Generator Rebuild?

[technoid]

Originally Posted by MCFooter

Well I pulled the Starter/Generator apart hoping to find a broken wire or something but still no real luck.

I checked it for opens and grounds as the manual suggest but still NTF.

I spun it on the bench with an impact and could only get about .5v out of it.

Any other ideas or is it just a bad generator some how..

Well there is one other thing that might be wrong. It might need to be flashed. I am not sure how that would be done on your motor/generator that uses a solid state regulator. A generator can lose its residual magnetic field if the regulator goes bad or was disconnected for a long period of time. But if the unit has lost its magnetisum it won't generate. You have to apply 12vdc to the charging field core winding for a brief second while the commutator is spinning. The polarity must be correct. And you have to know where to flash the 12 volts. Thats how you would restore the magnetic field on all generators. But the flash proceedure is different with each type. You might have to bring it to a shop that test generators. Or just buy a new or rebuilt uint. Did you check the charge contacts in the ignition switch?

[MCFooter]

Originally Posted by technoid

Well there is one other thing that might be wrong. It might need to be flashed. I am not sure how that would be done on your motor/generator that uses a solid state regulator. A generator can lose its residual magnetic field if the regulator goes bad or was disconnected for a long period of time. But if the unit has lost its magnetisum it won't generate. You have to apply 12vdc to the charging field core winding for a brief second while the commutator is spinning. The polarity must be correct. And you have to know where to flash the 12 volts. Thats how you would restore the magnetic field on all generators. But the flash proceedure is different with each type. You might have to bring it to a shop that test generators. Or just buy a new or rebuilt uint. Did you check the charge contacts in the ignition switch?

That is interesting, I will search for more info on the Flashing...

I have not check the ignition switch yet, I have been checking voltage right at the generator. I can see how that would effect charging the battery...

Thanks,
Mike

[MCFooter]

I looked into the Flashing of the generator and that is a real problem for some types of generators. I couldn't find anything specific for a Starter/Generator though. I did call a rebuild shop and they said all you could do was to Flash the small post with a pos. 12v. They also said the problem was likely with the Voltage Regulator. I think the VR through the green wire may contribute to the Flashing effect. Long story short, I tried flashing it but it didn't work so I replaced the VR and now it's working fine.

The moral of the story is the VR has more than one failure mode and the manual doesn't cover it. The bad VR doesn't have continuity between the red and black wires and the good one does FWIW.