1955 Charging issue after lights being left on-Update

[Jeff Rosansky CLC #28373]

Hello all,

Kind of have a weird issue with the 55's charging. I was the last to drive it about 2 weeks ago and all was fine. In garage with battery tender on. My son went to get something out of the glovebox and left it open. So the glovebox light was on and the Tender was keeping the battery up for about 2 weeks.
He drove it on Monday and said it was running rough (he didnt remember if the generator light was on or not--I know). We were troubleshooting the rough running and  noticed the light. Now the generator light stays on until about 3k rpm. We checked all connections, checked to be sure points weren't stuck in the regulator and also flashed it at the regulator per the manual. Generator rebuilt a couple years ago, belt good no bad sounds from the generator--basically nothing obvious. Would the fact that there was a constant draw of an albeit small bulb that was being replenished by a battery tender have messed anything up? I left the tender off last night and will check battery voltage today to see if anything is going on there.
As a side note, we noticed the problem we were troubleshooting an engine cutting out/roughness issue. Fuel was good so we changed the condenser and found the light on the test. He didn't remember if the light was on the last time he started it-(I know). I wouldn't necessarily think they are related problems but both showed up at the same time.
Needless to say he and I are going to have a little talk.
Any ideas would be appreciated. Which wire do we disconnect/ground to just test raw generator output?
Thanks
Jeff

[J. Gomez]

Jeff,

Hmm a while shoot on the dark here..!   

If you have the generator light “on” at high RPMs and it only goes “off” when you reach 3k, something is blocking the voltage from reaching the VR.   

Assuming the battery tender is reliable and has a low AC ripple it should keep the voltage at the battery even if there is a very low drain on the line, and the battery would add some filtration for any AC ripple as well.

There is nothing on the path from the “+” side of the battery cable up going to the starter solenoid and from it to the VR and the horn relay. Now the only thing in that path is the “radio noise suppression” condenser/capacitor at the VR a 0.5mf. 

There is also one at the generator on the “Armature” side this one is a 0.3mf, and that connection is at the “G” on the VR for the current regulator.

Now condenser/capacitor would block DC and allows AC to pass through, so if the battery tender had some AC ripple while keeping the battery and drain up there is a possibility it may had shorted the one at the VR side.   

Try removing both the VR and the generator and see if that clears your problem. If your problem persist you may need to check the operation of both VR and generator.

Good luck…!

[signart]

 Assuming you know your battery is "up to snuff"...
Ground the "F" terminal -  if output then increases and light goes out, then you have a regulator problem.

[Jeff Rosansky CLC #28373]

Well now I am a little perplexed. Removed the condenser as suggested with no change. Grounded the F terminal as stated above and engine drug down and got 15+ volts so the generator seems to be working. Cleaned and adjusted the points to .012 which is close to what they were. Still nothing. Manually closed the cutout points and the Gen light went out--but voltage went down into the 11's.
I have a basic understanding of the system but obviously not enough of one.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks
Jeff

[signart]

One or two things to look at while you are sorting this out that I might suggest: Clean your battery cables and make sure your belt is tight.. Good luck

[J. Gomez]

Well now I am a little perplexed. Removed the condenser as suggested with no change. Grounded the F terminal as stated above and engine drug down and got 15+ volts so the generator seems to be working. Cleaned and adjusted the points to .012 which is close to what they were. Still nothing. Manually closed the cutout points and the Gen light went out--but voltage went down into the 11's.
I have a basic understanding of the system but obviously not enough of one.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks
Jeff

Jeff,

Only option left on your dilemma would be the VR, try replacing it.

The generator will not be produce enough charge at low RPMs, closing the points on the cutout relay would put the battery voltage back on the “A” of the generator, not good. 

Good luck..!

[fishnjim]

Wheel it down to your local auto parts store that tests batteries, and have them put the load tester on it.   They'll be able to tell if all working very easy. 

I monitor the gen/VR fucntion by the voltage rise/drop(installed guage).   
To test the gen output you need to measure amps and they're in the 35-40 range, so it requires proper toys. 
Always check how old the battery is and replace if more than 4 years, regardless.   One cell can polarize from draining and won't recover and not put out proper Vs.   I'd take it off the tender and put on a battery charger until it's full, or boiling then you know it's toast.   You can't troubleshoot something if power source not functioning correctly.