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I searched for this problem and solution but only came up with problems with radios that hum. So what is going on with the '72 is that my alternator crapped out so I replaced the diode, voltage reg, brushes and capacitor and cleaned it up. It works great now except that it hums. Before it crapped out, it did not hum. Hmmmmm.....
sorry re-read your thread, you're saying the alternator itself hums . it may take a bit for those new brushes to smooth out. did you undercut the mica?
the part that the brushes ride on is the comutator, there are separations 'those small lines', the 'mica', that fill with crud from the brushes, rebuilders will clean those out with a small dremel like grinding wheel, it makes it work better and last longer. I take a small pick or knife and manually scrape them out, have to be carefull not to scratch the surface.
2025 c3 ('74-'82) of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2019 C3 of Year Finalist (appearance mods)
Originally Posted by oldalaskaman
the part that the brushes ride on is the comutator, there are separations 'those small lines', the 'mica', that fill with crud from the brushes, rebuilders will clean those out with a small dremel like grinding wheel, it makes it work better and last longer. I take a small pick or knife and manually scrape them out, have to be carefull not to scratch the surface.
Your thinking about an armature, it has a commutator and mica, an alternator has a rotor and smooth slip rings.
So to put a fork in this..........it turned out to be a small vacuum leak, not the alternator. i was trying to put all the load on the alternator that i could so i was turning on everything and when i turned on the wipers, (even though they are mainly vacuum operated), the noise went away. thanks for all the inputs though....