I know generators have been discussed thoroughly. Have read through old posts. Still have a question on my 62 F100 flareside. My generator light is coming on more and more frequently when idling at stoplights. However when it is not on and I check the voltage at the battery it is generating 14.5 volts at idle. My trusty mechanic says it is dying and I may as well get a rebuilt one. Is that the reasonable option? Am I wrong to want to keep the original generator rather than change to alternator?

 

had the same problem on my 63. most people here seem to advise converting over to an alternator but i didnt want to mess with it so went down to the autoparts store got a rebuilt one put it on works fine and i own a farm so my truck gets used. i suppose if you're running xtra lighting or something an alternator would be an advantage but if not for what ya got it did the job for 40yrs.
btw don't overtighten the belt and check the new generator for flaws. first one i got was banged up. don't know but i think ford used that generator on everything from 8n tractors to whatever.

 

If you want to stay with your generator have it rebuilt their are many elect shops around that will do it
I use Boyle future for mine in cal
Roy

 

NO hate mail.have 64 stepside with 223 had gen probems,rebuilt gen was over 100$,used alt from 78 chevy, i think its 43 amps,ran it so i can use gen light to tell when its charging.DO NOT use 100 amp alt as it will burn down your truck. have ran same alt for over 10 yrs with no problems. had to fab mount brackets. have two 64 f100s,1 68 f100, 86 f250 an my daily driveris a 88 bronco2

 

You can buy a new set of brushes and the front/rear bearings at autoparts stores for less than 30 bucks.

Now, all you have to do is install them in your generator. If you're really cheap, just replace the brushes, about 8 bucks.

When the brushes wear down past the halfway point, the generator light flickers. When the brushes wear down to nothing, the generator light comes on and stays on.

 

as requested, i'll refrain from the hate mail.
but a question- i'm not familiar with the pre-65 stuff:
why would a 100-amp alt burn down the truck?

to the OP- i don't think there's a wrong answer in this situation, keep the generator if that's what you wanna do. you'd only need a higher-performance electrical system if you had add-on electrical components (fans, etc).

 

the lightswitch handles the voltage for the dash wiring,if power of of 100 amp alt. will fry the wires if run through lightswitch. A friend burned down a nice 64,by running power from alt. to headlight switch

 

update on my generator issue. I've relearned much of the high school electricity stuff I had forgotten. I thought my rough running engine was seperate from my electrical system. However, after taking the carburetor apart and discovering that a ball valve under the bowl had been dislodged my truck runs amazingly smoothly. No more hesitation when I try to accelerate. Got the idle adjusted. And suddenly my generator light is not coming on. I checked voltage at the battery and it was charging 14.5 volts with engine running. I'm a happy guy. In the meantime I bought a rebuilt generator which now sits in the shop waiting for this one to eventually die. My big challenge should that ever happen will be figuring out how to polarize the voltage regulator properly. Thanks for all the feedback.

 

When changing your generator when the time comes you actually polarize the generator field. It's as easy as 1 2 3, just remove the 'F' wire from the regulator post and touch it momentarily to the regulator 'BAT' post. It only takes one second and you will see a slight spark..

 

I am glad to hear you are keeping the generator. I am sticking with mine because I like the uniqueness, and I do not need the extra power. They can be hard on batteries because there is not a lot extra power for recharging. I am compensating by using a charging/marine type battery that is designed to handle deep discharges for extended periods without permanently dying.

 

i am totally and completely clueless on polerizing regulators (fried my regultor becuase i didn't know your supposed to ground the truck when you start it with the front clip off). anyway my new regulalor (edit uh id didn't polerize my generator i polerized my regulator) came with instructions on polarizing it, it was easy.