Is it possible that there's no regulator?

[Southerncannuck 73]

I have what I believe is a 1980 Wheel Horse C-125. It's a 8 speed. There's no data tag under the steering wheel so part of this is guess work  My issue is that it wasn't charging the battery.  To be kind the previous owner might have been  pretty good at what he did, but it surely wasn't electrical work.

 

When I took a good look and started soldering and heat shrinking what were poorly crimped connectors I realized that I didn't see a regulator anywhere.  I put a meter on the two wires coming from the engine and got 28VAC. The problem is that those two wires went to a connector and nowhere else.  Am I missing something? Assuming that the previous owner did an end run around a bad regulator can I use a generic one? If so any recommendations?

[rmaynard 16,611]

Assuming that you have a K301 engine, you probably have battery ignition which requires a rectifier of some sort. Go to our manuals section and download the manuals for all the C-125's. Look at the wiring diagrams and I would bet that they all show a regulator/rectifier in the circuit.

[Tuneup 1,452]

That is in really nice condition compared to what I started with but my wiring was actually tolerable. That tri connector on the top left is your regulator connector. The engine alt wires go across from one another and the middle one is the regulator connector. The regulator itself bolts to the bracket that connects to the solenoid and sits directly under the battery.

[Southerncannuck 73]

1 hour ago, Tuneup said:

That is in really nice condition compared to what I started with but my wiring was actually tolerable. That tri connector on the top left is your regulator connector. The engine alt wires go across from one another and the middle one is the regulator connector. The regulator itself bolts to the bracket that connects to the solenoid and sits directly under the battery.

If you get a chance could you take a picture of how the regulator is situated and the wiring harness. It would help do this correctly.

(I understand if you can't)

Edited May 27, 2016 by Southerncannuck

[gwest_ca-(File Mod) 11,770]

Not real good but found the finned regulator mounted on the flat panel below the battery in section 6 of this 1978-1979 manual. Figures 11 and 12

Garry

[KC9KAS 4,744]

[Southerncannuck 73]

Thank you very much Garry.  That's just what I needed.

[Tuneup 1,452]

Sorry, I only get on this machine in the AM and don't own a smart phone (yes, we do exist ).  The manual shows it correctly and you'll see where the bolt holes align. They sell on eBay new for $40 and I just bought one myself since mine will rectify but not regulate. 18VDC - not good. That is a sweet ride - great condition. rewire and you're golden.

[rmaynard 16,611]

2 minutes ago, Tuneup said:

...I just bought one myself since mine will rectify but not regulate. 18VDC - not good...

The regulator will produce voltages like that if it's not grounded properly. If you are experiencing an over-voltage problem, check the ground before springing for a new regulator.

[Tuneup 1,452]

I hear ya, Bob. The battery ground is new and the regulator is bolted to the same bracket. Both were removed and cleaned. Nulled DMM reads .2 Ohms. Usually with a bad ground, a good tap or two will alter the reading - nope. I shorted the casing to the battery ground - no change. When I got it, the orange lead from the regulator and the primary hot leads were overheated to the point of melting their connectors so I'm thinking I've located the cause of the original problem. I just had to rebuild the whole machine first. Given this one's history, that regulator was unlikely the original. It probably blew fuses constantly so they just cut out the fuses. Good ole boys.

[Southerncannuck 73]

I took tuneup's advise and rewired it.  I bought a John Deer spec regulator from Amazon.com. Got rid of all the butt splices and such. Now it charges nicely and runs better which I can only attribute to the higher voltage.  While in there I added a choke cable. 

[Tuneup 1,452]

Excellent. Your own wiring as well - very satisfying. My eBay regulator did the trick and I now see that I wired my ammeter backwards. It's all coming together for both of us!