thebelvedereman Posted December 17, 2021 Report Share Posted December 17, 2021 (edited) All of the sudden out of nowhere my ammeter started doing this, even when the ignition is off, first I thought it was the voltage regulator but it also does it when the car is turned off , it does it until I disconnect the battery https://youtube.com/shorts/Bhv5OiTBVwg?feature=share Edited December 18, 2021 by thebelvedereman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg g Posted December 17, 2021 Report Share Posted December 17, 2021 Does it steady when you turn on the lights? Probably just need to dress the points inthe regulator most likely the ones controlling the field coil circuit. Points files are best as sand paper and Emory cloth can leave minerals behind that will encourage arching. If you have a bit of thin leather, or even some course non corregated cardboard, they will clean them also. Get the car in a low light spot and with it running, check to see if there is any archinggoing on from the wires on the generator. The field coil I'd the thinner of the two terminal studs, it goes to the floor terminal on the regulator. The thicker on is the armature it carries the generator charge output from the gen, to the regulator, then back to the battery. Make sure your connections in those circuits are are clean and tight, and that the insulation is all in good order. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kencombs Posted December 17, 2021 Report Share Posted December 17, 2021 Weird never seen one wired correctly show full charge without engine running. discharge due to relay sticking, but charge???? where could the current be coming from that is flowing into the battery when off? no ideas here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonaldSmith Posted December 17, 2021 Report Share Posted December 17, 2021 How to get a massive charge every ten seconds, with the motor off? Is the ammeter connected correctly? Or is it showing an intermittent discharge as a charge? Then what would draw so many amps? Every ten seconds or so? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebelvedereman Posted December 18, 2021 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2021 (edited) So I just went out into the Dark night and messed around with it for a little while, didn't start it, just hooked the battery back up, climbed under the dash and followed the clicking noise, I should have brought a flashlight LOL but it turned out to be some type of relay or something that everytime it clicked Sparks shot out, I hit it a couple times with a screwdriver and it stopped, couldn't tell what it was hooked up to because it was too dark but I will investigate tomorrow during the daylight ? Edited December 18, 2021 by thebelvedereman 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldodge41 Posted December 18, 2021 Report Share Posted December 18, 2021 I would probably pull the battery cables off until you get a chance to check it out. Hate to see it catch fire. If it is wired wrong (actually discharge vs charge) and something is creating that much current draw, it will make a lot of heat very quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebelvedereman Posted December 18, 2021 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2021 (edited) 1 hour ago, oldodge41 said: I would probably pull the battery cables off until you get a chance to check it out. Hate to see it catch fire. If it is wired wrong (actually discharge vs charge) and something is creating that much current draw, it will make a lot of heat very quickly. It's not wired wrong, it's been running perfectly since I put it back together, this just started today out of the blue, and like I said it was a stuck relay , I actually leave the battery cable off all the time, thanks though Edited December 18, 2021 by thebelvedereman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kencombs Posted December 18, 2021 Report Share Posted December 18, 2021 The only thing I can think of that fits some your symptoms would be the headlight circuit breaker. Probably attached to the headlight switch. A short in that circuit would pop the breaker, which is a self resetting type. But that does not explain why it shows charge instead of discharge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sniper Posted December 18, 2021 Report Share Posted December 18, 2021 7 hours ago, kencombs said: The only thing I can think of that fits some your symptoms would be the headlight circuit breaker. Probably attached to the headlight switch. A short in that circuit would pop the breaker, which is a self resetting type. But that does not explain why it shows charge instead of discharge. Well, if the engine is running and the short is on the battery side of the ammeter then it would show charge when the short happens as the generator amps up to carry the load. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kencombs Posted December 18, 2021 Report Share Posted December 18, 2021 1 hour ago, Sniper said: Well, if the engine is running and the short is on the battery side of the ammeter then it would show charge when the short happens as the generator amps up to carry the load. true, but he stated that it happens when not running. that's the confusing piece.. without that info it would be simple to troubleshoot over the net. