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OK; boys and girls. Here's My issue. 1949 23rd series Packard. Auto -lite system. I need your thoughts. I rewired the car last winter. I fired it up in July. No smoke, no sparks. Everything seems to be working perfectly. I turned on the the headlights, and the ammeter, started to swing wildly from charge to discharge. I turned off the lights, and later another day I discovered that while re-installing the dash two wires came off. I put them back where I thought they should be. But I was wrong. The headlights were being back fed through the instrument lights. I corrected the issue. The car is not charging well. Its receiving some voltage I believe.....only because if it were only running off the battery it would not run for the miles I put on it. The Ammeter pretty much stays in the upright position all the time. What do you all think I fried out?. I must note that I have no idea if the car was charging properly when I received it. But the more I drive it the slower the starter turns over.....so its not being charged properly. And if I put a charger on it. It always takes some charge. But not more than 15 mins. I have flashed off the generator several times but I have seen no results. The voltage regulator I believe is original. I did clean the contacts before re-installing. Just need your thoughts on what to do next.

Dave O

Start on Page 4 of the Electrical manual:https://packardinfo.com/xoops/html/downloads/servicemanual5154/Electrical_VIII.pdf

Do the Circuit Breaker check. Probably it is not pulling in. Does the circuit breaker appear to be working?

Also: measure the voltage between A and ground. It should slowly rise as you slowly rev the engine then stop at about 7. If it does not rise, it could be a faulty generator or voltage regulator relay. If it goes past 7, faulty voltage regulator relay. If it stops at 7 but the circuit breaker does not pull in, faulty circuit breaker.

Let us know what you find.

I will report on my findings. Thank you so much for your advice. Question; The tests you want me to perform, are on the Alternator, or Voltage regulator?.

Dave O

You said alternator in your last post. Please confirm we are speaking generator and not alternator. If generator, to narrow it down farther to the generator or regulator as a likely suspect, while doing the measurements make one more test.

Connect the meter leads at the battery terminals so you are measuring exactly what is going on with the battery. With the car just sitting you should have 6.3v with a fully charged battery. Start the car and run it at fast idle. Autolite specs say over 920 rpm. The voltage across the battery should go up to 7.4v if all is working and adjusted correctly. If the voltage goes up when at fast idle then the generator/regulator is working properly. At slow idle it should read around 6.3 v again.

If voltage does not go up make sure accessories are off and doors are closed so all bulbs are off. Use a small jumper wire to MOMENTARILY ground the field wire at the regulator while you watch the meter. When the connection is made the voltage should immediately jump higher -- maybe as much as 10 or more volts. If it does the generator is working and something is wrong with the regulator. If voltage does not change then most likely the generator is at fault but you can repeat the test by grounding the field terminal at the generator to rule out a bad field wire or connection. Only have the field grounded long enough to take the measurement as the increased voltage puts a strain on the battery and any components energized.

Sorry Howard. I meant Generator.

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As long as the wiring is good, "A to ground" can be on either. Hopefully it is since you just re-wired it