[Mako]

Hey guys, I'm not a mechanical master quite yet, But do at least know a fair amount. So pardon me on that, I'm only 19 years old. I was given a very special gift of a 62 tempest automatic 4 cyl. about a year ago, and it's been very reliable so far. Yesterday when I was driving home my generator light came on. And now this morning the car wont turn over. I've jumped it and got it to start, but it wont charge itself back. So I'm assuming the light is correct and that the generator needs to be repaired. I want to keep this car all stock as it is, and was hoping I could repair this by myself. Maybe somebody who has done this before can give me some tips or link me to the parts and tools (brushes etc) I'll need or at least link me to a guide. I'm hoping I can work this out on my own rather than have someone repair it for me, as I plan on driving this car as long as humanly possible. But, if this task is too big for me, feel free to let me know as well.

[TempestFugit]

That's a perfect job for a do it yourself tinkerer. '62 was the last year for the generator mine is a '63 with an alternator so I don't have any parts but they are available and easy to deal with. You might try checking out all the wires for any breaks, and make sure the ground connections are nice and clean it might be just a loose or broken wire. If that dosent do it You might be able to open it up and poke the brushes to make sure they are not hung up or stuck, that might get you back on the road while waiting for new ones. If your battery is healthy and fully charged at home, you could probably drive it for a half hour or so with no problem as long as you don't use the headlights radio fan or any electrical drains. if you do just bring some jumper cables and jumper it from a friend for 10 minutes or so to get you back home.

I'm sure somebody will be along shortly with a source of generator kits etc.

[GaryK]

Mako, I was 17 when I got my 62 Tempest and I did the same and kept alot of it stock and just changed the colors. If you haven't done so yet, you might want to get a shop manual for the car. The shop manual will walk you through the process of how to fix your generator. I recently had my generator and starter rebuilt by a professional since I have little patience for electrical issues.

GaryK

[John in Minnesota]

I know how you feel. A set of brushes is all it may need. That may last for awhile and then your in the same situation. I suggest that your take your almost 50 year old generator to an electric motor rebuilder, who has the lathe to turn the the armature, set the brushes, check the fields, new bushings etc... Then you can drive it another 50 years. Have the generator checked out. It maybe the regulator. They are cheep and easy to install. John

[mechanickeith]

NAPA Echlin part number R423 is for the brush set & 6203-2RSJ is the bearing number. Easy build.

[Mako]

Thanks for all the help guys. I pulled the generator and after quite some time found a shop to test it. Turns out it was my regulator. I picked one up for 37 bucks wired it in and I'm back on the road.

[John in Minnesota]

Hurrah!!!

[mechanickeith]

Crazy how it can be the simple things!!! Everyone allways thinks the worst when something goes wrong. Glad its back up & running!

[mviker]

Mako,

For what it's worth, Generators aren't too tough to rebuild. Mostly cleaning, replace bearings and brushes. I did a couple with moderate success, but if you run into a snag, I know a shop you can send yours to and have rebuilt. They do excellent work and turnaround is quick. Another good thing is that the guy, Mark (Stellar), is here on the board. Suprised he didn't see your post.

Keep this handy in case you need any generator work done down the road:

Stellar Generator
1415 W. Liberty ave. Pittsburgh Pa 15226
412 563 2100

Really good guy and very helpful!

[stellar]

Thanks Kevin, I was watching, but I thought it best to let him give it a try first. It would have been a good learning experience for him. It looks like he went about things in an intellegent way. If he had gotten stumped or got his mammary gland caught in a wringer (at 19 he probably has no idea what that means) I would have offered my assistance. $37.00 for a reg is a VERY good price. I hope it is a quality reg. I am glad all worked out well for him. I have found that when someone wants to fix it themself they can create more problems or they can be sucessful in the repair. Either way there is a difference between getting it done and getting it done right. Until someone sees it both ways, they don't realize the difference. If anyone needs a generator, starter, or alternator professionally rebuilt, I would be happy to do it for them. I am happy you like the gen I did for you, and thanks for the referral.
Mark
Stellar Generator

[elefantrider]

Stumbled on this post after doing a search for generator brush & bearing numbers. Do you guys automatically replace the bearings upon rebuild, or do you test them first?

Each unit gets 2 of 6203-2RSJ right?

[mechanickeith]

For the cost,,just replace them. That way you know they are good & will last. My luck, If I dont change them, they will go bad a week after I put new brushes in. Dont forget to flast the generator field to polarize it.

[elefantrider]

Ok, will do Keith!

Does the generator take two of those bearings (6203-RSJ), one for front and one for back?

Thanks

[mechanickeith]

Yes.

[elefantrider]

ok!
I noticed there are two NAPA part numbers mentioned for the brushes.
R428 and R423.

R428 is for the 35 amp generator, and contains 2 brushes, $5.
R423 is for 30 and 20 amp generators, and contains 3 brushes, $8.

They are probably the same but that is how NAPA defines them.

[mechanickeith]

R423 is the only set I have used,,,,2 in the box.

[elefantrider]

Got the generator working. It puts out 13.5-13.7v at the Batt post on the generator.
That voltage is not getting to the battery posts however. Got the manual out and will try to trouble shoot the regulator. It is the older mechanical type. Don't want to replace this nice part with a newer solid state type. Manual says most of the time, the original units are replaced when all they need is a cleaning or adjustment. Idiot light bulb is burnt out so will begin by replacing that. Manual says to also check the inline charging fuse but my car doesn't have one. It's always something, let me tell you!!