I am working on a friend's 49 Super 6 and the amp light is on at idle(bright) and will go out as the rpm comes up. It seems to be charging Ok other than the light issue. It has the small voltage regulator with two contactors, not three like the 50 & up. I do not have a 49 manual available. I can hear the points click when the light goes on and off inside the regulator. I would believe there is an adjustment to correct this.
Tom
Tom, that sounds like normal behavior. What am I missing?
Hi Park,
I am used to my 50C8 and the amp light goes out just after starting the engine and stays off, except at an idle with the headlights on, then it just flickers. If a 49 is supposed to be on bright at idle, then I guess it is working correctly then. Right?
Tom Brintnall.
Tom, I don't recall ... does the '49 voltage regulator have a separate terminal, just for the light? If so, that's probably the difference. The ones with the separate terminal for the light operate more like it's either on or off, and not something between. If it doesn't have the separate terminal, it could be simply that the '49 generator doesn't put out as much voltage at idle. In any case, as long as the light goes out when it's above idle, all's well I'd say.
Hi Tom., 49 was the last year for the 3 brush generator.
The regulator was square with four terminals, 2 on each side. Yes one of the four was just for the warning light. From your description if I understood correctly, sounds like someone has substituted an old style
two terminal cut out. That could create some issues if not functioning correctly. Both my 32 Hudson and 33 Terraplane have cut outs and the light is not on at idle.
Fred Pinder
Or it could be just that the third brush is set at a lower than usual point. In my experience with the older ones, a light on at idle is quite common.
Tom,
You've got the engine adjusted well! The light being on is normal for an engine that is idling nice and slowly. When the generator's voltage goes much below 6 volts, the cutout relay opens, and the generator is not connected to the battery. The light turns on when the cutout relay is open.
When the voltage of the generator goes above 6 volts the cutout relay closes. The generator is providing electricity, and the light is off. If a car's idling is somewhat fast, the light will probably not come on at all.
The other relay in the box is the voltage regulator. The current limiter (to prevent burning out the generator) on this and earlier Hudsons is the third brush inside the generator. It is manually adjustable.
On later Hudsons, which have 3 relays in the box, the third relay performs the limiting of current and the generator has two brushes.
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