Ammeter bounced and went negative only.

Ammeter bounced and went negative only. - Thanks!

Posted by J.R. Aiello on Sep. 15, 1998 at 23:09:54

In Reply to: Re: Ammeter bounced and went negative only.
posted by John Regan on Sep. 14, 1998 at 12:47:58

: As others have stated.20 Amps is just way too high.I hope you have not tossed the solder out of your generator.Unfortunately with the 3rd brush set that high, if the cutout has stuck open, it is most likely that your generator field winding would be burned open.
: 4-5 amps is plenty of charge for cutout based system.
: Be sure to not put off addressing this problem since leaving the battery discharged will ruin the battery and you will then need both a battery and a generator.If you have been adding water to the battery (and I am guesssing you have), that is because you have been overcharging.
Gentlemen
Thanks for all the replies. I'm a newbie A owner, much as I hate to admit it. I'm learning, but don't know a lot yet. I did get out a 1971 copy of The Restorer, and found much the same info on checking the generator. Looks like I blew it. Literally. I had no idea on what charging rates were and thought 20 was ok. I guess not! Wish that mechanics handbook wasn't back-ordered!
I have not been adding water to the battery. It has been fine. I hope it is, but now maybe I better check!
Again, thanks for all the help!