Re: 76 "rude" wont stay running
I lifted this from a motorcycle site but the process is basically the same Pete on the Cape..<br /><br />Rectifier. When a coil produces electricity, it sends it out in plus or minus waves. The battery can only charge on one of these waves. A rectifier has silicon diodes that only allow half the wave to get through. To test the rectifier, hook up the ohmmeter leads to one of the wires and to the ground (mounting) stud. Note the reading you get. Now reverse the leads from the ohmmeter and note the reading again. The exact reading is not all that important, but there should be a big difference between the two if the diode is working right. Test each of the wires this way. If any wire is very close in the two readings then the diode is leaking and no good. If there is no continuity, then the diode is shorted out and no good. Be careful not to turn the bolt holding all the diodes together. This can short them out. It is possible to test the rectifier with a circuit tester by adding a D flashlight battery in line with the circuit tester. You want to see the light, light in one direction and not in the other. If all of a sudden you start blowing the main fuse, it's possible one of your rectifier diodes has failed, letting current, from the battery flow back to ground. <br /><br />Hope this is of some help to you
