hidden_hunter

I'm giving up before I break anything on it and sending it off to a specialist locally, will update this thread once I know what the problem was so others in a similar circumstance will have an idea where to look

what sort of speed would I need to get it to any sort of meaningful voltage output? I've got it up to about 1v when powering using a corded drill, spins ok but not fast if I use an old car battery charger as a power source

I've got the whole unit out of the car at the moment to eliminate as many possibilities, so measuring directly off the generators output with my analogue multimeter

I was hoping to try and avoid that but if it needs to go to a specialist (any Aussies know of anyone good?) :\ It's a bit disappointing because it was charging fine until I took it off the car to replace the distributor that had fused on it, I've tried fresh brushes and replaced the wire to the regulator thats insulator was falling off and I'm not getting anything from it. It runs as a motor if connected to a power supply (not super fast, probably 400RPM tops) and if spun with an electric drill geared to 800RPM it's not seeing more than a volt come out of it. I took some pictures of the brushes just in case I messed up something obvious

I've narrowed it down to a problem with the generator - I replaced the brushes and still not seeing anything more than 0.5v, so I'm at a bit of a loss as to what to check next - any ideas? On a side note, the shop manual tells you that it should all come apart and to "remove the gear" which does not seem to come off on mine either (spins fine) but even with a puller refuses to budge.

ok, had the regulator around the wrong way so now it doesn't just drain... however it's not charging either :/ as the previous thread mentioned my digital multimeter goes up and down crazily when connected to the side closest to the engine and shows a constant 6.1v on the other. What's next on the check list

seems like the relay is opening and closing fine at 6V - are there some tests I should try with my multimeter?

Another weekend and some more challenges with the buick... Recently my distributor decided to give up the ghost (the pot metal shattered) and I had to take the generator off the car to clean out the remains of the shaft. It appears that I've disturbed something in the generator as now when I reconnect the battery I'm showing 10a drain with the ignition switched off. A continuity test shows that the windings still appear to be good, so I suspect that some insulation has come off some of the internal wiring but that's just a guess so any suggestion would be great? Is there any special technique to removing the casing from it? I tried briefly but it didn't seem to want to separate easily

and if you'd been to Melbourne you probably would have stayed

The casing for the 26 was made out of really crappy pot metal and it seems to be a relatively common occurrence of the whole thing basically binding tightly onto the generator shaft (and then shattering). I have both and the gear is identical on both of them and it was a straight drop in.

The guys here are pretty amazing at ID'ing stuff, the other week they ID'd a car that had been sitting in frozen tundra for god knows how long

On point 3, you may still have the factory correct air cleaner then, what you're describing sounds like it - if you upload some photos' I'm sure one of the guys here could tell you

That picture is of a New South Wales (state in Australia) registered car, not New Zealand. The export manual for the 26's out of flint does not make any reference to stop lights, only the tail light and the wiring diagram does not show any circuit for it. So definitely looks like a McLaughlin special.

Penrite is great (not just because I'm Victorian where they're based) they seem to cater well for the enthusiast market and is by far the easiest supplier to find stock of things like steam cylinder oil http://www.penriteoil.com.au/tech_pdfs_new/VVC_Brochure.pdf

Also a registration requirement for us that there is a "visual indication"

similar setup on ours only with a spring instead of bailing wire attached to the frame rails

whatever you use it needs to be rated to a very hot temperature, I used something that was supposed to be good for "most" exhausts and it just flaked off once it got warm

when you go to use your crank handle is it loose and floppy even when you try and have it pushed in? On the original it will feel loose and floppy until you push it and it will have a fairly strong amount of resistance when you try to turn it

I think you might find it difficult to turn having made those holes so wide on the crank handle - on the original they're probably about 7mm. The real one does have a flat top on it so you shouldn't need to cut it away for that reason, however it is also about half the length of the one you've made there. I assume that it's still loose and floppy if you try and spin with it?

Looks like some kind of rudimentary filter

Thanks mate, I would be more interested in a 26/27 - if you had a 28 as well I'd consider picking it up as a spare just in case as well

Is there any difference between the various years asides from outer casing? I'd probably be looking for a complete unit as the rotor/caps if available, as it can take a while between them coming up here in Aus

probably worth mentioning that our Holden body '26 has leather (and is original) I have also seen period reviews referring to it as well. So it may well have been an option on the Fisher cars

What oil are you using by the way?

26 standard six with a holden body here