G16a not Charging

[charlie2020]

G16a not charing. All Connections are tight. Volts at battery at. 12.7 running in neutral. What could be causing this ? Also new starter

[sho305]

Check the voltage with the engine at high idle speeds, they don't charge much at idle or close to idle speeds. Check the wiring gen to VR. You should see the voltage increase at higher rpm, run it in neutral or jack up the rear axle. Voltage should be lower with engine stopped. If you have no charging at all voltage will be same or lower running as not running. Check any fuses it has.

G9 manual says take off the drive belt (or use neutral) and check voltage at about 2500rpm, that is about rpm at half throttle takeoff. It should be 14.5-15.5 volts. I imagine your cart would be similar.

Charging is controlled by the field wiring (small wires in center of gen) and the voltage regulator.

[MOOSE]

My G-14 shows about 16.3-16.5.

Is that to high?

[charlie2020]

I checked it and am holding @12.9 v at idle speed and does not increase with more rpm. What would cause my battery not to charge. It has a new starter

[sho305]

I would check any fuses, wiring connections, then find out if the voltage regulator can be tested. They don't go out very often but possible. I'd guess that has a solid state on it. You can also check the ohms on the field in the case that you have a faulty generator.

A cart might go up to 16v at high rpm not sure. The old G2 and some G9 had adjustable regulators but most newer are solid state sealed box.

[charlie2020]

If the regulator went out that would cause it not to charge? Or is it just to keep the voltage to the required voltage per the cart spec.

[sho305]

The VR controls the charging. It looks at batt voltage then it sends 12v to the field of the gen to make it charge....or it does not if no charge needed. So if the VR is good, then maybe it can't see the 12v of the battery, or can't get 12v through the field, or its no good or gen field windings are bad.

In general you need 13.5v to keep a battery charged. You need higher like 14.5 to push a larger charge (shorter charge time) into it if it is low (like to charge it back up by the time you get done using it). At 12v battery is usually going down (when a draw is on it such as lights/ignition/etc).

Generator is worse at charging at low rpm compared to an alternator, but it can also be a starter and alts can't. So they don't charge much at lower rpm, but figure if they charge around 14-15v at mid to higher rpm and less lower rpm....it would come out in the wash and keep the battery charged ok. But usually you would only see 12v at idle, and even fast idle it would go up some. In a car an alternator can charge better at low rpm, so they show charging at idle no problem (say 13.5v or more) unless you are running a lot of electrical stuff.

[MOOSE]

Originally Posted by sho305

I would check any fuses, wiring connections, then find out if the voltage regulator can be tested. They don't go out very often but possible. I'd guess that has a solid state on it. You can also check the ohms on the field in the case that you have a faulty generator.

A cart might go up to 16v at high rpm not sure. The old G2 and some G9 had adjustable regulators but most newer are solid state sealed box.

yeah this one is definitely a sealed unit.

I just had Plowmans rebuild my starter/generator and he said that the charging circuit is usually what kills them,not the starting.He told me to make sure the charging circuit was working right.
I did not think to ask him what it should be charging at.

[charlie2020]

Thanks again for all of the good info. Always nice to know there ate folks out there who don't mind helping without wanting a paycheck Have a good evening

[technoid]

Originally Posted by charlie2020

Thanks again for all of the good info. Always nice to know there ate folks out there who don't mind helping without wanting a paycheck Have a good evening

Why is everyone relying on just a voltmeter? There is a better way to know what is happening with your generator/Battery. By the old method. Install an ammeter. There are shunt types or inline. The ammeter will show the amount of discharge or charge. Its best indication of your charging system.