1951 ford f3 226, i not sure it is charging right. 6 volt system resting voltage is 6 to 6.1 when running with a voltmeter checking and the amp guage, it does not show charging. on the battery or the amp guage, when i rev it up nothing changes. at the regulator i get 7.6 at the arm, 3.2 at the field and 6 volts at the battery. am i correct in mty findings that the 7.6 is correct showing the generator is working? does this maybe point to the regulator being bad? went online but could not find anything on the voltages you should get at the regulator.


thx again
al

 

What kind of readings do you get when you turn on the headlights? Does the ammeter on the dash move when they are turned on? What does the ammeter show when the engine is at ~1500 RPM with the headlights on?

 

have to get the voltage tomorrow with the headlights on . i have not seen the ammeter move at all. when i rev it up it does not move at all. also when i rev it up you would think that the voltmeter would go up but it does not . at the regulater at the arm it shows 7.6 volts. do you know what it should be at at the field ? ammeter does not change needle l but stays in the middle.
thx al

 

HI AL,
Are you meauring the 6 volts at the battery terminal? Or the battery terminal on the voltage regulator? If you are seeing 7.6 volts on the Armature terminal at your voltage regulator it seems to me your generator is working. So you should see 7.6 or a little less at the Battery Terminal on your Voltage Regulator. If so, but your are still just seeing 6 volts at your battery, then I am thinking you are missing a connection somewhere between the battery terminal of the battery side of your starter relay and the battery terminal of your Voltage Regulator. If this is stock, there should be a yellow wire that runs between those two points, it passes behind your Ammeter and is connected to a couple of circuit breakers through a metal strap between them, and then from there goes to the B or Battery terminal of the Voltage Regulator. With the engine off measure for battery voltage at the B terminal on the V.R. and if you don't see it, follow that wire back to the battery side of your starter solenoid relay to see if it's disconnected somewhere along the way.
Here's a diagram link:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1007265-wiring-diagram-1951-f-1-a.html

Go down to post 3 where Ross posted a couple of good diagrams which will help you out.

 

thanks for the reply i just went out an checked 6.1 volts at battery terminals.and 6.1 volts at the bat terminal at regulator. today 7.6 at arm but only 6 volts at bat on regulator. just now measured 6.1 volts at regulator with truck not running. none of this wireing is stock on this truck it is a rats nest that i have been trying to get straightened out. hard to see the diagram you sent i will try to enlarge and print it tomorrow. if the arm voltage is 7.6 like you said the gen should be working. what voltage should you get at the field? mine is around 3volts + or - just trying to make sure the regulator is ok. .i will check again tomorrow but i am sure it is 7.6 on the arm. also my ammeter with truck not running is in the middle. is this normal? but what i do not understand today with truck running and revved up the voltmeter never went up. more checking tomorrow. thanks
al

 

I have found with stock 6v systems using an enlarged, color coded diagram from classiccarwiring.com was money well spent. Good luck with the troubleshooting.

 

Hey AL!
If you are seeing 6.1 volts at the battery itself and the battery terminal on your Voltage Regulator, I suspect your Voltage Regulator is bad. There are 3 sets of contact points under the cover. One is a cut out that will put the generator in circuit when it is spinning. Another set will open if the current is too high, and the last set opens and closes so fast it sparks and buzzes 100s of times a second under certain conditions. Sometimes folks will try to troubleshoot charging problems and the first thing they will do is try to polarize the generator. But they use the wrong procedure and end up ruining the voltage regulator. Since your measuring 7.6 volts on your armature, your generator is working and I would think your field voltage is good since you do have that 7.6. So all in all in my opinion it's a regulator problem. You may want to pull off the cover and check for burnt contacts and coil windings, and burned resistors if you can see them. Also check to make sure your regulator is securely grounded at its base. There should be a ground wire that runs between the base and the generator case itself. Sometimes sliding a nice crisp dollar bill between the contacts will bring it back to life. If not think about replacing it.
The Ammeter problems we can talk about after your charging issue is fixed.

Hope this helps!
Stu

 

Some info here.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...g-problem.html

 

I fought with a very similar problem in my 48. I wasn’t getting enough current to charge the battery with the lights on either and it would kill the battery after maybe 20 miles. I had the generator and regulator checked out by a generator shop and it all checked out, but the problem persisted.

Finally I replaced the generator/regulator with an alternator from PowerGen. It looks just like the stock generator but puts out almost double the current. No more charging issues and my halogen headlights are very bright.

 

sorry for not replying, i was away a few days. i did check about the "yellow wire that goes from the regulator bat terminal to the circuit breaker part of the back of the display that has the gas, ammeter and the temp guage . it is there but mine is black, it goes to the back and then returns back to the starter selonoid. thru the ammeer loop on the back. when i turn on the lights or the heater i can see a slight deflection on the meter down . but nothing going up to indicate a charge. i did order a new regulator from dennis carpenter. should be here next we

turn signal arrows
ek. hopefully that is the problem. will see. allso on the speedometer display with a light shining from behind you can see 2 arrows for the turn signal and 2 dots at the 15 mile and the 75 mile mark i think that one is for high beam and the other dont know. i cannot find anything on the schematic ab
out the turn signal arrows, anyone know anything about this?
thanks again
al

 

The ones at 15 and 75 are rivets, aren't they? The blue light at 12:00 is the high beam.

 

The back of the speedometer has 5 holes in the back for light bulbs/sockets to snap into. The top hole is for the high beam indicator, the two directly next to the high beam is the turn signal arrows, and the 2 most outboard illuminate the gauge. On trucks that weren't equipped with optional turn signals, those two holes were covered with tape. If you have dash lights hooked up to all 5 openings, you need to adjust your lighting circuit accordingly.

 

thanks guys,


i dont know if this turn signal is aftermarket or factory. either way i could tap into the left and right turn signal put i a couple bulbs and they showed work correct? slowly getting this rats nest of wireing correct. got the horn, new heater motor, working. still have to figure out what to do about the wiper motor being bad. new regulator ordered from dennis carpenter, hopefully that takes care of the charging problem. you all have been very helpful and i do appreciate it.
thx al

 

For the indicators, yes, just tap into the wires going to the front lamps. The rear lamp wiring works through the brake light circuit and you'll have some weird flashing if you use the wrong wires.

 

just an update on my charging problem. the new regulator came today and was installed and is now charging like it should. inspected the old just to see but could not find anything visible wrong. as for the turn signal arrows now they are hooked up and functional. there are a couple gauge sockets missing, going to try a local auto parts to see if they have or can get them and some extra 6 volts dash bulbs. also ordered a new oil pressure sender . i want to thank everyone for their input it sure was helpful. willing to bet i will have more questions on this truck
thx al