Can a 2 brush or 3 brush gen. be id'd from the outside and what's the difference? Also, how is 1 wire vs 2 wire diff? Tks~JH~

 

What do you know about old generator systems? I know pretty much nothing specific, though I know a little bit about the principles of operation. 3 brushes sounds odd.

What years are you talking about? Maybe we can look something up on a search engine.

 

As far as I can tell the 2 and 3 brush looks the same on the outside but the 4 brush generator has the A and F terminals further apart then the 2 or 3 brush.
I see no reference to a 1 wire generator in my books.

 

I have never seen a one wire generator on a car truck before, only on old tractors. that's not to say they never where on cars or trucks just neve seen it myself. usally the 3 brush generator was a one wire set up, you move the pivet brush closer or farther away from the field brush to increase or decrease output. the 3 brush was first used without a regulator just a cutout relay, that's why the output was adjustable. i have never seen a 4 brush generator on a automotive application before myself. i do not now of a way to id them from the outside but if it only has one term it has to be a 3 brush that was meant to have a cutout used as there is now way for a regultor to control the field.