is only a miniscule chance that is related to the problem. Unless the generator lost its residual magnetism through some near cataclysmic event then its fine. If it blows your skirt up to check it then by all means go for it -- just understand what it really means

 

I just received the Voltage Regulator (VR) in the mail. It says to Polarize the Regulator by using a 16 gauge jumper wire and briefly touch (2 seconds) both the armature (ARM) terminal and the (BAT) battery terminal. DO NOT TOUCH the (FLD) field terminal or to ground. Start the vehicle and check charging system for proper operation.

Does this also polarize the generator or is there a separate procedure for the generator?

 

When you jump the terminals on the voltage regulator it polarizes the generator, that is all you need to do.

 

I don't know if this is the cause of the OP's problem or not, but it caused me grief for about 12 of the 16 years I owned my '60 Corvette. As I recall, the charging current passes through the amp meter mounted in the dash. I had corrosion on the connections to and from the amp meter, resulting in the battery never getting a full charge. I never discovered this until I removed my instrument cluster for some other work. It might be worth checking on the OP's car. Every time my battery, starter, generator and VR were checked, they tested fine.

 

Frankie.. John.. I'm uploading the electrical diagnostics to the web site right now.. as soon as it's finished I'll post you the link. This will give the OP something to test with. I just ran into an issue in my shop a few weeks ago and went ahead and pdf'd this section. Now it will be available for everyone to share.

It's 52 pages in pdf.. so I hope the site will allow this large of a file.. I've never tried one this big before.

Ernie

** it bombed.. Let me try to re-size this in the morning.. four tries tonight.. even in a zip file.. failed.. I'll see what I can do in the AM.. or maybe I'll upload this elsewhere and post the link.

It won't load, the file is too large for our default size on the site... If anyone would like a copy of this email me at Support@Willcoxcorvette.com

 

I'm mystified why there are so many varying responses to what is likely a simple issue with an even simpler charging system which has been around from the 1930's until the 1960's. If what follows sounds like things others have said it is because it is.

1. A regulator is never polarized. However in the extremely rare instances when a generator requires polarization one of the ways it is done is to jump the regulator terminals for an instant. This polarizes the generator, not the regulator. As John Z and others said, it hardly ever is necessary. Only a generator left out of a car on a shelf for years or one with a replaced armature will lose its residual magnetism sufficiently to require polarization.

2. Your shop manual contains detailed instructions of how to diagnose charging system failures which are almost always the result of generator failure (brushes, armature windings, field coil or commutator) or voltage regulator (burned contacts, open coils, open resistor(s).

3. The best way for a novice to deal with this problem is to remove the generator and regulator from the car and bring both to an auto-electric shop (every mid sized city has one) and have the generator overhauled (new bearings, brushes, testing of armature & field coils and clean up of commutator). The shop will then bench test the generator with the regulator and provided the regulator is good, adjust the regulator for proper output. Often the shop will sell you a replacement if necessary.

Dan

 

Dan's advice is spot on. One caveat though -- finding somebody to step up and service generators is getting to be a bit of a trick. My auto-electric guy will do mine if it needs it (he tells me) but only the owner has the experience -- his young techs are all alternator guys

You wouldn't think it would be a big deal; but I don't want just anybody screwing with mine.

Lastly - yes, these cars use "full-flow" ammeter gauges and you better have those connections clean, corrosion free, tight AND FUSED. They are not fused from the factory and dangerous. Plenty of info on here about that topic if you search.

 

I have no idea why I typed VM instead of VR, but you are correct Frankie, I am referring to the voltage regulator. I'm not an expert of electrical on these cars nor do I claim to be, but from what I have been told by others who are more knowledgeable than I am, whenever the VR is replaced you have to polarize "the system" whether you want to argue that by touching the terminals on the VR, you are actually polarizing the generator in the process and not the VR itself.

I have to disagree about the comment that only time one needs to polarize the system is if the generator has been sitting on a shelf since my generator was still installed in my car and hooked up when I replaced my VR several years back. As I stated above, my brand new battery died within two days of driving and when I went to trouble shoot the problem, I was informed that every time the VR is replaced you have to polarize the system or it won't charge up. I was trying to help the OP who posted on this site to get some advise to solve his issue so he can enjoy his car. Like I said, it only takes two seconds to do and if it solves his problem, then he can go on to fix/clean the other 50 odd things he has/wants to do.

Hopefully this guys charging problem is not more involved.

Good luck to him and hopefully he posts his results.

Ted V.

 

I found away around this and uploaded the pdf to our google docs page. You can download a copy here for the next day or so.. then I'll pull it down: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B28...it?usp=sharing

 

You were badly informed.

It is absolutely not necessary to polarize "the system", the VR, or the generator just because the regulator has been replaced.

Jim