GEN light staying on.

1963 Falcon with 170 straight 6. The car sat for about 3 months while getting money to fix some issues. Now that it is running the dash generator light comes on and stays on. Both generator and voltage regulator were new 4 months ago. Would the generator need to be repolarized for it to start working again? Also have a new battery in it too.

That would also be my opinion for you to first try polarizing it again. Sometimes the old gens did that when they sat. Good luck

its possible that the generator lost its polarization, however the first thing i would check is the regulator, especially if it is still the stock type point controlled regulator. sometimes the points tend to stick on those, just like ignition points of old.

Thats what i figured. Thanks for the answers.

I've followed a few different directions for repolarizing the generator and have gotten nowhere productive. Can anybody give me some direction on repolarizing if thats even the problem? Trouble shooting electrical problems is not my strong point. I had this problem when i got the car back in March. After a new volt. reg everything was working fine then.

I also cleaned the 3 points of contact in the regulator with a fine emory cloth but that did not make a difference.

ok then start looking for bad grounds, bad connections, broken wires

I learn something new everyday... polarized generators... odd.

- Perry

polarizing a generator is actually a bit of a misnomer. what you are actually doing is charging the stationary magnets in the generator, and setting their north/south alignment. generator magnets are not permanent magnets as i recall. its been a very long time since i played with generators(1973 to be precise! ).

also there are only two procedures for polarizing a generator, and again it has been a very long time since i have done either of them.

X2 Yes its time to check out your generator wiring harness! Do you have a volt / ohm meter (best way) or it can also be checked with a simple 12 volt test light to see if you have Continuity? Good luck

One more note -- the generator and the voltage regulator need to be replaced as a set. You can't just get a new VR or generator.

Both have to be new or you end up replacing one and then the other until you replace both. I learned that way back when rbohm was learning it, in 73 or so.

There are a couple of techniques. You can lightly brush one contact on another - I forgot which is which. Or you can use a piece of small bell wire and brush both of them at the same time. The point is that you don't need a lot of current; just a little bit. However, it has to be on the correct connectors and I forgot which they are since it was so long ago.

seems to me that its the armature and field connectors on the regulator that need to be touched together, and on one design, the ford i believe, you disconnect one of the wires, i want to say the armature wire, and just touch the field wire, might be the other way around, not exactly sure, and the other, the rest of the manufacturers, you use a jumper between the armature and field terminals. but definitely consult a service manual to be sure.

I got the generator not working issue solved. The voltage regulator wasn't working correctly. After about an hour with a electrical minded friend and a few accidental shocks we figured it out.
Thanks for all the advice. I have many more questions but thats for another post.

what an electrifying conclusion

as for the rest of your questions, ask away.