The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay Overcharging?

Not quite sure whats going on here but, I seem to be indicating an overcharge on my amp gauge as I am going home from work. Now going to work in the morning the gauge with the lights looks to be a respectable indication about half way from the middle of the gauge charging . Now coming home without no load to the gauge actually is showing a pegged charging all the way to the right. Any problem with that there Bolters. Don't smell any smoke or fire? Thanks there Bolters....

Check the voltage at the battery posts with the engine running at a fast idle and no load such as headlights, heater fan, etc. turned on. If the voltqge is above about 14.5 volts you probably have a bad voltage regulator. Are you running a generator or an alternator?
Jerry

maybe ur gauge went wacky

Well I am back to my original thread here.Hotrod, you did ask me if I was running an alternator or generator. Iam runnig a generator, check the voltage at the battery at a fast idol and dam it is over 17 volts.So now I p-lan to purchase a voltage regulator. Who makes a better one Napa or Auto zone? Also how do I polarize the regulator before I start it up? Thanks there Bolters, you all have a good 1.

There are two kinds of voltage regulators- - - - -Delco-Remy, and WRONG! Look on ebay for an original equipment Delco- - - -there are plenty of them there, and they're not terribly expensive. Any 12V negative ground Delco will work- - - -don't worry about the supposed application. Even a heavy duty regulator like an Olds or Cadillac can be adjusted to work with a Chevy generator. The only difference is the adjustment of the current regulator.

If the generator is charging that well, it's polarized! There is no such thing as polarizing a regulator.
Jerry

Sorry about the miss print, but I ment the generator polarized. So thanks for all the help there Hotrod. Sure would have liked to have seen that there frozen whale going up over the Grapevine umpteen years ago. Have a good 1.

Good luck and hang in there! Don't trash the old regulator- - - -sometimes a cleanup and adjustment is all that's needed to make one like that perform properly. Most people are deathly afraid of taking the top off a regulator and trying to adjust the spring tension. It's not "rocket surgery", but it does require a little caution and some specific equipment.
Jerry

I would try pulling a piece of paper through each of the contact points on your original voltage regulator first to clean them . May just be some dirt/film on one of them causing the problem. There are several VR adjustment procedure descriptions available online.

Well, installed a new v. regulator on her and she's a charging correctly. You know Hotrod Lincoln, we need to inform all the Bolters about a Nobel prize winner and give it to you again. No more headaches, and thanks again. Have a good 1.

Dirty or corroded points cause a "no charge" condition. Stuck or welded points cause high voltage because the regulator can't control the generator output.
Jerry

In my experience with both 6 volt and 12 volt generators, the first few minutes will show some charge as the energy required to start the engine is replaced. After that it charges a small amount like maybe a needle width. As the battery gets old the steady state charge rate increases slightly.