Bad Regulator?

bajarebel1

Got the 18hp vanguard all wired up and running, the problem I am seeing is my battery voltage is normal (12-13v) when engine is off, when I start the motor and run it up to about 2500 the battery voltage keeps climbing (I shut it off when it got to 17v). do I have a bad voltage regulator? or did I miss something in the wiring? The regulator is used and not sure if it was working in the cart I pulled it out of.

BGW

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1989Marathon

Are you using the briggs rectifier/regulator.

bajarebel1

yes I think it is the original but not positive.

jeffrun

How many wires connected to regulator and there colors? Is the regulator grounded good? With ignition key in the on position,(motor not running) you have 12V at the regulator output wire.

1989Marathon

If you have the 16amp charging system, the output from the alternator ring should be at least 20VAC when running 3600rpm. It should be at least 30VAC if your flywheel has the bigger magnets.

You can check this by unplugging the connector to the regulator and checking the AC voltage coming from the alternator ring at 3600rpm. Stop the motor, plug the regulator back in. Make sure the regulator is grounded to the motor, and the motor is grounded to the battery. The output from the regulator must be connected to the positive battery terminal(I have a 20A fuse inline). If the battery voltage is below 5VDC, the regulator will not put out any voltage. If it is disconnected from the battery, it will not put out any voltage. The regulator should put out less amperage as the battery voltage increases.

bajarebel1

3 wires 2 yellow 1 red, regulator case is grounded to chasis, to yellow wires going to stator, red wire going to battery terminal on battery

I am getting output from the stator, the problem I am seeing is it seems to continue to keep charging, I am seeing over 17volts @ the battery after the cart runs for a few minutes @ 3000 rpm. not sure how hi it would go if I let it continue to run ( I don't want to ruin my battery) so I shut it off.

1989Marathon

If that's the case, I would think you have a bad regulator inside the rectifier/regulator unit. Are you sure the unit is grounded all the way back to the battery? Don't assume the chassis is grounded.

bajarebel1

I will go out there and check again maybe I missed something in building the harness. thanks for your help I will recheck wires and let you know

bajarebel1

rechecked all the grounds with ohm meter and they are good. engine to chassis, regulator to chassis, and battery to chassis. battery and regulator are grounded to the same point. not sure where to go from here?

1989Marathon

Then it's one of two things. Either a bad battery, or the rectifier/regulator is bad. Also, make sure the battery connections are clean and tight.(no resistance between the post and the terminal) Are you measuring from the posts or from the terminals. If the terminals/posts are dirty, they will measure differently.