My Generation

I think I mentioned that I'd taken my generator apart a while back.  Well, it's time to put it back together.

The Midget doesn't have an alternator like modern cars.  It has a generator (dynamo) that outputs DC current, 22 amps worth.  Given that today's cars run on 60-100 amps, that's chump change, but it's enough to run the puny electrical system that the Midget has.

I explored finding a replacement generator because the front bearing plate had broken.  But I found an aluminum welding shop in the Valley, and they fixed it right up.  It's not show quality, but it will work just fine.

 

I had to replace the front bearing and the brushes and a couple other parts.  I found a kit from JCR Supplies in the UK that appears to be the only place in the world that sells a rebuild kit for a C40 dynamo (what I have).  It got here last week.

Here's all the parts in a C40 dynamo worth talking about.

I cleaned up the armature (the thing that spins) and tested it, and it's fine.  I tested the field coils (the yoke) and they checked out OK too.  With new brushes and a front plate bearing, it's time to reassemble.

 

It took me a bit to get things to fit properly, but they do and the generator spins nicely.  It even makes voltage; I rigged up a quick test to spin it, and even at a few RPM it makes a little bit of volts.

I won't know for sure if it's totally healthy until I get the car running.  But I think it will be OK, as it makes the same volts spinning it by hand as it did before I started, and it was working OK before I started all of this.