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plymouthy Adams Posted December 18, 2021 Report Share Posted December 18, 2021 (edited) that appears to be engine running video.....fuel gauge and oil pressure indications.....when idle....how much of that needle movement is just spring in the needle showing a + and not actual a pulling force Edited December 18, 2021 by Plymouthy Adams Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebelvedereman Posted December 18, 2021 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2021 13 minutes ago, kencombs said: true, but he stated that it happens when not running. that's the confusing piece.. without that info it would be simple to troubleshoot over the net. As I stated before, it was doing it as soon as I hooked the battery up, running, not running, ignition turned on, and ignition turned off, it did exactly the same thing, but also as I stated it was a stuck relay under the dash that was causing the problem, after I traced where the noise was coming from and gave it a few taps with a screwdriver handle it stopped immediately, it was too dark to tell what relay it was, I'm going to check it out today Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerseyHarold Posted December 18, 2021 Report Share Posted December 18, 2021 Could the generator have re-polarized itself due to the spikes from the headlight circuit breaker arcing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plymouthy Adams Posted December 18, 2021 Report Share Posted December 18, 2021 17 hours ago, thebelvedereman said: All of the sudden out of nowhere my ammeter started doing this, even when the ignition is off, first I thought it was the voltage regulator but it does it when the car is turned off also, it does it until I disconnect the battery https://youtube.com/shorts/Bhv5OiTBVwg?feature=share that is the confusing factor....the manner it is read I guess.....I read it as highlighted above in red.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebelvedereman Posted December 18, 2021 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2021 3 minutes ago, Plymouthy Adams said: that is the confusing factor....the manner it is read I guess.....I read it as highlighted above in red.... I just reworded it so it is less confusing, it was doing it as soon as the battery was connected, whether the car was running, or not, whether the ignition was turned on, or off, it just happened to be running in the video, it started out of nowhere yesterday after I started the car, and was still doing it after I shut the car off, and then I disconnected the battery, and reconnected the battery and it started doing it again, and then I disconnected the battery and went in the house, I came out a few hours later after I had finished the other things I was working on, connected the battery and it started all over again, I then crawled under the dashboard and started looking around and every time the ammeter pinned Sparks flew out of a small relay box so I tapped it with a screwdriver handle a few times and it stopped, it was too dark to see what the relay was connected to so I disconnected the battery again and went back in the house Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sniper Posted December 18, 2021 Report Share Posted December 18, 2021 I guess the specific question needing to be asked is if it was deflecting positive or negative when the engine was off? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kencombs Posted December 18, 2021 Report Share Posted December 18, 2021 (edited) 2 hours ago, Sniper said: I guess the specific question needing to be asked is if it was deflecting positive or negative when the engine was off? Yes! I should have been that clear with my answer/question. That is exactly what is needed. I strongly suspect a short in the headlight circuit(or anything fed from that breaker's load side) and/or a bad circuit breaker. But if that is the case it would be deflecting to discharge when the engine isn't running (generator charging). Edited December 18, 2021 by kencombs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg g Posted December 18, 2021 Report Share Posted December 18, 2021 A few years back, I rewired my stop light switch. It gets power now from the battery side of the starter solenoid through an in ine fuse. I did this as I have 3 55 watt bulbs for three lamps. When the engine is running at idle and the brake pedal is pushed, the Amp gauge shows a 10 to 12 Amp positive charge. I believe this is because the VR senses the load on the battery and kicks in the field so the generator covers the load. Guess you need to start looking for unintended loads like brake lights stuck on, bendix not fully releasing, heater fan wanting to run. Or a direct short from crossed wires with worn insulation. You could start by checking all the circuits that operate with ign switch off like brake lights, horn, head lights. Disconnect their feeds one at a time to try to isolate the circuit. Or discon the new battery cable and use a jumper to power individual circuits till you find the one or ones causing the meter to jump around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebelvedereman Posted December 18, 2021 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2021 (edited) A little update I went out and messed with it a little in between raindrops, yes it was the relay / breaker on the back of the headlight switch, I took it apart took the wires off cleaned everything up put it all back together and it seems to be working okay, why it was drawing to the positive side I don't know, I thought maybe the generator polarity got reversed like someone said, but I checked it out with my voltage meter It is charging and it is reading towards the positive side, and it still runs when I disconnect the battery cable , and the ammeter goes to the discharge side when I turn the lights on without the car running, so I really don't know, but it seems okay, there is tons and tons of original wiring under the dashboard much of it is bare and crumbling, I will slowly rewire everything in my spare time Edited December 18, 2021 by thebelvedereman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonaldSmith Posted December 18, 2021 Report Share Posted December 18, 2021 To check if the ammeter is wired right, turn something on while the the motor is off, so that the generator and regulator are not in play. The ammeter needle should go to the minus side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebelvedereman Posted December 18, 2021 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2021 6 minutes ago, DonaldSmith said: To check if the ammeter is wired right, turn something on while the the motor is off, so that the generator and regulator are not in play. The ammeter needle should go to the minus side. It does Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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