Subject: RE: Voltage Regulator
Author: Scheer, Peter L
Date: May 19, 2001, 7:17 PM
Post ID: 1706791532
Brian
Thanks for this quick tutorial. Is it normal for the gen light to be on
dimly at idle? 1200 rpm.
at about 1500 the light quits.
Thanks Pete
71 ambassador
| -----Original Message----- From: murp-@aol.com [SMTP:murp-@aol.com] Sent: Friday, May 18, 2001 8:10 PM To: Loopfram-@topica.com Subject: RE: Voltage Regulator ==== $20 Off Your Next $75 Order At OfficeDepot.com ==== Simply click on the link below to take advantage of this great offer. Offer expires 5/23/01 and is valid for one-time use on delivery-only internet orders. http://click.topica.com/caaab3pb1dfltb2DJrHa/OfficeDepot ======================================================== Keith, Poor connections in this circuit will not cause the Gen warning light to come on. That said, you really should make sure that all the connections are clean and solid, especially the ones to ground. What causes the warning light to come on is the voltage difference between the battery voltage and the reference voltage output from the generator. When the battery voltage is significantly higher (greater than a few volts) than the reference voltage generator output, the bulb will light. Here is Murphy's troubleshooting guide for this circuit: 1. Load test the battery. A quick test would be to turn on the ignition and the lights, and see if the battery voltage drops less than about 10 V in a minute or so. A bad battery is not likely to be the problem because this voltage must be higher than the ref. voltage for the warning light to come on. 2. With the engine running, check that the battery voltage goes up to about 14 V when you rev the engine. If this is OK, it means that the generator is in fact charging the battery, whether the warning light is on or off. If the voltage goes much above this value (say 15V and higher), then you may have a problem with your regulator. This would also make your warning light stay on. 3. Check the battery voltage with respect to the reference voltage output. Put the positive lead of your voltmeter on the pos. battery terminal, and the negative lead on the D+ terminal of the regulator (the voltage output of the generator is connected to this terminal on the regulator with a grey/red wire according to my schematic). With ignition on but engine off, you should see 12 V between these points (this is the voltage difference which is lighting the warning light). With the engine on, you should see this voltage decrease as you rev up the engine, until there is no difference (which causes the light to go out). If the voltage difference does not reduce below a volt or two, then there is something wrong with this generator output. However, as long as the battery is charging, you might not care. Hope this helps, Brian '74 Eldo '78 T3 Keith Ruff wrote:
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