Charging problem

[e warmus]

I have a 1996 gas club car,I had some hesitation problems and narrowed it down to a dead cell in the battery. I replaced the battery and did a check to see if the battery was getting a charge...voltage at the battery never changed when run in test mode, so I replaced the regulator.....problem is that the old reglator only had two wires...red and yellow and a short jumper from the center bolt on regulator to the lower micro switch and also had another black wire in the harrness to the center bolt. The new regulator has yellow and red wires plus double black wires. Dealer said one black to the micro switch and to ground the other to the frame.I still had to put the black wire from the harrness to the center bolt or the cart would not start.In the end the cart runs but still does not charge to the battery.Any suggestions would help...Thanks

[shadowman]

i know when i put the new style V.R on i don,t even hook up the one black wire the longer one i beleive it will fit on the micro.......with that left untouched the carts always charges proper when done..................

[jiminpa]

When you were diagnosing the problem with the Batt., is it possible you mixed up any of the wires any place else in your testing?

Also, To begin, you can ground the field on the generator and see if it will charge. When you disconnect the wire from the regulator that goes to the DF terminal (the field) on the generator, the generator should charge max output. (Do not leave it this way, it is only for testing, it will burn up your batt & generator over time.) The voltage should immediately start to climb and you should see at least 14 volts in short order and probably 15 or more within a minute depending on motor speed, etc.

Try that, let us know what happens. I have seen DOA regulators on other applications.

Here is a diagram showing something close to your wiring, (depending on year)

[e warmus]

With the voltmeter on the plus and minus of the battery the battery reads 12.7 volts.....when cart is started in test mode there is no change in the voltage( this is after replacing the voltage regulator.....then tested to see if the solenoid is good putting the neg on the neg of the battery and pos on the big post of the soleniod that goes to the starter and ran the cart so there is voltage going thru the solenoid......next i connected the voltmeter to the battery and took the small yellow wire off the starter- generator and hooked a jumper wire from that terminal to a ground on the frame and ran the cart and there was no change it the voltage...what next ?? is the starter-gen bad

[e warmus]

With the voltmeter on the plus and minus of the battery the battery reads 12.7 volts.....when cart is started in test mode there is no change in the voltage( this is after replacing the voltage regulator.....then tested to see if the solenoid is good putting the neg on the neg of the battery and pos on the big post of the soleniod that goes to the starter and ran the cart so there is voltage going thru the solenoid......next i connected the voltmeter to the battery and took the small yellow wire off the starter- generator and hooked a jumper wire from that terminal to a ground on the frame and ran the cart and there was no change it the voltage...what next ?? is the starter-gen bad

[jiminpa]

do not run out and buy a generator.
I will explain later this evening, no time now.

[jiminpa]

Your problem presents an interesting situation. The starter/generator starts the cart. Correct? That means that the electric motor functions OK. The electric motor IS the generator. If you do a little bit of reading on DC electric motors, you will learn that any of these brush type DC (and some AC) electric motors when driven by the shaft will GENERATE electric which will be output from the connections you would normally connect your battery to in order to spin the motor. In this fashion, the electric motor (starter/generator) will start the cart and once the cart is running, the gas motor will spin the generator (starter/generator) and provide electric to charge the battery and give you lights, etc.

With this basic information in mind, the likelihood of your starter/generator being bad is very low and I don't believe it's bad. You could have a break in the field wire that goes to the regulator, in this case, the regulator could not ground the field and cause it to charge.

Here is a test procedure from a club car service manual for the generator.

Also, please double check the connections on your generator, make sure F1, F2, A1, A2, are connected as shown on the diagram. They will be stamped on the case of the generator. If A1 & F2 have gotten mixed up, it will start the cart, but will discharge the battery!

Try this test sequence from a club car service manual, let us know what you find.

1. Place the neutral lock-out cam in the SERVICE position, put the forward and reverse lever in the NEUTRAL
position, and chock the wheels.
2. Check that wires are connected correctly and are tight. If they are not, rewire or tighten as necessary.
3. Disconnect the wires from all the terminals on the starter/generator. Then place the black (-) probe of a
multimeter, set to ohms (Ω), on the starter/generator housing (scratch through the paint to insure a
good ground). While holding the black probe against the housing, place the red (+) probe (one at a
time) on the A1, A2, F1, F2 and DF terminals respectively (Figure 12-25, Page 100). The readings
should be no continuity. If the readings are incorrect, the starter/generator will need to be removed
from the vehicle and disassembled by a qualified technician (See Removal of the Starter/Generator,
Page 107).
An incorrect reading from A1 or A2 terminal indicates three possible problems: 1) a grounded A1 or A2
terminal, 2) a grounded wire in the brush area, or 3) a grounded armature/commutator.
If the F1 or F2 reading is incorrect, it indicates a possible grounded F1 or F2 terminal or a grounded
field coil.
If the DF reading is incorrect, it indicates a possible grounded DF terminal or a grounded field coil.
4. Disconnect the ground wire from the A2 terminal and the green wire from the A1 terminal on the
starter/generator. Using a multimeter set to ohms (Ω), place the red (+) probe on the A1 terminal and
the black (-) probe on the A2 terminal. The reading should be continuity.
If the reading is incorrect, a possible open or poor contact in a brush assembly and/or open armature
windings maybe the cause. The starter/generator will need to be removed from the vehicle and disassembled
by a qualified technician (See Removal of the Starter/Generator, Page 107).
5. Disconnect the green wire from the F1 terminal and the white wire from the F2 terminal on the starter/
generator. Using a multimeter set on ohms (Ω), place the red (+) probe on the F1 terminal and the
black (-) probe on the F2 terminal. The reading should be continuity.
If the reading is incorrect, a possible open field coil or bad connections at terminals may be the cause.

[e warmus]

I did disconnect the wire on the DF terminal and jumped a wire from the terminal to a ground but still no change in the voltage to the battery....then I did the whole procedure on checking the starter -gen as suggested step by step as explained and found no problems....checked all conections , all wires are where they should be. I don't understand why the starter- generator terminals all check correctly but when I do the (field test) by disconnecting the DF terminal I get no rise in voltage ? Would the ( field test) still work if the new regulator I put in was no good...... By the way the cart does start but does not charge..PS>If I am right a field test is to disconnect yellow wire and then jump DF terminal to frame to test because I read another post where the guy disconnected yellow wire and then jumped yellow wire to ground which i think is not correct.

[shadowman]

its quite possible you got a badV.R. right out of the box, they arn,t made the best.........................................

[jiminpa]

Just to be sure, ground DF to - A1 on generator. Should not be a problem, but, when things are being goofy, might as well leave no room for anything funny with a bad ground connection someplace. Also, just to be sure, ground DF as explained, test your voltage from F2 to A1, not on the Batt posts. (I know, you need 3 hands...)

When you ground the field, you are replacing the function of the regulator. The regulators job is to ground the field as needed to maintain proper voltage.

Yes, you were correct, disconnect the wire from the DF terminal and then run a wire from ground to the DF terminal. Do not ground the wire on the regulator!

Ok, now moving on to the next crazy possibilities, you are sure that this generator did work on this cart at one point in time right? The reason I ask is that they changed rotation on the motors at one point in time. if you have a left hand generator on a right hand motor, it will not charge. I believe it will start, but not charge. Now this is just a guess, but if that is the case, you MAY be able to use the wrong generator by reversing A1 & F2. You're on your own if you have to try that one. Of course, if it is the wrong generator, and you screw up the generator by reversing A1 F2 in an attempt to correct, you are not out anything.
Keep us posted.