Charging Issue

J

james1savage

Member
I’m having issues with my powerhouse generator or cutout I believe. When driving my A down the road, the ammeter has been showing 0 charging and then every so often it’ll jump up and show charging about 8-10 amps or so. Seems to be no rhyme or reason when it will charge and when it won’t. I know it’s not the gauge as after a few runs around town like this showing 0 the battery will be drained.

I’m pretty handy with most of the car, but the generator and cutout are not my skill set really. Any advice on where I should start first? I’ve checked all the connections and everything is tight, and it’s a year old non-diode cutout. For the first 3/4 season last year when I put the cut out in, the system was working fine and showing a 8-10 amp charge.

Thanks in advance gents.
 
If all connections are tight and the cutout is good then all arrows point to the generator. The bushes could be stuck or worn out. If you do not feel confident to take the generator apart and analyze it then have someone else do it.
 
you can snap off the back cover take a look at the armature and the brushes. if the armature is dirty clean it up with a bit of fine sand paper. if the brushes are badly worn they are not to bad to change. make sure the brush springs are holding the brushes against the armature.

i would change the cutout to a diode. its not to hard to do and so far i have not had one fail.

lastly if you unable to / or not comfortable working on it you should contact the vintage car club down there i am sure they will help you. i think Calgary has lots of members, someone will know what to do
 
That sounds like the brushes are worn to the extent that they are making intermittent contact. When they wear down the brush springs will eventually bottom out in the holder, no long applying steady pressure to the brush. Pull the cover and closely examine each brush and spring.

The other possibility is oil or grease on the commutator. The original bearings were not sealed and eventually leaked grease out onto the armature and commutator. I restore a lot of Powerhouse generators. When torn down, every one showed this leakage. Grease on the commutator will creste charging problems. When I restore a Powerhouse I install sealed bearings.

Check out my video on adjusting the output: https://youtu.be/Tr0am94QzDw?si=J188zrLro1IV1W4l

If you have a fairly new non-diode cutout, it likely is a cheap repro of questionable quality. But cutouts dont generally fail intermittently. Either they work or they don't. I recommend a cleaned and adjusted original Ford cutout or a Nurex diode cutout. If you want to service an original type cutout check out my cutout service video here: https://youtu.be/rnuukBeJ6Zs?si=Wb2l-O8HTvItPUIq

If you are unfamiliar with the internals of a Powerhouse, here is one I restored recently before final assembly.

Steve
 

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Gents, thank you very much for the comments and advice. I’m going to spend some time reviewing the generator and see what I find. I’ll report back.
 
The charging/not charging problem could be something as simple as not having a good enough consistent ground where the generator mounts to the timing cover. This can be easily checked by running a ground wire from the battery ground to the generator case and see if the ammeter shows charge. I used a needle nose vice grips to attach the ground wire to the generator after removing the cover band slightly.
 
I pulled the generator and took off the back cover. To me the brushes look in good shape with lots left on them. I confirmed the springs seem to be working to ensure brush contact on the commutator. The commutator itself looked a little dirty so I cleaned it and gave it a soft rub with 800 grit.

Put everything back together and now it seems to be charging more often, however it still seems to be intermittent. I'm going to try the ground wire as Steve suggests above, but if anyone has further advice I'll take it! Don't want to take it to a repair shop if I don't need to.
 
I've seen some generators where the brushes get a little bit gummy from excessive oiling The brushes can stick you might try blowing some compressed air at a low air pressure on them just to see if there's any build-up of carbon Making them stick occasionaly.
 
I don't see where you verified that the cutout is good. With the engine running, try putting a temporary jumper across the cutout. (Use a jumper with "alligator" clips so it's quick and easy to install and remove.)
 
I greatly appreciate the additional comments and tips. I’m going to spend some more time this weekend and run through the tips. I’ll keep you posted!
 
katy said:
I don't see where you verified that the cutout is good. With the engine running, try putting a temporary jumper across the cutout. (Use a jumper with "alligator" clips so it's quick and easy to install and remove.)
Click to expand...

Interesting test. Please explain further how this is done.

What is the jumper doing?
 
The jumper simply bypasses the cutout, allowing current to flow to the battery. Dont leave the jumper on with the car shut off or the battery will drain down through the generator to ground.
 
katy said:
I don't see where you verified that the cutout is good. With the engine running, try putting a temporary jumper across the cutout. (Use a jumper with "alligator" clips so it's quick and easy to install and remove.)
Click to expand...

You sir nailed it. I had the car running and not charging with rpm. I put a jumper across the cutout and it charged 8-10A with rpm.

Sounds like there is a diode cutout in my future.

Thanks everyone for your knowledge and advice.
 
james1savage said:
You sir nailed it. I had the car running and not charging with rpm. I put a jumper across the cutout and it charged 8-10A with rpm.

Sounds like there is a diode cutout in my future.

Thanks everyone for your knowledge and advice.
Click to expand...


FordBarn user “ndnchf” rebuilds original cutouts to a high standard, I’d recommend getting one from him.
 
james1savage said:
You sir nailed it. I had the car running and not charging with rpm. I put a jumper across the cutout and it charged 8-10A with rpm.

Sounds like there is a diode cutout in my future.

Thanks everyone for your knowledge and advice.
Click to expand...

consider converting the cutout to a diode. it will come with instructions on how to do it. or you can buy one all ready converted.
its not hard to do.
 
Watch my video on how to service a cutout. You may be able fix it yourself.

https://youtu.be/rnuukBeJ6Zs?si=2NkxUHPcTZNq_S2B

I do not recommend those cheap diode kits you can buy to convert a standard cutout. Diodes create heat as current passes through them. The more current, the more heat. These cheap kits have no means to dissapate that heat. This can lead to failure. If you want a diode cutout, the best one is made by Nurex. It has a large, heavy aluminum heat sink built in.

That being said, original Ford cutouts are very good quality, unlike the currently available repros.
 
i recommend.
To stop the power feeding back through the generator if the cutout fails.

install a night switch to disconnect the battery so if the cutout fails you won't kill your battery.
or
disconnect your positive battery terminal when you put the car away.
or
install a switch on the charge wire from the generator.
or
install a diode.
 
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ndnchf said:
Watch my video on how to service a cutout. You may be able fix it yourself.

https://youtu.be/rnuukBeJ6Zs?si=2NkxUHPcTZNq_S2B

I do not recommend those cheap diode kits you can buy to convert a standard cutout. Diodes create heat as current passes through them. The more current, the more heat. These cheap kits have no means to dissapate that heat. This can lead to failure. If you want a diode cutout, the best one is made by Nurex. It has a large, heavy aluminum heat sink built in.

That being said, original Ford cutouts are very good quality, unlike the currently available repros.
Click to expand...

Thank you. This evening I'm going to watch your video with my cutout in hand and see if it's something I can fix myself.
 
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