| MG | -- 08-30-2012 @ 11:19 AM |
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On my '37, the ammeter shows a slight charge (+) at idle and will increase with more RPM's, which is normal. However, when I turn on the lights, it shows a discharge (-) and increasing the RPM's will not cause it to go to a charge condition - needle will not move toward + at all. Is this a 'third brush' adjustment or a cutout problem? Should I adjust the third brush for maximum output? I plan on doing some night time driving in the not too distant future but most of my driving will be daytime with the lights off. What kind of problems might I encounter with the third brush adjusted to max?
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| ford38v8 | -- 08-30-2012 @ 11:37 AM |
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Your 3rd brush should be adjusted to keep your battery charged for most of your driving. I wouldn't be concerned about your upcoming trip (I would guess to Redmond?), as your night driving will be compensated for by your daytime driving. If you adjusted for headlights, you would have to drive with headlights all the time to prevent overcharging your battery. Alan
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| MG | -- 08-30-2012 @ 1:56 PM |
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@ford38v8 - You're correct in your guess that my upcoming trip will be to Redmond. I plan to leave at about 5AM so as to avoid the heavy rush hour traffic here in the Bay Area. This will require that I use the headlights for an hour or so. My concern is wearing the battery down.
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| MG | -- 08-30-2012 @ 6:26 PM |
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BTW - I just used the 365 day 'search' feature on this forum and as I interpret the info posted there, it appears that the conditions I described in my initial post are 'normal'. Is it that I really don't have a problem with my charging circuit?
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| ford38v8 | -- 08-30-2012 @ 8:39 PM |
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Yes, you got it. Did you also find the post that advised: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it"? Also, you should know that on average, it takes about 10 miles of driving for your generator to fully charge your battery after you use your starter to crank it over. This is useful information to use when observing your ammeter as you described in your first post. Alan
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