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3 wire voltage regulator for generator?
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gevmage
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Location: Kentucky
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PostPosted: Mon Sep 26, 2011 9:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

billnye wrote:
so i broke down and just bought a new generator, polarized it (+ of batt to field on generator) got a spark and a little click from under the seat.


Ok, you need to STOP RIGHT NOW, very carefully describe what's hooked up and what's going on and let us help you. The steps you're describing don't make any sense and you're very likely making more problems.

To polarize the generator, you connect the DF terminal to GROUND and then touch the battery wire to D+. If you really did what you just said, connected the battery across the field terminal of the VR, the click was probably you frying the regulator.

One VERY VERY important point: In an internally regulated alternator, the fat post on the top of the alternator connects to a wire that goes straight to the battery + terminal. In a generator setup THEY DON'T. The generator D+ post and the battery hook to DIFFERENT terminals on the VR. There is a relay (or diode or something) inside the regulator that keeps the generator from draining the battery.

From your recent posts it sounds like you might have a working generator, but a dead VR, so basically your generator system isn't working at all.

My suggestion is post again, give is a wire-by-wire list of what's hooked to what, and we'll start from there. If you let us help you work through it, but I think you need to pause and re-think before you break something else.
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Craig Steffen
Getting my 1972 Super back on the road
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gevmage
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PostPosted: Mon Sep 26, 2011 9:24 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

billnye wrote:
still no voltage on df or d+ (.3-.5v)
generator is pumping out voltage.


Those statements make no sense. They also tell me you're probably testing the generator wrong.

My recommendation as to what to do next:

Disconnect ALL wires from the voltage regulator except the one from the battery and the one that goes to the front of the car. That is, connect the two red wires to B+ on the regulator that normally go there and leave DF, D+, and 61 disconnected.

Disconnect all the wires from the generator. Put the wires somewhere where they won't hit anything. Connect the DF terminal of the generator to the ground screw of the generator.

Start the car. Have someone else in the car, go to the back. Use voltmeter, black wire on generator body, red wire to B+ terminal. If it's working, it will read something probably low-ish (5V? 10V?). Have the person in the front bring the engine up to a fairly fast speed with the gas. The voltage should jump to something more than 30V.

That's the generator test. If this test fails, then STOP and come back here. Failure is anything less than 20V at high RPM.
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Craig Steffen
Getting my 1972 Super back on the road
Chronicling it on YT
(channel name "figuring stuff out dot net")
Physicist, pilot, computer person
craigsteffen.net
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ashman40
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Joined: February 16, 2007
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PostPosted: Mon Sep 26, 2011 4:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

gevmage wrote:
Ok, you need to STOP RIGHT NOW...

My suggestion is post again, give is a wire-by-wire list of what's hooked to what, and we'll start from there. If you let us help you work through it, but I think you need to pause and re-think before you break something else.

X2. Good advice.
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'67 Beetle #1 {project car that never made it to the road Sad }
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'67 Beetle #2 {2019 project car - Wish me luck!}
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billnye
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PostPosted: Wed Oct 05, 2011 2:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

voltage on df( to ground) and d+(to ground) was when everything is hooked up normally (.3-.5 volts is no voltage at all).
when referring to the voltage the generator was pumping out during the test, it was normal. (20 something)
sorry if i didn't include that part before.

anyway I got that wire diagram, printed it up and crawled all over the car following the wires.
they all seemed fine.
the wires that were different are different options between the two bugs I had (finally found out), not a big deal.
The click I heard would happen when I hit a switch under the dash, using the diagram, come to find out this is for the rear defogger.

so the only thing it could be was the VR so I bought a new one and nothing.
I remembered that they wanted me to polarize the VR in the instructions but someone told me that its the same thing as polarizing the generator, so I didn't do it the first time.
This time I did, BAM.
problem solved.
i feel really retarded for not listening to the instructions the 1st time
but happy I fixed it!
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ashman40
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PostPosted: Wed Oct 05, 2011 4:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Glad you got it working Smile
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'75 Beetle 1200LS (RHD Japan model) {junked due to frame rot}
'67 Beetle #2 {2019 project car - Wish me luck!}
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