How to Service Contact Points in a Car

Contact points are switches that regulate the voltage your engine receives. While these switches turn on and off they tend to build a resistance or completely weld themselves to each other due to the small sparks they create. Learn how to service these vital components.

Things You'll Need

• Voltometer

Instructions

1. Experiment with how the cutout relay and its contact points work in the engine. This is commonly known as the circuit breaker, because it connects the generator to the battery circuit. As the generator's voltage builds to a certain point, the contact points close and complete the circuit.

2. Note that the voltage regulator uses a set of contact points to constantly regulate the maximum and minimum voltage. Depending on whether the contact points are open or closed determines how the circuit grounds itself.

3. Use a voltometer to inspect the contact points. When a contact point corrodes due to its switching on and off, it can shut down a circuit. Simply touch the voltometer to each contact point. The voltometer tells you if voltage is too high or low and reveals the faulty contact points.

4. Determine the correct voltage for your car's contact points. Learn how the current regulator keeps the circuit's voltage from running too high by using a set of contact points. When the voltage is too high, the contact points open and force it to pass through a regulator to lower the voltage.

5. Replace your car's regulator if you find contact points that are not operating properly. Contact points are sensitive instruments and are too difficult to replace or repair by themselves. Replacing the regulator will immediately fix this problem.