Good Evening, Hope to get some help in the following - Finally after about 2 years (on and off) - got a 1927 Chevy Capital A truck running. It has been sitting for 5 years. I had the generator rebuilt/refurbished and a new battery and now and then it starts, but it just won't start consistently. Seems it needs a fully charged battery - but even then it won't sometimes start. Seems to just not have enough power to crank it over. The neighbor came over tonight and this is what we did:

Battery was charging for the last 2 days:

Turn the ignition switch on - reads about 3-4 amps
Hit the starter button and when it does start - the amp reading is about 17 (almost to 20 (the max)).
While it was running the neigbor suggested to disconnect the batter - I did and it was still running and the amp reading went down to 0.

once it is running I can run it all day - but once I shut it off - it is a struggle to start again.

There is all new battery, ignition coil, condensor, carb is cleaned out, spark plugs are new and gapped correctly, lights are bright all the time, rotor was changed, new starter and rebuilt generator.

The neighbor thinks the amps are burning out the battery - and for now - we don't know how to fix that. I think once this is figured out - it should be good to trust on a long ride.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

2019 4th of July parade

2019 4th of Jully parade.

 

Since you post this is a generator, I have to think you have an external voltage regulator. If the VR is over charging the battery is the problem.

 

Morning, Thanks for the reply. Not sure - but would the voltage regulator be the little part on top of the generator covered up by a cap. I posted a picture of what I am talking about. I don't recall 'finding" a VR when going through the manuals. Thanks for the reply,

Not sure where the regulator would be located.

 

That box on the generator is a cutout. The way to adjust the voltage output is by adjusting the third brush in the generator. I don't really know how to do this, but moving it slightly will increase or decrease the voltage output.

 

Hello, thanks for the input on the picture and how to adjust the brush - I will look into it probably tomorrow afternoon and see what I can find in the way of brushes and adjusting them. thanks again. r/dave

 

Good Evening all, thanks for the help with this post. So, I have finally gotten around to checking out the 3rd brush - found some good articles online and it was just easier for me to take the generator out, so I could see what I was doing - - so I adjusted the 3rd brush and these are the reading I have now w/the truck:

Not running: turn on the ignition switch and it reads (negative) - 4 to about - 5
Have it running and turn on the high beams it reads about (negative) - 12
Have it running and turn the low beams on it reads about (negative) - 10.

I have not taken the truck out to drive yet - just had it running in the garage.

So and I am not sure - but I put a kill switch in the truck a few months back:

Positive Batttery connection to one side of the starter button.
Other side of the starter button to the kill switch.
Other side of the kill switch to the top of the starter.
Negative Battery terminal to the gear shifter frame.

The 0 gauge wire connection from the starter button to the kill switch was about 4 feet long.

Everyone I have talked to said that the length of the 0 gauge wire should not matter. SO for months I have been struggling with the battery just not seeming to have enough energy to make the truck start.

I took my batteries to the auto store and they said they were fine.
I hooked 2 batteries (6 volts) (+ to +) and (- to -) and it still did not want to start the truck.

In my non-knowledge about how things work on this truck (it is a great learning curve for me) - it made sense to me that the battery was losing power in the 4 foot connection and then from the kill switch to the starter - so I took the kill switch out - cleaned the battery cables and terminals - and hit the starter button - Fired Right up.
That was last night, so after that I disconnected the battery and tonight I went out there and hooked it back up - Fired Right up.

Not sure - but any thoughts on that?

I am glad that the truck starts for me know, alot better then it did w/the kill switch in.

Thanks for any thoughts out there.

 

Burnt contacts in the kill switch. If you want to keep a kill switch, get a new one and make sure it is properly rated.

 

Thanks for the reply on the post - I only put in the kill switch because I thought the battery was being drained due to a short somewhere - but if it fires up tomorrow night after work - I will try and keep the battery connected and see what happens over the weekend. Maybe I have all the issues fixed and just need to stick with the 1927 original gear. Thanks again.

 

Good Day all, Hope this post still reaches some people. I have adjusted the 3rd brush - now it is reading about -2 when running and -10 with the lights on. Which I think means it is just not recharging the battery. So my new question is - I can loosen the screw on the outside of the generator that will loosen a metal piece on the inside - it seems to only move at an angle and not up or down - So I am not sure how to actually adjust this piece. The peice behind this little metal part seems to be part of the casing and doesn't move. Any suggestions? Thanks again. r/dave

 

What's the general condition of the generator, especially the commutator? Could be worn out brush springs.