My 1954 3100 chevy stop running. Charged up battery started right up ran for about 5 minutes, purred like a kitten, then quit. Battery was down again. I think my generator (6volt) is not working. Does the generator have to work to keep the truck running? I know this is a dumb question but i am new at this.
Pay Attention ! 1st. & foremost : this is NOT a ' dumb question ' ! . Here's the correct way to field test your battery / charging system but you *must* follow it _exactly_ or you can cau$e $erious damage to the charging system ~ Charge battery with _ground_ cable disconnected . Remove charger , connect ground cable but don't tighten the bolt . Start engine and hold at a high idle , disconnect the _GROUND_ cable and tuck it down behind the battery where it cannot touch the battery post . Engine keeps running @ high idle , battery is the likely culprit . Engine dies as soon as you disconnect the ground cable ? the charging system has a fault . Please to note : this works on Negative or Posative ground systems with generator or alternator . If you re-connect the battery cable with the engine running , you'll instantly " spike " the charging system (drive it to full output) and this can damage expen$ive parts , as long as you've disconnected the ground cable , you can tuck it down behind the battery and touching the body of frame won't matter as it's grounded too . Do this and report back here , I'll discuss generator / regulator testing later . Often simply removeing a nasty dirty old battery and washing it then charging it slowly whilst you wash the corroded battery cable on a saturated solution of hot water & baking soda , will return it back to life as only a little bit of corrosion can muck it all up . To-day's my Friday so don't sweat if I respond slowly , O.K. ? . (someone ought to put these simple tech notes in the files section...)
Oops ! There might be ~ I guess I was thinking of my buddy Robert's yahoo old truck group : http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/Old_ChevroletGMCTrucks/ If you subscribe , don't get the digest , just go to the Home Page whenever you want to see if there's any new messages , from the Home Page you can acess the files , photos and links sections . I'm not real computer literate (although I've fixed an old truck or two) so there may or may not be a section on this board to store " How To's " etc. . I know there's a photos section , I just can't figure out how to work it .
Did battery test Truck died after battery was unhooked. Here's the correct way to field test your battery / charging system but you *must* follow it _exactly_ or you can cau$e $erious damage to the charging system ~ Charge battery with _ground_ cable disconnected . Remove charger , connect ground cable but don't tighten the bolt . Start engine and hold at a high idle , disconnect the _GROUND_ cable and tuck it down behind the battery where it cannot touch the battery post . Engine keeps running @ high idle , battery is the likely culprit . Engine dies as soon as you disconnect the ground cable ? the charging system has a fault . Please to note : this works on Negative or Posative ground systems with generator or alternator . If you re-connect the battery cable with the engine running , you'll instantly " spike " the charging system (drive it to full output) and this can damage expen$ive parts , as long as you've disconnected the ground cable , you can tuck it down behind the battery and touching the body of frame won't matter as it's grounded too . Do this and report back here , I'll discuss generator / regulator testing later . Often simply removeing a nasty dirty old battery and washing it then charging it slowly whilst you wash the corroded battery cable on a saturated solution of hot water & baking soda , will return it back to life as only a little bit of corrosion can muck it all up . To-day's my Friday so don't sweat if I respond slowly , O.K. ? . (someone ought to put these simple tech notes in the files section...)[/QUOTE]
Yes But ; I'm out the door right now , it's decided to rain to-day (ofcourse , I just fixed my Moto yesterday) so I'll come back and do a generator testing writeup then , O.K. ? you'll need : An _analog_ multi-meter (or an old dashboard gauge from a junker) and a few jumper leads with alligator clips on the end , at least one must have a clip big enough to connect tothe battery . O.K. ? See all y'alls in a couple hours ! .
Generator Testing O.K. , this is pretty simple and will seperate the wool from the sheep as far as diagnosing generator or voltage regulator faults . Slow charge the battery and disconnect the leads at the generator , mark which one goes where . Start the engine and let it idle . Connect the + side of the volt meter to the " GEN. " (occasionally marked " ARM ") terminal of your generator , , it'll be the thicker post , if you're still not sure , you may need to wire brush the built up paint , grease and etc. around the terminals untill you can see the letters stamped into the generator's case . Connect the - side of the volt meter to a good ground , I always use the carby and no , it cannot cause a fire . Is there any voltage reading ? (might show 2 ~ 4 volts) _slowly_ rev. the engine a little bit and see if it begins to show voltage , STOP if it goes up past 8 VDC ! the voltage will usually come up fast so DON'T rev. the snot out of it trying to make it charge ~ either it'll charge or not . No voltage ? O.K. , return the engine to idle and take your jumper lead with the one big clip on it and connect the big clip to the + post of the battery , now brush the other end of this hot wire agaist the smaller of the two generator tyerminals , it may bring the voltage up , if it does but it doesn't go over 6 volts , clip it on the terminal and slowly rev. the engine , again as soon as you see 7 ~ 8 volts , _STOP_ or you'll burn out the generator ! . _STILL_ no charge ? O.K. , time for a Hail Mary : take your last test lead and connect the two generator terminals to-gether , leaving the other jumper connected ~ now you'll see some voltage (unless you didn't connect the leads as described) , try revving the engine a little bit , if the voltage climbs , you probably have worn out brushes and a dirty commutator , you may be able to fix this @ home . NOTE : DO NOT mindlessly rev. the pi$$ out of the engine trying to make it charge ~!! either it'll begin to show a charge somehwere during this test or it's dead . DO NOT allow it to run up over 9 volts ! . too much voltage will ruin the generator in 3 seconds . If still no voltage , the generator is dead , order up a rebuilt one but DO NOT let go of your old one untill the job is done and it's charging to your satisfaction ! . I'd replace the voltage regulator too as they're tricky to adjust and if one of the points inside it stick , the rebuilt generator will be ruined . Now is the time , if you want to convert it to 12 volts , simply order up a generator for a 1960 3100 Chevy pickup with a 6 cylinder engine , get the voltage regulator too and bolt them straight on , no special anything is needed apart from a new coil , all new bulbs & lamps , a 12 volt turn signal flasher and you'll have to disconnect the leftmost (lower) terminal on the back of the fuel gauge untill you find a voltage regulator or it'll _instantly_ fry , irrepairably . beware of voltage dropping resistors as they don't work well and usually fry the fuel gauge in a few days or a week . This testing works on GMC's too except they're _posative_ ground so you'll need to reverse the gages wires . It also works on 12 volt generators , just don't let the voltage rise above 17 volts to prevent damaging the generator . Want to know how to test that $5.00 generator you just found in a swap meet or junkyard ? easy : set the generator on top of a known good battery so it's case is well grounded to the negative post and the pulley is hanging over the edge ~ now take a jumper and connect the posative battery post to the " GEN / ARM " terminal , the generator should begin to spin like an electric motor . if it doesn't , try jumpering the two terminals to-gether then juice it again ~ sometimes you'll need to spin the pulley by hand to get it started , it won't spin very fast . I hope this helped .
