Generator not Charging?

[Dave Richards]

Hi everyone:

Fired up the car from it's long winter nap: BJ8's little red ignition light is staying on, the belt on the generator is ok, where do I start trouble-shooting?

I don't suppose a multi-tester is going to help here, is it?

 

[Keoke]

Hi everyone:

Fired up the car from it's long winter nap: BJ8's little red ignition light is staying on, the belt on the generator is ok, where do I start trouble-shooting?

AT the control box the main voltage regulator contacts may be dirty.

I don't suppose a multi-tester is going to help here, is it?

Yeah see if the generator is putting out at least 10Volts.---Keoke

 

[vette]

Dave, if your lucky it is just the brushes with a little coating on the commutator from a long winters nap. It's not hard to take it apart and just brighten up everything. Keep the slots in between the commutators bars clean, and don't nick anything.

 

[Dave Richards]

OK, thanks both of you, will check each this weekend. Starting to get nice here, so am anxious to get this sorted out. Got one other issue with brake lights, but will start new thread.

 

[Dave Richards]

I've only been able to mess with this a bit the past few weeks, it needed a few other things as well. Those things are done now and I will tackle this in earnest.

 

[Coastalman]

Dave, I just went through the same problem. I had the generator rebuilt, which it really needed, but the main culprit was the ground wire coming off the regulator box. I did clean the points, which was also needed, but I still had a glimmer of red light. My friend, Ed_K, helped me trouble shoot the problem. Once he cleaned the firewall where the ground was attached and cleaned the lug, he reattached the lug with a star washer to ensure a good ground. The fix worked like a charm. It turns out Ed comes by his ground trouble shooting by way of his father. His father not only originally bought the Healey that Ed now ownes, but taught Ed about making good connections. Ed's father's business expertise was trouble shooting commercial electrical connections. It is amazing how many of our car's electrical troubles can be solved by making sure the grounds are good.
Charlie

 

[steved033]

on the same subject...adjustment to the regulator? I've cleaned and troubleshot the generator, and per the green book instructions, I've got a good solid 20V at the generator.

Ignition light is still on, dims when revved a little, but not much.

I did clean the ground, but should double check the screw tightness.

sjd

 

[Keoke]

Well If you have 20 Volts at the generator and the ignition light is still on you have a control box that is out of adjustment or defective I think.--FWIW--Keoke

 

[steved033]

basically, yes.

The car sat for 40 years, and it was just a couple of little simple things that kept it from running, I think.

It runs fine, no smoke, really strong, just not charging right now.

I'm looking for a baseline on the contact adjustments on top of the control box. I'm trying to figure out if they're screwed in too far, should be just touching, just not touching, etc...I got the other contacts adjusted better.

sjd

 

[Patrick67BJ8]

basically, yes.

The car sat for 40 years, and it was just a couple of little simple things that kept it from running, I think.

It runs fine, no smoke, really strong, just not charging right now.

I'm looking for a baseline on the contact adjustments on top of the control box. I'm trying to figure out if they're screwed in too far, should be just touching, just not touching, etc...I got the other contacts adjusted better.

sjd

Very similar thing happened to me. Clean the points inside the regulator with a very fine emery board and it may start working properly again.
Patrick

 

[healeynut]

With 20 Volts at the generator.... technically it sounds like the Regulator's Field resistor is shot - giving too much juice to the Field windings resulting in the 20 V output.

Regulator replacement (or field resistor replacement, if you know what you are doing) may be the only option here....

 

[Ed_K]

Steve,
Turn the main switch off at the battery.
Take the cover off of the voltage regulator.
Clean between the contact points of the relays with a burnishing
blade. If the blade comes out dirty with corrosion, then you may have fixed it.
Also check your ground ( the little black wire that runs from the connector on the bottom of the regulator over to the nearby screw on the firewall)..
Slide the ground connector off of the voltage regulator.
Clip one lead of your Ohm meter to the connector on that wire.
Conect the other lead to a good frame or engine ground. You should have zero ohms. If you have any resistance, you may not have a good ground connection through the ground screw to the frame ground. If that ground isn't good, the red light won't go off when reving the engine past a high idle.
If the wire check goods with an ohm meter as outlined, slide it back onto the voltage regulator. It should resist being slid on. If it is easy to slide on, it may not be making a good connection to the voltage regulator, get a pair of needle nose pliers and squeeze it tighter and then slide it back on to the voltage regulator.
Then remove all of the other connectors from the voltage regulator, one at a time, and slide them back on. This will clean any corrosion off of the contact surface. If any of these connectors are loose fitting, they will cause problems. Go ahead and tighten any that are loose fitting.
If none of this helps, a new voltage regulator doesn't cost too much.... One more thing that comes to mind is the big ground strap between the frame and the engine. If it was not making a good connection, it could cause the same problem of the red light not going off even though the generator is putting out 20 volts.
Ed

 

[Keoke]

Hi Steve, a base line for the regulator contacts is 0.015" that's the big screw on top of the coil. However I am thinking along the lines with HLYNut [Alan] the internal field resistor may have given up the ghost even though I would expect it to go up in value if it did or its contacts are shorted together.--Keoke

 

[steved033]

cool guys, thanks. I'll let you know what's up I should be working on it tomorrow.

sjd

 

[WillR]

Gosh, I just realized I'm signed in as my son, Will!!

Dave Richards says:

I have 14 volts when tested at the battery at a high rev.

The red light is on and has never been before except at low revs.

These are great suggestions and I will check the regulator contact points and the ground, and report back.

Dave