Imperial Home Page -> Repair -> Electrical System -> Charging
System -> Generator General Definition and Tips from Dick: A
generator is simply a spinning armature inside a magnetic field.
It has no smarts at all. It will produce current when it is
spinning, and if the current has a place to go, it will go
there. If it has no place to go, the voltage will build up to a
high level. A "12" volt generator can produce up to 40 volts or
so into an "open" circuit. The voltage regulator directs the
current, prevents current from flowing backwards into the
generator at low RPM, and adjusts the amount of current by
adjusting the strength of the magnetic field. There is always
some residual magnetism in the generator steel case, so a
generator will begin to produce current even with no applied
field current, thus you can "bump" start a car with a generator.
The battery also participates in this regulation, by the fact
that as the battery approaches full charge, the voltage on the
battery terminal increases, thus placing