Ammeter Flutters, but battery is OK

FRITZ47

FRITZ47

Senior Member
I have a 1958 Lincoln Continental and the charging system seems perfect, as the battery always stays charged, and the car always starts in one second. However the ammeter swings back and forth constantly. At an idle it flutters just slightly, with the needle staying over the line into the charging position, but when giving the car even a moderate amount of fuel, the needle swings back and forth wildly. This is the ONLY thing wrong with this car and while it has never let me down, the concern is always in the back of my mind.

A NOS ammeter gauge for this car might be hard to come by (if it is the ammeter). My mechanic suggests bypassing the ammeter and hooking it up to a proven ammeter to see if the fluttering will stop. Then we will at least know what to look for next.

Any other ideas on where to start?

Thanks, Fritz
 

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A faulty voltage regulator could mimic the same symtoms. Generator brushes that are about used up could also have intermintant contact with their communtator and that could also show symtoms like that. A bad ground wire most anywhere could also give intermintant charging rates. Just suggestions....
 
I would check the two wires on the back of the gauge, then all the grounds I could find on the car. Make sure the engine is grounded to the frame and body, and the generator is grounded to the engine. If its all painted up nice, use a star washer between the wire and the ground.
 
Depending on the condition of your generator it could be "poling" which is caused by worn bearings and or loose field windings. You will be able to diagnose this by listening to the generator with a stethoscope or the old mechanic trick of holding a screwdriver on the generator with the handle pressed against your ear. If this is the problem you will hear and probably feel a loud rumbling.
As SSssteamer said it could also be a faulty voltage regulator. If you take the cover off the regulator and watch it whilst someone revs ithe engine if its faulty you will see it clicking in and out wildly in time with the ammeter.
It could possibly be loose connections on the ammeter also, but if it is the ammeter it will show signs of damage on the terminals from excess heat, though this situations would not normally pulse unless there is an internal fault in the gauge. They usually work or don't work.
 
Thanks everyone. I have forwarded this info to my mechanic who will be taking a look early next week. In the meantime, I just noticed that the fuel gauge is also not working properly. A full tank reads 3/4 full and a half tank reads almost empty. I am wondering it the two gauge problems could be related? Once we figure this out, I will post the results. Fritz
 
Ammeter problem fixed - still looking at the fuel gauge discrepancy. Here is a message from our shop regarding the fluttering ammeter:

I received, installed, and set up your Lincoln's new voltage regulator today. The ammeter is now stable and the charging system functions fine.

Prior to installing the new voltage regulator, the charging system still worked just fine, but the fluttering was a great concern, so I am glad that this problem is solved. Thanks to all who gave their opinions which were sent to our mechanic for his information and undoubtedly helped solve this issue. Fritz
 
EVERYTHING IS NOW PERFECT: I just got the car back from the shop. My mechanic installed a new voltage regulator and the problem is now fixed. He said there was some fluttering between the points on the regulator. While he was at it, he checked the gas gauge (was way off) and found that the wire that holds the float was not bent correctly and he fixed this too. When I first bought the car the gas tank was full of gunk, so we had it rebuilt by Gas Tank Renu. I am thinking that maybe we bent it in handling or something.

I am so glad to get this behind me, as I truly enjoy this car - one of the nicest in our collection and undoubtedly the best riding car of all of them.

Fritz
 

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Very nice car, I bet you do enjoy driving it. Glad you got it fixed. Also the information from the group was priceless.

sedanman36
 
all I have are gas eaters (except maybe the '73 with a 302) I just laugh it off when that's implied. Nothing like 4000+ pounds of American made steel protecting me.
 
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