Battery Neg. ground

[Buck]

Just got this 31 rpu it has been in storage for yrs. the batt. was neg. gr, Put in a new batt. pos. gr. and when it started the am meter showed discharge when the motor's running. Had to change the wires on the amp. then it went to pos. My question is will it charge being neg gr? Tks

 

[Patrick L.]

A few questions.
generator or alternator ?
12v or 6v ?

Key off, turn on lights. Ammeter show discharge or charge ? That'll tell us what we need to know.

 

[Charlie Stephens]

You need to polarize the generator. You should check the wires to the coil as they may be reversed depending upon what the previous owner did when he went to negative ground.

Charlie Stephens

 

[Charlie Stephens]

Delete, duplicate post. I sure miss that delete function but understand why it was done.

Charlie Stephens

 

[Buck]

6V batt

 

[Buck]

6v gen

 

[Tom Wesenberg]

You need to polarize the generator. You should check the wires to the coil as they may be reversed depending upon what the previous owner did when he went to negative ground.

Charlie Stephens

It sounds like your generator is OK now, but do as Charlie said to be sure. Just jump a wire across the 2 cutout terminals for one second.

To see if the generator is charging the battery, just turn on the lights at fast idle, then turn the key off and see if the lights dim slightly as the engine dies.

 

[eagle]

If it was already set up for neg gnd, might as well leave it that way.

 

[Jacksonlll]

I bet he put a 12 volt battery in.

 

[Patrick L.]

OK, if the ammeter shows a discharge when lights are turned on and shows a charge when the engine is running at a fast idle speed then all is good.

If it charges at a rate you want, all is good.

The points should be wired the same as the battery. If battery is positive ground, the positive coil primary wire should go to the distributor.