Got another lesson yesterday.

lafarm

lafarm

Member
Noticed my amp gauge was still pegged on hi charge after about 10 mi knew it shouldn't be but didn't have far to go so kept going Voltage reg went bad and kept gen on full charge until it smoked the armature. This regulator has made in usa stamped into it also marked 3fc no other markings wondering if this thing was made in usa China.
 
Hi there, What car model and what generator are we talking about here?? Many of the late production repop voltage regulators are just junk and not to be trusted. Pictures please. Regards, Kevin.
 
lafarm said:
Noticed my amp gauge was still pegged on hi charge after about 10 mi knew it shouldn't be but didn't have far to go so kept going Voltage reg went bad and kept gen on full charge until it smoked the armature. This regulator has made in usa stamped into it also marked 3fc no other markings wondering if this thing was made in usa China.
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Some years ago during a long trip, I smelled battery acid and saw that my ammeter showed a heavy charge, and like your experience, I had been driving for about 45 minutes. Being out in the boonies with nothing in front of me but more boonies, I disconnected the regulator, running straight from the battery alone, and turned around and went back 50 miles to an auto electric shop I'd remembered passing. They DID have a new regulator for me, which is still on my car today. The battery, an Optima, wasn't harmed!


By the way, Google Maps "usa China" comes up as: Chino California, near La-La Land.
 
ford38 .... great thinking. I could well be wrong but if voltage was not too high I might have tried to proceed by turning on headlights, heater etc too suck-off some of the high amperage. Regardless, you did best thing.
 
lafarm, I looked at your pics of the regulator and it looks OK, not cooked or anything, so maybe an adjustment is all that is required. Find an auto elect shop with someone who knows how to repair and set these regs. Mostly older guys. There is a possibility that somehow if the field terminal connection wire inside the generator came into contact with the armature connection would cause the generator to charge flat out regardless of the regulator. Same goes for the wiring between the gen & reg. Is your armature cooked ?? Regards, Kevin.
 
koates said:
lafarm, I looked at your pics of the regulator and it looks OK, not cooked or anything, so maybe an adjustment is all that is required. Find an auto elect shop with someone who knows how to repair and set these regs. Mostly older guys. There is a possibility that somehow if the field terminal connection wire inside the generator came into contact with the armature connection would cause the generator to charge flat out regardless of the regulator. Same goes for the wiring between the gen & reg. Is your armature cooked ?? Regards, Kevin.
Click to expand...
Kevin thanks for the response
Dropped the gen and reg at the shop today, I am sure the armature
is cooked could see some burned holes in the insulation of winding's.
The regulator would make a small spark near the bottom of the
cutout relay when closing the contacts couldn't pinpoint the exact
spot before it quit doing it there is also some discoloring in that area
from heat.
 
lafarm said:
Kevin thanks for the response
Dropped the gen and reg at the shop today, I am sure the armature
is cooked could see some burned holes in the insulation of winding's.
The regulator would make a small spark near the bottom of the
cutout relay when closing the contacts couldn't pinpoint the exact
spot before it quit doing it there is also some discoloring in that area
from heat.
Click to expand...

I see you've determined that the regulator was at fault, but just a side note regarding regulator adjustments: a shop can adjust a good regulator to conditions found in the shop, but that doesn't mean it will be correct as mounted in your car. Even if mounted in your car, if the cover is off, that itself will affect the performance of the regulator. To obtain an accurate reading of a regulators performance, all conditions must be as close as possible to fully installed and running.
 
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