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Hi,my favorite '39 baby Packard is back.
Engine running fine after all the work I did on it, but had a small leak and a dead battery.
Fixed the leak no problem and changed out the battery for a new 6v one.
Car is wired 6volt positive ground at this time. Was 12v a while back, but was returned to normal.
Anyway, the battery is not being charged. Took the generator off and took it to my local shop for testing. It's working great.
Wiring is all good, so I'm thinking bad regulator.
Now comes the fun.
Not sure if the genny is a stock unit. It's a Delco part#
1100042, which seems to be a 6v gen. My problem is finding a 6 volt positive ground regulator that will work with this system. Of course the one that's on there has no identifying numbers or stickers(altough it's stamped "6vpos grd" on the bottom.
Anyone have a knowledgeble source who can point me in the right direction?

No help here on the regulator question but Jason at AER should be able to help. One other question -- did you polarize the generator after installing it in the car. It may not help the situation but won't hurt to do it again just to rule out that as a cause.

With engine stopped, momentarily connect the BAT and GEN (or ARM) terminals on the regulator by shorting them together with a heavy jumper wire. It will spark and won't take more than a second of connection.

Yeah, I'm old enough to remember to do that. I polarized it when I swapped the battery and again after I took the genny to town for testing. Guy who tested it told me it was for sure a 6v genny, but when I told him I needed a positive ground regulator I stumped him.
Just stumped the dude at the NAPA store too

Just for grins, what's AER?

Advanced Electrical Rebuilders

Jason is a frequent visitor who posts under the name startergenrebuilder. He's been able to help out quite a few members here needing older parts or their systems worked on.

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A quick check is to ground the Field terminal. If the generator charges, the voltage regulator is faulty.

(o{}o)

He shoots...he scores!

Ten minutes with Jason on the phone, 20 more minutes with the car and now I have to call Jason back and order a regulator.

Thanks for the help guys. Turns out the cutoff relay in the voltage regulator was bad.

Glad you're back in business, Jason is a delightful man and a real asset to us.

Just for the future, sounds like you encountered a lazy NAPA counter man - they still have 6-volt positive ground regulators for most if not all the AutoLite systems, can't speak for the Delco side but the NAPA number for the Delco 6-volt positive ground regulators a few years after your car is VR-57 which may or may not still be an active #.

If you're interested, I can look up the correct OEM generator and regulator for you car if you advise the year and model. The "A.E.A. Universal Catalog of Original Equipment Service Parts" indicates that the 39 Packards were exclusively Auto-Lite equipment with the exception of the headlight and dimmer switch which were supplied by Delco.

Owen, thanks, but the customer's on vacation right now and her husband had a heart attack away from home. She'll be staying in Houstan about 5 weeks longer than anticipated.
I think I'd rather just have the car charging and ready to go when she gets home with the least money spent.
Jason says the generator came out of an International tractor, so it ought to be a good unit once I get it back in commission.