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well, My 53 just came out of the shop, The battery is dying out and I noticed the battery cables were connected negative ground. The positive side of my 6 volt battery is connected directly to the starter and the negative cable is grounded on my block I believe torwards the generator. Does this effect my generator's charging ability is it dangerous to switch em' around? Or do I have a generator problem? Please respond soon....

If they were just recently switched while in garage, they can be switched back and generator re-polarized per the procedure in service manual. No harm should have been done although if charging backward for a long time, then battery may need a good professional check and charge. If they have been this way all along and now not charging, then it sounds as if the battery or gen is having problems and need to be checked. Here is the polarizing procedure. A & B is labeled arm & bat or perhaps gen & bat on regulator.

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I've replaced the brushes in my generator, but it still is only putting out three-quarters of one volt. Would this polarization trick help? I noticed the solder from the armature is melted.

1952 Packard 300 Delco 6 volt generator.

"I noticed the solder from the armature is melted."
That's a problem!!! I had a bad armature a few years ago in an old starter motor. Went over to a local rebuilding shop specializing in electric motors. I thot they mite have a spare used armature laying around.

INSTEAD and much to my suprise they took the bad armature i had and some way heated it with a torch and pushed on it with a wooden dowl some way. They did it while i waited and i was about 10 feet away from the process.

They handed it back to me and charged me about $10. Said there was only a 30% chance it would NOT work. IT worked just fine.

Thanks! Did you ever figure out the cause? I think I may be drawing too many amps; I added a 6VDC fan to the front of my radiator. So even if I do get the generator fixed, the problem may not go away...ideas?

Even with lights, heater and radio, any 6 volt system should easily be capable of handling the cooling fan on the front of the radiator, a common addition to old cars though usually done because people can't afford or won't bother to properly fix the cooling system.

If your generator armature threw solder, you've got a major fault somewhere and chances are the armature is junk. Hopefully others will help you with what the cause may have been, I've not had generator problems.

It sounds as if the regulator may need to be serviced or replaced. If contacts have arced and pitted, then it is very easy for them to stick or temporarily "weld" closed. When this happens, there is no regulation and generator will put out way over its maximum safe current-- which usually results in the connections becoming hot and melting the solder--sometimes even accompanied by smoke from the insulation on wires..

Don't know the specs of your fan, but a quick check of what's available show they range from about 5 to 28 amps. Your system is rated at 45 amps so you should be well within range of a properly functioning system unless everything is on at the same time.

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G'day Carl,
Somewhat but see you've added your '52 300 to the Owner Registry so

Thanks - I'll investigate the regulator as well as the generator. What am I looking for? I imagine it's a square/cube with electrical terminals coming from it and several wires.

I included a picture; there's something that may be the regulator in the top on the firewall above the steering column. Ideas?

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Yes, yes I did. Got it from my father's estate when he died 4 years ago. I'm not much of a mechanic but I can pull parts off and replace them. I've changed the tires, exhaust, plugs, wires, had the radiator rebuilt, put all new fuel line, added an electric fuel pump, and an LED brake light to the rear window. I need to redo the brakes (again) and figure out why the engine is still overheating.