Generator brush repacement

[_shel_ny]

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Edited September 22, 2011 by shel_bizzy_48

[Normspeed]

Shel, I didn't flash mine after I put in new brushes and it works fine.

[TodFitch]

Flashing sets a residual magnetic field in the soft iron cores of the field windings and in the case of the generator. That residual field allows the generator to self-start when there is no current in the field windings.

You should only have to flash the unit if the field is the wrong polarity (changing polarity of the car) or if you have removed the field coils and did not re-install them the same way.

So, you don't have to flash the generator when changing brushes.

You don't have to flash the generator when changing the regulator.

You probably never have to flash the generator for any reason.

[greg g]

I did mine a few years ago. Pull the genny and put it on the bench, remove teh bamd style cover to access the brush holders. Pretty self evident how they are held in. Just removed the old and inserted the new.

I did turn the genn through a rev or two looking for any probles with the commutator. Cleaned it up a little then put it bavk together.

[Normspeed]

My brushes were sort of pre-shaped since they came out of another used generator. I think they would wear in nicely on their own though. I did clean up the armature with some CRC electric cleaner spray, and scraped out the grooves with a fine tipped screwdriver. If your ammeter has been jumping for some time, it may be some other component, but it never hurts (well hardly ever) to freshen up the brushes and armature.

[Joe Flanagan]

You may already know this but the commutator head can have a condition known as "high mica." That is when the raised copper portions of the head get worn down so far that the material in the skinny grooves between are the same height as the copper segments on the head. I don't know what the symptoms of this condition are, but I read that you should scrape the material in the grooves down so that the copper segments are higher. Saw this in an old Dyke's automobile manual. I did it to my generator and my starter both.

[Frank Elder]

Saw this in an old Dyke's automobile

Sorry Joe I couldn't resist.

[Joe Flanagan]

I'm surprised more old timers didn't chime in when I mentioned Dyke's. Apparently it's a venerable old line of auto manuals. Before my time, anyway. And yes, I caught the innuendo. In fact, I think it just says "DYKE'S" on the spine of the book. I keep it on the bookshelf in my kitchen just to see if people notice. If they do, they're polite and don't say anything.

[Normspeed]

Joe, I don't recall hearing about the Dykes manuals. Must be before my time too. Maybe Don C. will remember them:D

[TodFitch]

Joe, I don't recall hearing about the Dykes manuals. Must be before my time too. Maybe Don C. will remember them:D

Before my time, but there were some "old timers" who I knew in the 1970s who recommended getting a copy. So I have a copy of the twentieth edition published near the end of Dyke's career. Printed in 1943 so, in theory, it covers my car. However it is really much better for cars from the 1920s and earlier.

[Joe Flanagan]

My copy was given to me by the guy who gave me the car. He was a packrat and more than a bit eccentric. It had the catalogue number and stamp from a public library in San Francisco. Once I got into it I realized it was general theory and practice and not so much car-specific. Useful in some ways, though. I learned a lot. I didn't realize they dated back to the 1920s.

[Don Coatney]

Joe, I don't recall hearing about the Dykes manuals. Must be before my time too. Maybe Don C. will remember them:D

I believe Dykes were around long before my time.