Mysterious charging demon exorcised!

[Steve W (NY)]

Just a note to all. I had asked in the past some questions about my BN’s charging system. I even asked Bob M to help me as I live not far away. He asked me to check a few things, which led me to finally, after years, figure out my problems.

The symptoms were simple. She would charge fine, and then sometimes just stop. No amount of cleaning contacts would make here charge. Then one day I’d look down and the meter would be on full charge, and so I’d cut her back to the low setting, and things would be fine. Next day….nothing.

All the troubleshooting flow charts weren't working. To make a long story short, I finally figured it out. The darn third brush on the generator had a broken mount, and sometimes it was making contact, and sometimes not. Once I slipped off the generator brush cover/band, and wiggled things about, I figure what was happening.

After an unsuccessful attempt at repairing the third brush holder, I bought a new generator at NAPA. The reason I posted this is that in all the troubleshooting articles I read, the flow charts assume your generator is either working or it’s not. Mine was doing both on any given day, and sometimes just one or the other.

Now, it's nice to look down and see the needle charge in both positions, get my lights bright again, and see 1945 technology at its finest.

Thanks to all who chimed in to help.

Take Care,
Steve
 

[47M]

Congratulations on getting that fixed. Few things are more frustrating than intermittent electrical issues, or more satisfying than finally getting them figured out.
 

[BOB HAWBECKER]

thanks for the report back so we all can learn
 

[Bob M]

Steve - Congratulations on a successful fix!

Thanks also for sharing your findings. It was a new one on me(!)

Bob M