solenoid or generator?


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By Erixmyth - 15 Years Ago
 I have a 1960 F100, it does not have the original engine, I just had to replace the water pump and in doing so learned the engine is a 292.

driving home last night my lights started to go dim and this morning I had no juice in the battery, the generator is turning but is not recharging the battery.

 At times when I hit a bump in the road the whole engine shuts down, my brother in law said there is a problem with the solenoid, has any one had similar problems? and does any one have any suggestions where I shoud go from here with this problem?

By crenwelge - 15 Years Ago
If your lights got dim, either your generator is not charging, your regulator is bad or you could have bad wiring. You probably do have some bad wiring if the engine quits when you hit a bump. And there is a good chance you have more than one problem.
By Rono - 15 Years Ago
You may have more than one problem going on. You can remove the generator and bring it to an automotive electric shop to have it bench tested. If it is not charging, they can replace brushes and clean-up the armature. If it is charging, it may be a bad voltage regulator. The dim lights and the fact that everything cuts out when you hit a bump sounds like a loose or broken connection somewhere in the wiring harness.

Rono.

By Daniel Jessup - 15 Years Ago
From what you have described, follow the other fellas' opinions. I would simply start the engine, after recharging the battery of course, and put a voltmeter or a multimeter at the back of the generator to see what kind of volts you are getting (you may want to rev the engine to 1500 rpm or so, generators are not the best at making juice at low rpm). If you are showing decent numbers around 13 or more volts, then go to the battery posts and find what you have there. The "bump in the road" issue sounds like you already have a battery not charging, and that you have a very loose connection somewhere in your circuit as the battery is grounded/hot wired to your wiring system. Maybe somebody made a mistake when they put in the 292 a while back?
By paul2748 - 15 Years Ago
If you decide to have the generator checked out/rebuilt, take the regulator with you and have that checked at the same time. It really sounds like you have a loose connection somewhere as it goes it with a bump and then comes back on. Make sure you check the wires at the ignition switch for tightness.
By Erixmyth - 15 Years Ago
thanks for the info
By PF Arcand - 15 Years Ago
Erix: Along with the previous suggestions, the fact that your battery is going dead & you lose power on a bump, may indicate a loose battery plate that is shorting out. If all else fails have it load tested.
By Daniel Jessup - 15 Years Ago
Try this to find out whether or not it is the generator or regulator - this is NOT my material, but Randy Rundles...

Use a jumper wire to ground the FIELD terminal of the regulator to the engine block. This will by-pass the regulator to see if the generator is working. If you increase the engine rpms and the output increases (watch the amp gauge in the dash) the chances are good that the generator is fine and the regulator is at fault. If there is no increase in output remove the ground from the engine block and strike it against the engine block. If you do NOT get any sparks that will confirm the generator is not working.