I have a ’65 FLH and I replaced the old mechanical relay type regulator with a new solid state regulator. When I turn the ignition switch on the generator indicator light is off. When I start the engine, the generator light stays off when the engine is at idle. When I increase engine rpm the generator light turns on and stays on at all engine speeds. The light stays on until I turn the ignition switch off. I checked and double checked that the indicator lamp is connected to the “A” terminal on the generator.

All the while I have my volt meter connected at the battery. At idle, the volt meter reads about 12.5 volts. At higher rpm speeds the volt meter reads up to 14.2 volts.

What’s going on here? How can I get the generator light to turn off when the battery is being charged?

Thank you for any help you may have.

 

Did you remember to "flash" your field coils to ensure you have the polarity of the generator going in the right direction?

 

Yes. I polarized the generator. That process was an eye-opener for me. The service manual uses the words “flash the field”, so one would think you could briefly connect a jumper wire from the battery positive terminal to the “F” terminal on the generator which will cause a “flash” on the field coils. INCORRECT!

After doing more research I found some more detailed information. In there it said to quickly connect the “batt” terminal on the regulator to the “gen” terminal on the regulator. The “gen” terminal is connected to the “A” (armature) terminal on the generator. So…flashing the field coils really means to flash the armature. Very confusing!

Now that I have explained all that I have to say that I’ve solved my problem. The generator indicator lamp has two wires. One wire goes to the “A” terminal on the generator. I assumed that the other lead went to ground. That was my mistake. The other lead goes to a hot terminal connected to the battery. Now that I removed the ground wire and reconnected it to 12 volts, everything works correctly.

Now I can put some miles on this newly assembled ’65. Thanks.

 

K...now how about a couple of pics!