ChrisMinelli Posted February 8, 2020 Report Share Posted February 8, 2020 I took my battery cables off to take them to a shop so the shop could make new ones of a proper gauge for six volt systems (00 or 000, I haven’t decided yet). In any event, I found that the previous owner had run a smaller wire (maybe 12 gauge) from a splice at the positive terminal to a bolt holding the voltage regulator to the firewall. (Note my car is still positive ground so I assume it is a ground wire to the firewall). Has anyone else seen this? My manual’s wiring diagram does not have it. Is it necessary or can I ignore it when making new cables? I don’t want to risk shorting something if the wire shouldn’t be there to begin with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desoto1939 Posted February 8, 2020 Report Share Posted February 8, 2020 Did the previous owner convert the generator to a 6v volt positive ground alternator? Trace the wire if you can back to the other end of the wire that might give us a clue as to what it was connected to. Do you have a headlight relay on the car firewall. It does not look original because of not being a cloth covered wire and does not have any striker markings and the metal end does not have a rubber cover over the end where it was crimped onto the bare wire.. Rich Hartung desoto1939@aol.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisMinelli Posted February 8, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2020 No, it’s a generator. 6v positive ground though. One end terminates at the voltage regulator mounting bolt; the other is spliced into the positive battery cable near the battery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg g Posted February 8, 2020 Report Share Posted February 8, 2020 The body should provide a ground for the VR. There should be a ground from the fire wall to the bell housing or frame as 6 volt likes gooud grounds and 6v stuff works better with good grounds. Perhaps a previous owner doubted the effectiveness of the VR ground through the mounting bolts. Might not help but can't hurt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisMinelli Posted February 8, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2020 3 minutes ago, greg g said: The body should provide a ground for the VR. There should be a ground from the fire wall to the bell housing or frame as 6 volt likes gooud grounds and 6v stuff works better with good grounds. Perhaps a previous owner doubted the effectiveness of the VR ground through the mounting bolts. Might not help but can't hurt. what do you mean “bell housing?” Where would the ground to the firewall be attached? I can check. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kencombs Posted February 8, 2020 Report Share Posted February 8, 2020 26 minutes ago, greg g said: The body should provide a ground for the VR. There should be a ground from the fire wall to the bell housing or frame as 6 volt likes gooud grounds and 6v stuff works better with good grounds. Perhaps a previous owner doubted the effectiveness of the VR ground through the mounting bolts. Might not help but can't hurt. Yes, a ground to the engine/trans unit and frame are needed. I also like to ground the body (firewall/VR mount would work) and dash. Can't have too many good grounds. Instruments/radio and maybe add on features work best that way. I've seen too many odd things happen for lack of grounds. Like a broken body to engine or frame ground causing a smoking choke cable as it was the only ground path left for a big spot light that was body/dash grounded and mounted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Buchanan Posted February 8, 2020 Report Share Posted February 8, 2020 A previous owner was probably having trouble getting the genny to charge and threw a Hail Mary hoping another ground for the voltage regulator would heal the affliction..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisMinelli Posted February 9, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2020 1 hour ago, Sam Buchanan said: A previous owner was probably having trouble getting the genny to charge and threw a Hail Mary hoping another ground for the voltage regulator would heal the affliction..... That very well could be. I am having trouble keeping the battery charged myself. Ammeter shows charging but the darn thing runs down every time I drive it. I’m going to just replace all the wiring in the generating system as my own Hail Mary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg g Posted February 9, 2020 Report Share Posted February 9, 2020 Why don't you do the generator regulator test that is in the manual? Do some troubleshooting before throwing parts at it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desoto1939 Posted February 9, 2020 Report Share Posted February 9, 2020 14 hours ago, ChrisMinelli said: That very well could be. I am having trouble keeping the battery charged myself. Ammeter shows charging but the darn thing runs down every time I drive it. I’m going to just replace all the wiring in the generating system as my own Hail Mary. After running the car, how long are you running the car? Next question how old is the battery. Have you looked in the battery to make sure that the cells are all covered by liquid. Have you replaced any water and did you use DISTILLED WATER and not tap water. Is the battery terminal all clean and have not white build up on the posts and the cable connectors. If this is a build up of Sulphur white powder then clean the entire top of the battery with baking soda to neutralize the acid. Get a Battery Terminal brush at you r local auto store clean the pos and neg terminal and also the inside of the cable connector. Are you using the correct sized battery cable and not the smaller 12volt cable that you get at autozone. The 12v will not work well you need the 6v sized 0 or 00 sized cable to carry enough voltage. If you battery is more than a couple of years old then get the battery tested. Get the hydrometer to test the strength of the fluid in each cell. If this is down then get a new 6v with the highest cold cranking amps. Insatll the battery with correct cable make sure that you are positive ground on the car to the battery. Check that all of the wires from the generator to the volt regular are connected with no breaks in the wire and that they are tight at the Volt Reg. replace wires if they look bad with at lest 14 gage wire. New wire is good wire versus od original wire that is bad wire that has issues. Are the contacts in the regulator clean if the points need to be cleaned use a points file and not sand paper to clean them and with very little pressure. Sand paper leaves snad and a metal file is flat to make a smooth even contact surface on the points. Just some ideas but I suspect that the battery is the main problem with not charging and holding a charge. Rich Hartung desoto1939@aol.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sniper Posted February 9, 2020 Report Share Posted February 9, 2020 Rich makes a very good point about the battery cables. Rockauto has the proper cables for a reasonable price if you can't find them locally. https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/plymouth,1952,cranbrook,3.6l+218cid+l6,1349872,electrical,battery+cable,2500 Autozone can get the points file, best price I found. https://www.autozone.com/cutting-drilling-scraping-and-splitting-hand-tools/file-tool/oem-2-pcs-ignition-point-and-utility-file/2283_0_0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg g Posted February 9, 2020 Report Share Posted February 9, 2020 The bell housing is he big cast thing behind the engine where the flywheel and clutch reside and the starter bolts to. https://www.amazon.com/Standard-Motor-Products-B12G-Engine/dp/B000C7WSMY/ref=asc_df_B000C7WSMY/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312684231807&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=15416491801204750448&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=t&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9005172&hvtargid=pla-568793598866&psc=1&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=60983009663&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=312684231807&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=15416491801204750448&hvqmt=&hvdev=t&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9005172&hvtargid=pla-568793598866 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sniper Posted February 9, 2020 Report Share Posted February 9, 2020 May I introduce you to a service called tinyurl?? It takes monster URL's, such as the one you posted, and makes them short. So what you posted turns into https://tinyurl.com/rst9773 www.tinyurl.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Buchanan Posted February 9, 2020 Report Share Posted February 9, 2020 2 hours ago, Sniper said: Rockauto has the proper cables for a reasonable price if you can't find them locally. https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/plymouth,1952,cranbrook,3.6l+218cid+l6,1349872,electrical,battery+cable,2500 Excellent quality cables in the proper size custom-made at a very reasonable price: https://www.batterycablesusa.com/1-0-gauge-battery-cables-0-awg.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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