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#1
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Generator Red Light -- all ready?
I have a 68' bug with a 1500 engine in it. Several years ago I
started experiencing some electrical problems and I went on a rampage of replacing old and word out parts. I replaced the generator with a rebuilt/refurbished one which didn't do much other than sit in a garage for two years. I have probably only been driving on this generator for 18 months or so. Last week I was driving home and got the red light on the dash. This caused a bit of panic because I couldn't remember if the oil pressure light was red or green! After checking the Muir book at the roadside, I continued home to do some testing. The first thing I noticed was that my brushes were pretty worn and didn't have a lot of push left in them. So dropped the 8 bucks and installed a new pair. They weren't a perfect fit and required a bit of work on the grinder to get them to install. Alas, they seem to "work". But I still have a red light on the dash. Next I performed Speedy Jims instructions for polarizing the generator. After hooking everything back up, I still get a red light. If I test the ohms between the DF and DT poles while running, I get about a 1.8. I believe this is supposed to read 3+? Voltage-wise, I only get 11.68v while the engine is running so I know I am not charging correctly. I have also removed the regulator and inspected it for damage, or loose connections. I see nothing of the sort. But I suspect my generator is defective. Is is a safe assumption that my refurb was a bad build, and is effectively dead? I never got any warning signs as far as light-glows or red light flickers. It went from never lighting up - to a dead on glow. This rather sucks, because I don't want to drop another $150 on a new one! -Steve Ballantyne 68' Bug |
#2
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Generator Red Light -- all ready?
In article
>, " > wrote: > I have a 68' bug with a 1500 engine in it. Several years ago I > started experiencing some electrical problems and I went on a rampage > of replacing old and word out parts. I replaced the generator with a > rebuilt/refurbished one which didn't do much other than sit in a > garage for two years. I have probably only been driving on this > generator for 18 months or so. > > Last week I was driving home and got the red light on the dash. This > caused a bit of panic because I couldn't remember if the oil pressure > light was red or green! After checking the Muir book at the roadside, > I continued home to do some testing. > > The first thing I noticed was that my brushes were pretty worn and > didn't have a lot of push left in them. So dropped the 8 bucks and > installed a new pair. They weren't a perfect fit and required a bit > of work on the grinder to get them to install. Alas, they seem to > "work". But I still have a red light on the dash. > > Next I performed Speedy Jims instructions for polarizing the > generator. After hooking everything back up, I still get a red light. > > If I test the ohms between the DF and DT poles while running, I get > about a 1.8. I believe this is supposed to read 3+? Voltage-wise, I > only get 11.68v while the engine is running so I know I am not > charging correctly. > > I have also removed the regulator and inspected it for damage, or > loose connections. I see nothing of the sort. But I suspect my > generator is defective. > > Is is a safe assumption that my refurb was a bad build, and is > effectively dead? I never got any warning signs as far as light-glows > or red light flickers. It went from never lighting up - to a dead on > glow. This rather sucks, because I don't want to drop another $150 on > a new one! > > -Steve Ballantyne > 68' Bug did you spin the generator w/o the regulator in the circuit./ Do it briefly. I think most books and Speedy tell you how to do this. -- If guns are out-lawed. Only the Out-laws & politicians will have guns. |
#3
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Generator Red Light -- all ready?
On Aug 10, 3:30*pm, A Veteran > wrote:
> did you spin the generator w/o the regulator in the circuit./ > Do it briefly. > I think most books and Speedy tell you how to do this. Yes, I unhooked the wires going to the generator (from the regulator). Then grounded the right side and ran the left back to the battery. It spun pretty good. I let it go about 4 seconds, and then hooked everything else back up. It didn't seem to have any effect. Also, here is something that may be worth mentioning ... I went out on a trip on Friday night and the light went out briefly when I was rolling at about 40mph, then came back on after about two miles. Odd. Seems like if it were dead it would just be *DEAD*. But then I don't know what is going on inside of that thing. I suppose it could be a coil coming loose, etc. -Steve Ballantyne 68' Bug |
#4
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Generator Red Light -- all ready?
Somehow in all of this, I had forgotten that I have an almost complete
spare engine in my basement. I bought it simply to "move a car" about two years ago while my current engine was being rebuilt. So, I stole the generator from that engine and put it on my daily driver. With this generator, I performed the Speedy Jim procedure. First, I polarized the generator. Then I left DF shorted to ground, and I ran the engine with the belt on. My multi-meter read about 35.5V which as I understand - is a GOOD generator! Then I reconnected the blue wire to DF, and reconnected my red wire to DT. Now with a running engine I get ... 1.6 volts or so. What gives? Testing voltage at the battery I am getting about 11.45 volts. This seems to be enough to keep the car operational, but I want to fix this before I end up stranded. :-) Anyone have any ideas for me? Could this be a grounding issue? I notice that there is a spot for a grounding bolt on this generator, which I don't have going anywhere. The old one was not grounded to anything either though. Would it hurt anything to run a ground from the body of the generator back to the ground on the battery -- just to see if the voltage jumps up? -Steve Ballantyne 68' Bug |
#6
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Generator Red Light -- all ready?
On Aug 17, 12:34*pm, Speedy Jim > wrote:
> * * Yes, 35.5V shows the Gen is OK. $80 to $150 saved! :-) > * * I think you may have the wiring to it confused though. > > * * Should look something like this: > * *http://www.nls.net/mp/volks/schem/gen_reg.jpg > > * * The Blu wire goes to Term #61 on the regulator, > * * not to DF on the Gen. > > * * (BTW, the terminal on the Gen you noted as "DT" is > * * probably *"D+". * I'm not being fussy; just so you know...) Ah, you are correct. My old generator was rippled in an odd way that made it hard to read the engraved labels. > * * If you wire it like my sketch and it still doesn't charge, > * * suspect a bad regulator. I seem to be wired correctly, with the exception of the beige wire in your sketch. This looks like a "shortcut ground wire" of some sort. Is that the idea? I don't have one of those, but the generator stand seems to be providing a good ground, so I don't imagine I need it. Is there any good way to *test* the regulator? I hate to drop $40 on one without knowing for sure. :-( As always, thanks for the good advice from everyone!, -Steve Ballantyne 68' Bug |
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