Charge Warning Light ????

[zebrarover]

I was driving to work today in my 66 iia when the charge warning light came on. The truck is still set-up with as a positive earth with a generator. I did a quick check of the fan belt and the wires and everything looked OK.

Are there any quick fixes or other easy things that I should trouble shoot before heading home?

Thanks in advance for the help. Seth

[Jeff Aronson]

I, too, still run a generator on one of my '66 II-A's. The charge light coming on can mean a few things.

Check the simple parts first. You could have a bad ground from the battery to the engine block. Clean off the positive terminal post and remove the bot that secures the ground wire to the engine, or battery box, and clean it up good.

You could have a stuck brush inside the generator. Tap the side of the generator smartly with a hammer a few times. One time that the light came on in my Rover, that cured the stuck brush and the unit worked fine.

However, you might also have worn out brushes. They are easy to replace and cost around $12.00. The hardest part of the job is removing a generator that's been on the car for a long time. Once I finally got it off, I was able to disassemble it and replace the brushes in under 30 minutes. The bearing for the shaft is about $5.00 and is easily replaced while you have the unit apart.

Lastly, you could have a problem at the voltage regulator. Usually, that problem is indicated by a very faint glow from the charge light; you almost need to be running at night with the instrument lights off to see it. Do take off the front cover of the regulator and spray the contacts with an electrical contact cleaner just in case it's a light corrosion issue.

Bring your crank along just in case. Once when my generator failed I was a few hundred miles from home and running at night. I still made it home and charged up the battery while I figured out the problem. In the end, I had to crank start the car the next morning. The good part is that a generator in the car means that it will start with zero battery, while an alternator needs to have some level of charge in order for the car to start.

Jeff

[zebrarover]

Jeff,
Thanks for the help!!!!
The charge warning light was glowing dim so I checked the voltage regulator like you suggested. It seems like a PO had put a new crimp terminal on the wiring loom where it attaches to the generator and it wasn't making a great connection. After I fixed it, it seems to be working OK.
Thanks,
Seth