Generator Conversion

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Wreckman
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Generator Conversion

#1

Post by Wreckman »

I have a 32e generator and I did the 2 brush conversion. I can't get this thing to make any juice at all. I am not sure it worked before the conversion as I bought the bike and went straight to work on it. I can make it motor with the battery on the bench but it will not charge on the bike. Yes, I polorized it. Any tests I can do on the armature and windings. I checked the coils and they seem to be good and the generator will motor. I just spent 8 hours trying to figure this thing out. Any ideas are welcome.
FlatHeadSix
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Re: Generator Conversion

#2

Post by FlatHeadSix »

wreckman,
A 2-brush generator needs an external regulator, it will not work correctly if you are using only the original relay from the 3-brush circuit. Do you have a good external regulator installed as well?

mike
Wreckman
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Re: Generator Conversion

#3

Post by Wreckman »

I installed a new regulator and wired it correctly. I ran the generator with a drill on the bench and get about .4 volts.
58flh
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Re: Generator Conversion

#4

Post by 58flh »

Make sure the mica is clean/& check to see if any wires can be shorting after start-up--Ground the f terminal briefly -just long enuff to take a reading on your meter for voltage output at the batt.(Take 1st reading normaly then try the F-grounded & see what you get. Do this at 1800-2000rpm. There are others on the site who can explain other checks to perform! I hope they chime in(they will)-Good bunch here!---58flh 8)
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Re: Generator Conversion

#5

Post by Cotten »

Wreckman!

It will take much more than a hand drill to spin it up properly,
and you will want to read amps, not volts, when wired to a fully charged battery with the field grounded. (Please consult later 2-brush generators in the Service Manuals.)

Since it 'motors', I would look beyond the generator for problems;
The regulator isn't an ACCEL, is it?

....Cotten
Wreckman
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Re: Generator Conversion

#6

Post by Wreckman »

Yes Cotton it is an Accel reg. Bought it from J&P Cycles.
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Re: Generator Conversion

#7

Post by Cotten »

Wreckman!

oh.

If it is a mechanical model, it may be repairable, if indeed it proves to be the culprit.

....Cotten
Wreckman
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Re: Generator Conversion

#8

Post by Wreckman »

I actually have two of them (mechanical) and have tried both of them with no success. I would like to just be able to see the generator put out full charge so I can make sure it is working. Is there something I can do to the voltage reg or a jumper to make it charge full out. What pulls the points in to send power to the battery? I assume the gen has to create some power to pull in the coil for the transfer to the battery.
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Re: Generator Conversion

#9

Post by Dave_R »

With a normal 2 brush generator, you can temporarily ground the "F" (Field, or Switch) terminal with a jumper wire, and spin it. The faster it goes, the more volts will be produced from the "A" terminal (Armature or Relay).

Do NOT do this very long with the battery connected. as the voltage goes up pretty quick and will exceed the battery.

This is ONLY for a quick test, and please do not spin it faster so that it puts out too many volts. More volts = more amps (Volts - Amps * Resistance). Since resistance is constant, as the volts go up, so does the current.

Normal operation:

The regulator has a contact in it which closes the Field circuit to ground to allow voltage to flow through the field coils producing a magnetic field for the armature. This is where the regulation occurs. As the armature voltage goes past the setpoint, this coil energizes and "opens" the contact to ground. Since this circuit is open, the field coil quits producing a magnetic field, so the armature voltage drops. When it drops below the setpoint, then the coil de-energizes, and the points close again. This will appear to vibrate, since this opens and closes so quickly.

The regulator also has a terminal that goes to the ignition switch. This is the output to the positive terminal of the battery. If you connect this directly to the battery, it will work fine, but this will allow your battery to drain through the armature when not running, hence, it goes through the ignition switch.

Hope this helps!

-Dave
Wreckman
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Re: Generator Conversion

#10

Post by Wreckman »

Thanks for the info. After running the generator and grounding the field there is nothing. I broke it down and checked the magnetism of the coils. With the battery hooked up it seems to have a decent ammount of magnetism. I am not sure about residual magnetism. There doesn't seem to be any noticible after I unhook the battery. Although it will motor I have come to the conclusion the armature must be bad. Unless anyone has any more ideas I guess I will pull the trigger on a new armature.
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Re: Generator Conversion

#11

Post by socalrider »

wreckman,
make sure you have the correct brush holder for your particular model generator. they are not all the same. was having the same issue with my 12v gen and finally figured out i had the wrong brush holder installed. i dont know if there is a hd service manual that will show a picture of yours but if there is, pay close attention of the positive and and negative brush placement relative to the armature and output posts. if yours are not exactly as illustrated that may be your problem.
suerte,
arnulfo
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Re: Generator Conversion

#12

Post by Frankenstein »

Before you go for the new armature, you might try this:
Reverse the polarity of the field connections. I.E, move the wire currently connected to the field terminal to the Armature terminal, and vice versa. I'm presuming you are using the 12 volt 65A fields in the conversion? There's an outside chance that the polarity of the field winding was reversed.

Simple checks on the armature are to check grounding of any commutator bar to the armature shaft, and checking for continuity from one commutator bar to the next. Bear in mind that both of these checks can be o.k, but the armature can still be bad. Only a growler will give a true test of an armature. I bought one from ebay several years ago, best investment I ever made...
Hope this helps.
DL
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