The polarity actually doesn't matter, the generator will act as either
motor or generator with either polarity.
However, you will be 'polarizing' the generator in the process, so it's
best to try this test with the same polarity your car uses. For a stock
TR3A (positive ground), that would be + to ground, and - to field and
armature (which should be connected together in any case). But, many
cars (including mine) have been converted to negative ground (to allow
for modern stereos, electronic ignitions, CB radios, etc.).
I also don't consider this a definitive test, since the generator may
motor even with faults that keep it from generating it's rated
capacity. Checking for continuity and shorts is probably a better test
(although it still will not catch all possible faults).
Randall
59 TR3A daily driver
Bob Labuz wrote:
>
> A generator is just a motor so you can test out the generator by applying 12v
>DC
> and see if it turns. It should turn pretty fast. The problem is that I havent
> done this for a long time and I am not sure where to apply the 12V + and -.
|