runaway charging

G

guam2250

Member
Good evening all in the Brain Trust. My '31 stock(mostly) truck developed a hole in the radiator, on a hot day. Noticed steam coming out the radiator cap and the overflow tube, towards the ground. The Boyce temperature gauge needle started dropping(no water to measure?) and the ammeter started showing an increase in charge (10 amps) with no lights on. I am using a '57 Ford, 2 brush generator with a voltage regulator hidden up under the gas tank, on the inside of the firewall. This setup has worked well for years. Why did the ammeter charge rate go up significantly with the overheated engine??? Thanks for your ideas!
 
Perhaps the steam/ water from the water flow pipe, which is close to the generator affected the voltage regulator?
 
Doesn't sound like the two issues are related. Troubleshoot them independently I'd say.
 
Probably unrelated but could be that the heat caused some electrical issues, like a increase in resistance in a connection or two or in the generator or regulator. Get out the voltmeter and measure some voltages. I am a fan of a voltmeter in the car in addition to the ammeter. The voltmeter will answer a lot of questions.

Where are you located?
 
Hard to connect overheating to electrical problems. Most likely an odd coincidence. Check your battery for a dead cell.
 
I had the same problem with my generator in my 59 Corvette. It wasn't water just old age. I rebuilt the generator and solved the problem.
 
guam2250 said:
Good evening all in the Brain Trust. My '31 stock(mostly) truck developed a hole in the radiator, on a hot day. Noticed steam coming out the radiator cap and the overflow tube, towards the ground. The Boyce temperature gauge needle started dropping(no water to measure?) and the ammeter started showing an increase in charge (10 amps) with no lights on. I am using a '57 Ford, 2 brush generator with a voltage regulator hidden up under the gas tank, on the inside of the firewall. This setup has worked well for years. Why did the ammeter charge rate go up significantly with the overheated engine??? Thanks for your ideas!
Click to expand...


* I topped off radiator and ran the truck the next day with normal readings on ammeter and temperature gauge. This engine and A have been very stable for many years, and since things have returned to normal, I can't help but wonder if this was a high heat event. Could the heat cause the contacts, on one of the regulator coils, to stay closed and allow the generator to just keep on charging? Thanks all for the comments!
 
Well you could try heat the regulator with a hair dryer maybe duplicate the issue, Or just go for a drive and enjoy the drive ! ��
 
guam2250 said:
* I topped off radiator and ran the truck the next day with normal readings on ammeter and temperature gauge. This engine and A have been very stable for many years, and since things have returned to normal, I can't help but wonder if this was a high heat event. Could the heat cause the contacts, on one of the regulator coils, to stay closed and allow the generator to just keep on charging? Thanks all for the comments!
Click to expand...

It could be related. Might pull the regulator and put an eyeball on the field relay and look for anything unusual.
 
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