Leaderboard

Found a picture...

My shop manual has 5 pages with information about the generator regulator. Do you have a shop manual? If my memory serves me correctly I had a similar problem to yours. I had added a voltmeter to my dash guages and it read a little over 6 volts with engine running and nothing electrical on. Based on what I could decypher from the manual, I pulled the cover on the regulator and increased the spring tension on the center coil. Now have voltmeter reading of about 7.5 volts.

I cleaned the genny up and the points on the voltage regulator. One of the sets of points was more than questionable! I tried adjusting the spring perches and got upto 6.5v before my screwdriver slipped. I shot a spring into the air, it hit the floor I know not where! So I ordered the above regulator.

At some point we need to know when to fold 'em........... ?

That looks great, hoping that will take care of the problem ..... I have to wonder though. You're currently getting 6.3 out of the jenny. We are hoping to see 7.5. The job of the voltage regulator is too see the battery does not get over charged? Seems the Jenny is right at the questionable stage to produce enough volts to make the voltage regulator work. ..... If they all produce only 6 volts, you would not need a regulator? I could be wrong here, you have burned points so replacing the voltage regulator is not a waste of time or $$. I'm thinking your generator is not producing enough needed volts. Short of cleaning the armature & brushes, I have no idea how to rebuild a generator properly.

I remember when I was a teenager, listening to my brother inlaw piss & moan about modern voltage regulators .... This was back in the 1970's. Older ones you had screws you actually turned to adjust the points. ...... I wonder if you shop around, you can still find them? Otherwise it was a hit & miss operation for a backyard mechanic to bend the point arms .... in the morning you need the car to get to work. But in the end it was just easier & cheaper to convert to 12 volts .... we were just trying to keep old heaps on the road for daily drivers back then. I think I read that one set of points on your regulator is burned? If they are pitted or worn, they can function ..... but never be 100% again. And only get worse. I do not think you can replace the points in them .... you are looking for a new voltage regulator at this point. My truck was having some charging issues when it was parked. The jenny is not original, it has a narrow pulley on it, there was no wires going to the voltage regulator & the fan belt was missing .... it was work in progress. I put a meter on the jenny at idle, I was only getting 2 or 3 volts from it. .... I have a coffee can full of brushes sitting on the shelf. I'm confident I could get the jenny working again .... then I would be working on the voltage regulator next .... just like you are. I have to rewire my truck to get rid of the original cloth wire, I'm diving head first into a 12 volt conversion 1 wire internally regulated alternator. I'm going to be deprived of all the fun OUTFXD is currently having ..... I can always live vicariously

Here is a clear explanation of a generic regulator. http://www.secondchancegarage.com/public/83.cfm Notice that the cutout relay only connects and disconnects the generator from the battery when not running to prevent discharging. The voltage and current relays are what sets the limits of those details. It's easy to ID the voltage relay as it is connected to the field terminal of the generator. It's not all that hard to change the setting a little at a time. No risk to life and limb from 6v dc, unless dealing with way more current than is present in a normal auto circuit.

Reference sections of public library's have old motors manuals, and copy machines. Check out this source before some one decides to ban them. I believe it is the cut out circuit. Kind of like a high limit switch in a furnace. Sets the maximum out put for the generator. Cuts it out over the set max.

I have a service manual, but it was pretty vague. It alluded that you could adjust the voltage regulator by bending the spring perches. But nothing about which perch adjusted what. My instinctual nervousness around electricity prevented experimentation. Electricity has spent most of my life finding new and interesting ways to shorten my life span! Yours has been the best advice I have had on adjusting the voltage regulator! thank you!

an old Motors manual will have a section on servicing the reg. Along with much more info on engine, trans, brakes etc. Well worth purchasing. And available online, ebay etc, almost daily. Adjustment is fairly easy, just bending and taking measurements.

