testing a voltage regulator

[Country Chaos]

Dang, I was hoping that was not the case, those are not cheap. Is that common? My cart is only a 2012.

[TahoeDawgZ71]

Originally Posted by Country Chaos

Dang, I was hoping that was not the case, those are not cheap. Is that common? My cart is only a 2012.

No it's not common. Just unfortunate.

[Scud]

Thanks to those that posted above. I have a1987 gas ds but presumed the electrical system would game similar parameters. I can't get it started so I took these readings while "cranking". Does it point to a new VR? Any thoughts in the stater/generator?

Battery standing: 12.3 V
Battery under load: 11.4
Small post solenoid under load 10.7 V
Voltage regulator: 11.3 (red wire to ground)
Yellow wire post on starter/generator: close to nothing (yellow post to ground)

Note: I can't get it started so all these reading were taken while cranking: key on, in forward, accelerator down.

[lockman1]

Scud,
The generator part of the S/G won't start putting out voltage until the engine revs up to about 1000-1300 rpms,
You'll need to have the engine running in order to perform voltage tests on it!

[Motorman 007]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread but where is the voltage regulator located on a CC DS? 2002. Thanks.

[lockman1]

In the "Electrical Components Box" (the black box next to the air box)

Sort of hiding in the upper left hand corner of the 1st pic, and, #18 in the 2nd pic.

084.JPG

ECB.jpg

[Motorman 007]

Thank you!

[SmeltShackBBQ]

To continue resurrecting this old thread... I have a 00 DS. We put a couple light bars on it, and all has been fine. Up until the other night. Wife was driving, we had noticed the lights "dimming" when the engine would shut off for a couple days. She got down in a gully, and let off to head through the rough spot. It died. Battery was dead, so no big deal. We got the jump pack, and jumped it and drove it home. I put the battery doctor on it the next day, charged it up, and it was great. For one day, then the same thing last night. So, I fired up my meter. With the lights on, and motor not running, the battery drops quickly. (The battery is a small car battery, not a lawn and garden size)..

With the motor running, the voltage will go up around 18-18.5 volts, but the governor has been "tweaked", should it be able to go this high, at higher rpms than stock? The battery is fairly old, and it doesn't bother me to replace it, I just don't want to find out it was overcharging, and ruin another battery.

Edit: So I did a few more tests, most of what was mentioned above, and it seems that the regulator is bad. With the yellow wire off at the bullet connector, and engine revving, voltage is right around 12.2, plug it back in, you can see upwards of 19, if you let it rev up more... $39 for a regulator at the local golf cart parts store... I don't know if the battery has survived the assault, it only happened twice, before I dug into it. If it didn't, this is my excuse to put one of my Odyssey AGMs in there ...

[SmeltShackBBQ]

So the new regulator is in, running at 15.05 volts, WOT. Better. Now, to see if the battery got cooked. Took a lap around the property, then turned all the lights on, and tried to start it. Nothing, lights dimmed down, and no start. Shut the lights off, and gave it 5 minutes to build a surface charge. It fired up, and ran good all the way home. The battery doctor is on it now, we'll see if it can bring another battery back from the dead...

[rockfordpi]

Originally Posted by yamahag9er

Hook your meter up to your battery, run the cart, and see what voltage you have. It should be roughly 14 to 15 VDC. If you do not have that voltage you can disconnect the small yellow (I think it's yellow) wire off of the top of the start/gen. Take a jumper wire and jump from that stud on the start/gen to ground on the cart. Run the cart again and check voltage. If you have like 15 to 16+ VDC then your regulator is bad. If you are running only battery voltage your start/gen charging circuit is bad.

Did the test per above. Result per above is "start/generator charging circuit is bad", but not sure what that means or where to start. Would this also be a symptom of worn or stuck brushes?