I am at the point of wiring the generator and voltage regulator in my '35 Ford truck with a '49 Mercury flathead. The generator was on the motor when I got it and the regulator was something I had in stock on the shelf. All the information I have found shows 2 posts labeled F or Field and A or Armature but the posts on the side of my generator are labeled Field and GND as well as a post on the back of the generator that has a condenser hooked up to it. My regulator is an Autolite 8-222. I want to make the truck 12V negative ground. Any help would be much appreciated.
The ARM (armature) terminal is rear facing on the generator, that should correspond to the GEN terminal on the regulator. The FLD wire goes to FLD. The GND terminal wire on the generator should go to the regulator base. The idea is that the regulator and generator are at the same ground potential. Some regulators might have a dedicated ground screw for this. The BAT terminal wire goes to the battery. It wouldn't be a bad idea to clean the regulator contact points with non-residue solvent and a crisp new dollar bill. Carbon-Tet was used back in the day, is hard to find, Trike if you have it, lighter fluid seems to work. Be sure to polarize the generator before starting. Turn all the lights on, heater blower, rev it up and make sure it's charging good. edit: I would remove the condensor at the armature for now, it's probably toast by now. It is used for noise suppression (RFI) but isn't necessary for operation. edit 2: That generator could use a little TLC maybe? You can just pop the whole brush plate off without removing anything else. These were sold with new brushes for this purpose, quick changeout at minimum hassle and expense. Can still get them. I would expect though, a generator rebuild kit would increase the odds of satisfactory service. They contain brushes and bearings.
Thanks Truck64 for the thorough explanation! I have a second generator that I'll give a little TLC to, and swap it out.
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