M38A1 Charging Volts

djhansen20 · Post by **djhansen20** » Wed Jun 26, 2019 6:21 am

Have a 1953 M38A1 that was not charging. I cleaned the contacts on the regulator and it is now charging at 34 volts. Tried to adjust the voltage regulator contacts, but no change Also I have to disconnect the battery when not in use because there is a drain that will kill the battery. When I disconnect or reconnect the cable there is a spark. Any Ideas?

Post by **wesk** » Wed Jun 26, 2019 7:24 am

You have a full time short to ground. To find it you will have to check one circuit at a time by disconnected that circuit and reconnect battery. When spark goes away you have found the culprit circuit. There are other ways to use a meter but there is not enough space here to delve into that.

The first troubleshot is usually the starter kick switch which has been arcing internally and created a carbon track that finally shorted out. usually cleaning this switch's internals will solve the issue.

When you have solved your mystery be sure to check charging voltage again.