Charging problem

[bonham3]

Hello

Charging system problem. First, have a two brush gen. on my pan.
solid state voltage reg. When i rev the engine the voltage only goes up
about 2 or 3 tenths of a volt. I am reading the voltage direct off the batt.
I know this is not enough, but need to know if the regulator can cause this
or if it is the gen. or both? I run only a headlight, tail and brake light. No other elecs. so the amps are low. the voltage reg. gets real hot to the touch when riding. It is mounted low out front just above the oil filter.
Hate to replace everything if need not be. Any help would be appreciated.

Ron bonham

[fourthgear]

bonham3
Did you polorize the Gen. ? There are tests in the Manual to test the Gen. out put to see if its up to par , I believe its called dirty voltage test or something like that or you can take the Gen. off and have it tested . Some auto parts places still do Gen. testing.

[kell]

A bad battery could cause the symptoms you have.
See if the battery will take a charge from a battery charger.
If batt ok and you still have a charging problem test the gen as suggested.
Cycle Electric's website has good info on testing generators.

[Skip]

if you did not polarize the gen before you started it you fried your volt regulator...did the same thing a while back...you need to buy a low volt regulator from cycle electric...cycelectricinc.com...you won't be sorry and NO more charging problems...and no matter how good the reg and genny are they will not bring back a dead/bad battery...all this info is from recent experience...running same set up as you it sounds like, nothing fancy...simple instructions come with reg..DB

[bonham3]

I have already killed two batteries and my current one is so so.
So i know i still have a prob. Before i go out and buy a new batt. or gen or reg. or all 3 want to narrow it down. The gen. and reg. are off the bike.
tore down the gen. cleaned, checked brushes etc. looks good. hooked up a multi meter and got some voltage just by spinning it by hand. Up to 4 volts with my fingers turning it in either direction. i got a minus sign on the meter when doing so ? Either direction.
Now, on to the reg. I have no idea what kind it is except it is ribbed, chromed, has a #284 on the sticker on the back. It has a green colored silicone type backing. I put an ohm meter on it (bench) this is what i got.
running test leads between the A and F leads on reg. = 3.63 ohms
__________________________A and reg. body = 2.92
__________________________F and reg. body= 1.08

This was done with meter set at 20k

Is this any help in judging the condition of the Reg. ???

It is a solid state sealed reg. so it cannot be torn down. Is there any other tests
someone may know of (bench) that can help determine if reg. is good or not?

Thank's

[Skip]

sounds like an accel...not worth the time it's going to take you the throw it away...get you a cycle eletric...genny sounds fine...new battery also and problem solved...DB

[Cotten]

Accell has a long history of repackaging products from other manufacturers.

I believe CE's very first low-voltage 12vDC regulator is still in service, although I cannot remember whose machine I installed it upon.

...Cotten

[59Panman]

Just converted my 59 pan to 12 volts. I put a Massey-Ferguson voltage regulator on my bike.

Model # VR13914 12volt or D655

Go to page 11 of 46


$23.95


T.H.E. Company


http://www.the-co.com/2003Catalog/Electrical_Cab.pdf

[kell]

Hey ozwick, nice link.

Check your messages, okay? I sent you one.

Kell

[fourthgear]

bonham3
I don't think any test on a solid stat reg. is going to tell you its working except it being hooked up to a good out put Gen. to see if it puts out, with a known good Batt.
I just went through the whole gambit of charging problems . I now have a new CE gen.& end type regulator on and they work great. I tested my old Gen. ( amp output @ 2000 rpms ) per manual and its a good test but takes some cordination to get it right . My Gen. tested with in spec's so I replaced the solid state reg. with the CE. end type and all was good for 43 miles and then the Gen. took a dump. I'm running an AGM ( absorbed glass mat ) 10 amp batt. and I also use a battery tender , so I knew my batt. was up to par before the Gen. went. As I said before , if you look around , some still test Gen. . I am quite pleased with Cycle Electric. I plan on rebuilding my other Gen. with CE parts if possible.

[kell]

bonham3
About all a multimeter can do as far as testing a voltage regulator, is check the blocking diode.
You can bench test a solid state regulator using a power supply with an adjustable output. The test goes like this:
Ground the regulator by connecting the power supply negative to its body.
Connect the power supply's positive output to the regulator's battery wire.
Connect a small 12 volt light bulb between the power supply's positive output and the regulator's F terminal.
As you adjust the power supply's voltage up and down the light bulb should turn on and off -- lower the voltage, and the bulb turns on; raise the voltage, the bulb turns off. The voltage where it toggles on and off is the regulator's setpoint. It will be somewhere around 14.5 volts for a full output regulator.

You can kluge the test using a potentiometer if you don't have a continuously variable power supply. Select a pot that won't burn up with 24 volts across it and put two twelve volt batteries in series for your power supply, which will give 24 volts nominally -- actually over 25 with such light loading -- and connect the regulator's battery wire to the pot wiper. Put the pot at its midpoint and twiddle it until you find where it toggles the field, then measure the voltage there.
And connect your field indicator bulb to the bottom battery so it doesn't get whacked with the higher voltage.