Hey guys. I have been piddling with the Old Lady recently now that she's back in my garage. As you may recall, she's still 6V and I don't care to convert. She's been starting up pretty quickly. It is a new battery which I always keep on a slow charge because I've had suspicion that the charging system isn't functioning properly. I've started diagnosing but cannot find very much info on the proper voltage of the generator (how much voltage is it supposed to produce, etc.) I'd also like to find info on how the regulator works and how to properly adjust it. If anyone has any thoughts, please let me know - otherwise I'll keep searching the old documents in the meantime.

Update: I found the manual (section 10, Electrical System 44408-44508), which appears to show (if I'm reading this correctly,) that the generator field coil should be 4 amps at 5 volts and 8 amps at 5 volts with motoring draw. I'm seeing about .23 volts (~1/4 volt) when I spin the generator with an electric drill which is about 1,200 rpm. That doesn't sound right.

Thanks in advance,

Tony
58 PV444 - Old Lady
http://scarolas.com/58VolvoPV444/


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Tony Scarola
1958 Volvo PV444 (aka 44408, 444L, Old Lady)

OK. So today I attempted testing the generator again by exciting it (applying 6.6V from my battery charger to the DF [field] terminal and grounding the body.) By doing this, I now read approximately 4V across the D+ and D- terminals of the generator while spinning it at approximately 1,200 RPM. Remember that I was only reading .25V without exciting the generator. Can anyone tell by these readings if this generator is functioning properly? It seems to me that it should be providing more power than this.

Thanks again!

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Tony Scarola
1958 Volvo PV444 (aka 44408, 444L, Old Lady)

Are you exciting the generator when you spin it?
In normal operation it should charge at about half what you would get from a 12v generator
or about 6.75-7 volts, maybe a bit more.

Thank you for the tip. I did some additional research and found some pretty awesome YouTube videos showing exactly how to test - applying direct power to the field terminal. Will do this and let you know the results.
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Tony Scarola
1958 Volvo PV444 (aka 44408, 444L, Old Lady)

Hello,

I believe all generators(not alternators) require a "ground signal" be applied to the "field" post to perform a regulator bypass test.

Alternators with an external voltage regulator use 12 volts to the field post to do a bypass test.
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Eric
Hi Performance Automotive Service (formerly OVO or Old Volvos Only)
Torrance, CA 90502

Thank you guys. I ended up taking the generator down to Browning's Alternator Starter (Autronics, Inc.) in Virginia Beach and had them bench test it. They said it passed with flying colors. I put the generator back on the car and rewired everything based on the schematics. All looks good and I'm now getting 7-8V when charging. I'm thinking I may need to adjust the regulator a little, but all-in-all, the charging circuit looks perfect!

Next, onto the carbs and distributor.

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Tony Scarola
1958 Volvo PV444 (aka 44408, 444L, Old Lady)