I wish I took a picture but what I did is cut the bottom 2/3 off the road draft tube, flipped it so it points up, put an off the shelf PCV rubber grommet in the tube and installed a common press in PCV valve. Easy-peasy

I have been buying parts from Rock Auto. 2 day Fedex shipping to Canada, and is very reasonable depending on size and weight. They have your regulator $82 US you can also purchase in Canadian funds. You pay the GST so there are no broker fees. https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/chrysler,1948,windsor+series,4.1l+251cid+l6,1486762,electrical,voltage+regulator,4884

No, the alternator is internally regulated, no external regulation required, the old regulator gets tossed. What you see is a 60a fuse for the alternator feed to protect the car wiring in case the alternator had an internal short to ground. Very remote chance of that happening but easy to prevent.

What gauge wire are you using? The piece in the picture could be thicker. I would use 12 gauge for the lead from the armature to the regulator. The thicker thicker post is the armature terminal. Speaking of which, what condition is the regulator in. Have you dressed the points and checked their operation? Generator should put out 7.2 volts with everything up to snuff.

Thank you LazyK, we might have a winner.

The bearing can be carefully pressed on and off with a good bench vise.

6 cylinder distributor and a long forgotten dwell meter, captured on 8x10 film.

$700 is a good price. I paid $1,100 for mine. It had been rebuilt with a new 12 volt solenoid, a new 12 volt relay and a drive shaft. There are several sources for wiring diagrams and service manuals, some free. Do not take the short cut of an on/off switch. Your risking the destruction of a rare and expensive item. (don't ask me how I know) The R10 Borg-Warner Overdrive is designed to be Automatic and it works very nicely that way. If you think your car has charm now, just wait! The operation works like this: When you're in second or above and the Governor (a type of speed sensor) says its okay (the trigger speed is adjustable but don't worry about that) lifting the throttle slightly will allow the relay to interrupt the ignition (you'll never feel it) and activate the solenoid which shifts into Overdrive. It takes a little practice to activate in second gear and a certain type of road condition but high gear is easy and you won't even need to think about it. On the highway when you hit a hill which requires full throttle the throttle position will trigger a switch which shifts the Overdrive back into direct drive giving you power to pass or get up the hill without slowing. Once you crest the hill lift throttle and you're back in Overdrive. Of all the cars that had Overdrives available to them, I think the Plymouth benefitted the most. Because Chrysler waited until May of 1952 to offer them, they are kind of rare. I really don't know why that is as the Chrysler engineers had plenty of experience with Underdrives in their semi-automatic transmissions. Properly installed and functioning correctly an Overdrive will really improve your car. I once owned an International Travelall with a B-W T86 3 speed transmission and Overdrive which worked very well. I absolutely loved its operation! Plymouths are not race cars, they were meant to be sensible transportation and the Overdrive makes them even more sensible and pleasant to drive. To install the transmission you will need a shorter driveshaft. That is not really as big a deal as you'd think. Every city I've lived in has a shop which specializes in driveshaft repair and modification. Talk to them before doing any engineering on your own. Next be sure the parking brake is in good shape and adjusted correctly. You will need to be religious about its use! You can't just leave the car in gear when you park it...it will roll. The electrical hook up is very simple if you have the right relay and switch. Plymouth used a switch on the carburetor. If you don't have the bracket they are easy to make and certainly not worth what some people think they are. ( I've seen as high as $250 for a tiny piece of angle with three holes drilled in it! ) A lot of cars used a switch which came up thru the floor to the bottom of the throttle. I've had both and prefer the stock Plymouth set up. When I needed a switch I bought one from a guy on eBay who supplied them for Studebaker owners. Studebaker used a carburetor switch while Ford used a floor switch. The Carburetor switches are much smaller so they will fit and that's the identifier. I can not stress this enough, install the Overdrive as designed with throttle switch and relay. The cable control to lockout the Overdrive is optional only because not having it will not destroy the Overdrive. Its for push starts and parking on hills with an "iffy" parking brake. Once you've used one that's properly set up you'll never consider anything less.

Odd that you don't have a mahogany shift knob to match the rest.

Keep lookin' for that spring- Jus' in case the New regulator does not work at all. ? DJ