39 Generator

[charles in east texas]

My generator on my 39 is a two wire, one on the side (field) and one at the back
( bat). I found a reconditioned one that looks identical to mine but has two
Terminals on the side, one marked field, the other unmarked and one terminal
At the back unmarked also. My question is this, will the three wire terminal
generator work and if so, what to do with second terminal on the side? Thanks,
Charlie

 

[flatheadfan]

Charlie-

The third post is just a ground post. I have a two brush generator on my '35 that has three posts. I just run a wire from the ground post to the regulator and attach it to the regulator frame. Some guys just ignore the post.

Tom

 

[Kube]

My generator on my 39 is a two wire, one on the side (field) and one at the back
( bat). I found a reconditioned one that looks identical to mine but has two
Terminals on the side, one marked field, the other unmarked and one terminal
At the back unmarked also. My question is this, will the three wire terminal
generator work and if so, what to do with second terminal on the side? Thanks,
Charlie

If authenticity is not a concern, the three post will work just fine.

 

[Mart]

The third terminal is a ground.

Mart.

 

[charles in east texas]

Thanks fellows for your answers. I'll use the three wire for a spare. I'm courious as to which
Year this three wire is suppose to fit. Thanks again for your help. Charlie

 

[Bruce Lancaster]

The ground wire is potentially important, and Ford added it for a reason after a year or two of producing the regulated generators. Resistance in the ground circuit is directly deducted from generator output, and there are a lot of potential problem areas if ground is through the mounting...it has to go through numerous bolts, gaskets, and connections to get back to the ground side of battery. On a restored car, everything is complicated by thick paint, on an unrestored one by rust and dirt.
Adding the ground is a good idea for anything other than detailed correctness. It can run from existing through bolts on older gen or from the dedicated post on newer case back to base of regulator to emulate stock later setup, and this can be improved a bit by adding a jumper form reg base to where battery ground cable bolts to car.