TxGoat,

Only grounded the field terminal long enough to confirm that the voltage regulator was the issue and not the generator - have not been running the car with the ground wire any longer than it took to check the amp gauge.

I did the light tap with a screwdriver handle test you suggested today and it started charging again - so a rebuild of the voltage regulator will be happening soon.

Humanpotatohybrid,

Thank you for that explanation - makes complete sense.

Humanpotatohybrid,

Thank you for that explanation - makes complete sense.

TxGoat,

Thank you - will definitely try that tapping. Will forego trying the cleaning of contacts and just have the regulator rebuilt.

Big Kev,

That's what I attributed the slight discharge when I turn the ignition on to - coil, gauges, etc.

Am going to have the voltage regulator rebuilt and see if that solves the issue - it's what all the diagnostics point to in any case. Just do not understand why system will work correctly (for a period of time) after grounding the field terminal on the generator.

Joe,

A minor draw when ignition is turned on - maybe 5 amps. I attributed that to the gauges coming on and coil. That still would not seem to explain why the system consistently starts charging (for a while) after the field ground test.

Humanpotatohybrid, which should be resolved with a rebuild of the voltage regulator, correct?

I have a '37 Packard 120 CD Touring Sedan with the Autolite generator and Autolite VRD 4001A voltage regulator. Amp gauge was showing a discharge when running (with no lights on) and battery kept running down. Generator tested good: was putting out 8 volts with no load and 7 volts with a load. I did the ground wire from field terminal on generator test (which I read about on this site) and amp gauge suddenly showed a charge. That pretty much isolated my problem to the voltage regulator and I plan on having it rebuilt.

Here's my question: for about a day after I did the ground wire test, the amp gauge still showed the system was charging - then suddenly it stopped. Out of curiosity, I did the ground wire test from generator field terminal again and (again) it showed a good charge. The system continued to show it was charging for about another 2 days and suddenly stopped again. Can a voltage regulator issue be intermittent and what about the ground wire test would cause the issue to (temporarily at least) clear?

Thank you

The heat riser on my '37 120 was rusted in place with zero movement. With some patience and a lot of Kroil, I succeeded in freeing it up, but am not convinced I have the full range of motion. In the closed position, the counterweight is a 9-o'clock. In the open position, it sits at 7-o'clock. Is this the full range of motion or should the counterweight go further (like 6-o'clock) in the fully open position?