New voltage regulator

[Gizzard lizard]

I have a G16a 1996 Yamaha gas cart. I changed brushes in the starter/gen and put in a fully charged battery. The battery show 15+ volts. I also replaced the voltage regulator with a new one because the old one was putting out 18 volts. With the new regulator it still putting out 18 volts. Any ideas?

[1arunem]

My understanding is the starter generators put out more than say an alternator in a car which is usually around ~14v or so..

My G16 S/G puts out over 17v and I have had no issues so far.. Just puts juice back in the battery at a quicker rate.

I do find it odd your battery shows 15+v.. Is that at rest?

[Gizzard lizard]

Yes he battery shows 15v at rest. I am fraid of ruining a new battery.

[Lochlin]

Originally Posted by Gizzard lizard

I have a G16a 1996 Yamaha gas cart. I changed brushes in the starter/gen and put in a fully charged battery. The battery show 15+ volts. I also replaced the voltage regulator with a new one because the old one was putting out 18 volts. With the new regulator it still putting out 18 volts. Any ideas?

That's too much current and shouldn't be possible with the new VR. I don't know G16s at all but, being that you are getting that many volts on two separate VRs, I would suspect something isn't wired properly.

[Spicyunicorn]

Lochin is correct 18 is to much it should be around 15ish volts at wide open throttle did you use OEM or aftermarket vr trave the green wire coming out of the starter generator make sure it's not grounding anywhere

[CP241]

Let the battery rest overnight and check the resting voltage. It should settle down back to around 14.4-14.8v but if checking the battery voltage right after driving it will be higher than the true resting voltage.

I may be way off base, but from what I understand, 17-18v while running is not uncommon. Golf carts are designed to do a lot of "start and stop" type driving, not just regular driving like a car. they charge higher than a typical car to maintain a charged battery, as it takes a good bit of juice to start the engine repetitively. On a typical 18 holes of golf, you'd figure at least 50-60 start and stop with no more than 20 or 30 seconds of drive time between stops. if the generator only charged at 14v like a car, the battery would be dead on a gas cart by the time you finish the 18 holes.

Check the service manual for specs on how your cart SHOULD behave before trying to diagnose a problem that may not really exist.

[Gizzard lizard]

Everything is ome. When I disconnect the vr wire at the starter gen I get 14volt at high rpm between a1post and f2 post. I assume that means the starter gen is only putting out 14 volts. But when I plug the vr back in showing 18 volts going to battery. The wire on the sie of the starter that goes to A2 sheered off at the top bolt. I was able to get the wire back on only using the second blot. Would that cause a short or ground thus creating my problem?

[Gizzard lizard]

Originally Posted by Spicyunicorn

Lochin is correct 18 is to much it should be around 15ish volts at wide open throttle did you use OEM or aftermarket vr trave the green wire coming out of the starter generator make sure it's not grounding anywhere

Traced green wire. does not seem to be grounded anywhere.

[Spicyunicorn]

Originally Posted by Gizzard lizard

Everything is ome. When I disconnect the vr wire at the starter gen I get 14volt at high rpm between a1post and f2 post. I assume that means the starter gen is only putting out 14 volts. But when I plug the vr back in showing 18 volts going to battery. The wire on the sie of the starter that goes to A2 sheered off at the top bolt. I was able to get the wire back on only using the second blot. Would that cause a short or ground thus creating my problem?

At rest your battery should be reading in the upper 12v range so with the voltage regulator unhooked you should be getting a "battery reading" as to why it reads 14 volts unhooked im unsure/ don't under cp your theory on charging hotter than a car is correct but 17-18 is to high it should be in the 15-15.5 range 18v will cook batteries hopefully someone with a little more knowledge will chime in with some ideas

[Gizzard lizard]

Thanks I will keep looking.