Polarizing my Generator

[rons50]

In trying to rewire my '50 Champion, the book says that after disconnecting both wires from the voltage regulator, you should polarize the generator by shorting the BAT terminal on the regulator to the FIELD terminal. Because there is no connection to the BAT terminal, logic tells me that I should short the POS GRND terminal to the FIELD terminal. Should I go with the book, or with my heart>

Thanks for any help.

Ron

[Alan]

On those Champions that have the bat. terminal on one side of the regulator and the field and arm. on the other side I have always left the wires on and just jumped a wire fron the batt. to the armature post. but that was just a quick flash. Then again if you burn something up don't come crying to me. I'm just a dumb old f*rt.

[Alan]

Ron, Sorry for the flipant answer last night, didn't have my other reference material around and gave you the method in the 1953 Studebaker Shop Manual, page 8, electrical. This is the way I have been doing it for 48 years. But I have other electrical source books and here is what I can glean from them.
Generator polarity. After any leads have been disconnected from and reconnected to the regulator or the generator, it is necessary to repolorize the generator, to make sure that it has the correct polarity with respect to the battery it is to charge. Reversed polarity may be caused by any disconnecting and reconnecting of leads; this can produce a momentary reverse flow of current through the field windings. This reverses the residual magnetism in the pole shoes, so the generator builds up backward with respect to the battery. This would produce arcing and burning of the cutout-relay points and failure to charge the battery. On a generator with an externally grounded field circuit (Auto-lite and Delco-Remy standard-duty units) merely short momentarily around the cutout relay with a jumper lead (between the regulator terminal connected to the ammeter and the regulator terminal connected to the main generator terminal.) before starting the engine. On the heavy-duty units that have an internaly grounded field circuit, polorize the generator by disconnecting the lead from the F or field terminal of the regulator and momentarily touching the lead to the B or Batt. terminal. In either case, the action permits a flash of current to flow from the battery to the generator field windings. The current flows through the field windings in the right direction to polerize the pole shoes correctly, so that when the generator begins to opperate, it will build up in the right direction. Clear as mud uh?

[rons50]

Alan,

Thanks for the info. It looks like your book says basically the same thing my book says, so I guess I had better go with the book and leave my heart out of it.

Thanks again!

Ron

[rockne10]

I repolarize anytime I unhook the battery. Is that overkill? It only takes two seconds.

Brad Johnson
Pine Grove Mills, Pa.
33 Rockne 10
51 Commander Starlight
53 Commander Starlight

previously: 63 Cruiser, 62 Regal VI, 60 VI convertible, 50 LandCruiser