Guest Posted August 10, 2008 Posted August 10, 2008 I need to (Probably) replace my regulator. I dont want to pay $100+ for one. Can I use one from a motorcycle?
dentwizz Posted August 10, 2008 Posted August 10, 2008 The thing is you need it to be adjustible, not all are. The delco units with the three poles/relays are designed specifically for the starter generators, which are current-limited by design. If they are drawn past their loading tolerances (amps) they will overheat and fail. For that reason I would only use one that came off one of our own or was made for one. The good news is they rarely ever(or at least in my experience) are dead. They go out of adjustment but are usually just a matter of turning the right adjuster screw til they start clicking again. When I got my most recent one it was almost 4 turns too far open so it wasn't engaging at all! A little patience with a meter and plastic screwdriver and voila it works.
Guest Posted August 10, 2008 Posted August 10, 2008 quote:Originally posted by dentwizz The thing is you need it to be adjustible, not all are. The delco units with the three poles/relays are designed specifically for the starter generators, which are current-limited by design. If they are drawn past their loading tolerances (amps) they will overheat and fail. For that reason I would only use one that came off one of our own or was made for one. The good news is they rarely ever(or at least in my experience) are dead. They go out of adjustment but are usually just a matter of turning the right adjuster screw til they start clicking again. When I got my most recent one it was almost 4 turns too far open so it wasn't engaging at all! A little patience with a meter and plastic screwdriver and voila it works. Damn, if I had read this a little sooner. Oh well. The one on the tractor was all rusty and nasty anyway. At least I ordered the right one :)
Chris727 Posted August 10, 2008 Posted August 10, 2008 I thought I read on here once that it was not good to mess with the adjustments? In my experience regulator failure is very common, I have at least ten failed regulators on my work bench and have thrown away others in the past. I mostly see them with bad continuity wires underneath, rust/corrosion inside due to seal leakage, and contact points fused together or melted. Many times they get burned out when the tractors are impropery wired.
Guest Posted August 11, 2008 Posted August 11, 2008 quote:Originally posted by Chris727 I thought I read on here once that it was not good to mess with the adjustments? In my experience regulator failure is very common, I have at least ten failed regulators on my work bench and have thrown away others in the past. I mostly see them with bad continuity wires underneath, rust/corrosion inside due to seal leakage, and contact points fused together or melted. Many times they get burned out when the tractors are impropery wired. Yea I took the cover off mine but have not the foggiest idea how to fix it lol. So I ordered this one: [url]http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130191248300[/url]
SmilinSam Posted August 11, 2008 Posted August 11, 2008 just make sure the tabs are all marked the same and in the same locations as the one you are replacing or you could set fire to your wiring harness like a guy I know here did.
dentwizz Posted August 11, 2008 Posted August 11, 2008 Perhaps they are a little less mystery to me because of my aircraft mechanic training/dad electronics help. He always said that was the easiest part of the machine:p I do understand that if you don't know there are some dangers to the unit, yes.
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