A month into C1 ownership, I have a question about normal generator and regulator behavior. Night driving seems to be problematic.
I have been driving with a voltmeter in the cigarette lighter and just installed a voltmeter in the ammeter’s place because the ammeter was expired. Gauge voltage matches the digital doofer, so I am happy.
Most of the time driving I see high 13 to mid 14 volts, then a long period of battery voltage, and then later charging again. So, I’m okay with that.
Once either park lamps or headlamps are selected, the car shows only battery voltage and never a charging voltage. The car has sealed beam incandescents and MSD ignition, so we need a charge here and there. After an hour of running on lamps, voltage is down to ~12.
Is this normal C1 behavior?
Thank you.

 

Now you see why most generator equipped cars run ammeters so you know if it's charging or discharging. The generator output falls off with rotational speed much faster than does an alternator and it is very common for the generator to be completely disconnected at idle. This is a good thing because under those conditions your generator becomes a motor and draws current from the battery. It's the job of the cutout relay in the regulator to prevent that. Nonetheless, a good generator/regulator should have no trouble keeping your battery charged as long as you don't spend excessive time idling. The real challenge was keeping an air conditioned generator equipped car charging in stop and go traffic.

The very first thing to check is your fan belt tension but your problem sounds much more of a regulator issue specifically the current regulator (which an alternator car does not have). The voltage regulator is actually a voltage/current regulator though it is never both at the same time. Most of the time the voltage regulator limits the output which should be around 14.4 volts but under load the current may rise to levels that cause the current regulator points to open before the voltage regulator points do. This occurs somewhere around 35 amps so whenever that limit is reached the voltage goes no higher. You can confirm that the generator is working well and the regulator is limiting the output (perhaps too soon) by connecting a jumper from the regulator field connection to ground. Make sure the radio is off and I would not exceed ~ 1800-2000 RPM because your voltage and current are now only limited by what the generator can do. If the voltage now remains high under load then the regulator is limiting the output but if not then the problem is in the generator and it is VERY unlikely to be something like worn brushes and you need specialized equipment like a growler to dig very deep --- another opportunity for a new tool or take it to a shop.

To test/adjust your regulator, you really need something like an old Niehoff ST-12 regulator tester that can usually be found on eBay. A DVM is of limited use in this case because unlike the dedicated tester, they can't impose an artificial and known load. If you are like me this sounds like an opportunity for a new tool but otherwise a generator/starter shop is needed to test/adjust the regulator.