I am almost done with a 22 Coupe,I have been restoring for 2 years. Car has new battery. When I hit starter switch, motor turns over very good,but I have no lights,horn, coils,etc.I understand why I have power to starter. I have installed a modern two prong fuse at the f/wall,which keeps popping fuses from 5 to 30 amps.It appears that it is wired correctly.If I remove the in line fuse gizmo and return harness to factory spec. am I going to burn my car and house to the ground? There are no other accesories( electric) on this car.Also, on the backside of ignition switch there is a terminal marked"ground". I have tried this grounded and not grounded,but still no power to anything electric.
Use Ron Patterson's good-as-gold schematic and trace each wire Mike before things progress to the obvious outcome. You should not be blowing fuses if it's wired correctly. The only fuse you need to install (should you want to) is in the small yellow wire directly off the battery side of the foot starter switch.
Regards,
Garnet
Have you checked the generator cutout? If it is stuck, it will ground out the wires and blow the fuse. Any ground in the circuit beyond the fuse will do likewise, but the cutout is the only un-switched circuit. The cutout itself is the switch and if it sticks closed your generator is in the circuit all the time. Note if you remove the wire from the cutout, be sure to replace with a good cutout, or ground the generator output so you won't damage the generator.
Norm
I should have added that you need to first find your short, and then add the fuse if you decide you want one. Be warned tho, that if for some reason that fuse blows or becomes open-circuited for any reason while operating the vehicle there's a good chance of destroying the generator which will be costly.
Garnet
A stuck cutout won't cause the generator to draw that much current. It's no more than about seven amps. Sounds like Mike has a dead short somewhere.
Verify the wiring first then check the ignition switch to be sure you get battery voltage on the light circuits. Another place to check is the wire to the cutout. A connecting screw on the cutout that is too long will short the battery to the generator case.
If that yellow wire at the starter switch is on the wrong terminal, you will only have power to the coils when the starter switch is depressed and the engine will start and immediately stop when the starter switch is released.
Some one else had that problem last year.
Thanks to all for the feedback. My first approach was the easiest for me.I disconnected the wire from the voltage regulator and inserted another new modern day plastic fuse in it's holder.It didn't POP.I then checked horn,coils,lights and everything worked! Next I replaced the regulator with another I had on hand,reconnected the wire,and everything is working. It certainly looks as if the regulator was/is bad,can it be that simple?
Mike:
Do you truly have a voltage regulator or are you referring to the cutout? Both devices look the same and sit on top of the generator. Mechanical cutouts notoriously get stuck closed and cause battery drain but as Ken stated a stuck cutout will not blow a fuse greater than about 10 amps. If the terminal screw on the cutout/VR was too long then swapping the cutout/regulator might appear to fix the problem since the screw would have been removed that was causing the short. A short directly to ground is rare in both the cutout and Voltage Regulator but if you had the battery installed as positive ground that might explain it. You mentioned you swapped the voltage regulator for another one. Few people have spare voltage regulators but cutouts are common. I am uncomfortable with your "fix" since the scenario is puzzling and I fear the problem might still be there but has gone away temporarily. Electrical problems can be illusive and often are intermittent.
1: disconnect the wire to the cut off. 2: re-check your wiring using the diagram above. Your lack of power to the lights/coils is telling. You may have a shorted ign. switch. It's fairly common. Common enough that re-build kits are sold. Does the ammeter activate at all?
If that was actually a voltage regulator and it was bad, then the + battery post is going to ground.
That is OK for a Model A.
The - battery post has to go to ground for a Model T.