Volts to voltage reg

[bigstik40]

Glad you got the charging system sorted out. Did you double check that you really are getting a light when you connect your tester from battery + to that one big solenoid terminal? That is really strange!! -Ray

[jordan8801]

Yes there is power there.If I put both ends of the tester on the pos post on battery I get nothing, but on solenoid I get + to + power. I get power from battery + to positve on starter/generator.

[bigstik40]

Not sure where you're at in your testing, but can you check this another way with a voltmeter ? Try putting your voltmeters neg. lead on the battery neg. terminal. Then measure the voltage at both solenoid heavy terminals. Should have full battery voltage on one terminal and nothing on the other terminal. Let me know what you find. This is really strange and doesn't make sense. -RAY

[DOOmsman]

A dirty connection will cause a current reading.

[jordan8801]

Well I installed the voltage reg and i'm getting 15.50 to 17 volts @ the battery. Seems a little high?

[bigstik40]

You should use an analog (moving needle) type meter to check voltage. That will give you the average voltage, which is what you want. A digital meter will give you what looks like a varying voltage (which it is) because the digital meter samples the voltage and displays whatever the voltage was at the time of sampling. I discovered this when checking my regulator with a digital meter and was surprised at how high the voltage was. Mine ended up at 15 v. avg. which is a little high, but I do a lot of short runs so figure it will be ok. Repair manual says volts s/b 14.5-15.5 running, so mine's in the middle. Hope this helps. - RAY

[jordan8801]

Should the cart stay running if battery + is unhooked after starting?

[bigstik40]

Not 100% sure if cart will keep running, but I think it will. Looking at the wiring, I think the generator will supply voltage to the system as long as key switch + foot switch are closed. Not sure if ignition system needs 12 v. to run on the G-2. Just out of curiosity, why would you want to do that??-RAY

[jordan8801]

Just wondering. It would seem like it would stay running

[GMB74]

Unhooking your battery while the engine is running is a bad idea on any vehicle for many reasons:

1) There will be a spark between the cable and battery terminal as the cable is removed. Batteries produce hydrogen gas as they are charged, and if the conditions are right, your battery will explode. AMHIK.

2) The charging system will read a dead battery and will go to full output trying to charge it. If run long enough like this the alternator or generator will overheat and burn out.

3) This action will send voltage spikes through the electrical system which can damage sensitive electronics such as alternator diodes and ignition control (CDI) boxes.

Granted, golf carts are very simple machines, don't have some of the components mentioned and are very rugged overall. People do things like this and get away with it frequently, but it still is a bad idea.