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D Day

Rectifier or Regulator??

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D Day

   What would cause my PTO accessories (mower deck) to drain the battery? I can mow 2-3 times then must put the battery on the charger or it runs it so low it ruins the battery. Also, shouldn't the motor stay running when it's disconnected from the battery? Is this a rectifier or regulator problem? It is a '68 Electro 12 with a 16HP Kohler motor on it.

TIA,

Dan D

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ebinmaine

Could be something as simple as a bad ground or dirty connection. Does this tractor have an ammeter ? Have you removed any of the components or their connectors and cleaned them thoroughly? Do you have a test light or voltmeter?

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pfrederi

Sounds like a regulator issue.  What voltage do you have when the engine is running.  That is not the original engine so i am assuming it is a battery points ignition system am I correct?  The breakerless or mag systems on some Charger/Electro will run with out the battery not so the battery coil system.  Also as an Electro are yu still running an electric PTO???

Edited by pfrederi
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D Day

Eric:  No, it does not have an ammeter and I haven't removed anything. I do have a voltmeter.

 

Paul:  Yes, it is a battery/points system and it does have a coil. And yes I am running an electric clutch. Thanks for your service.

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953 nut

:WRS:

Is this a problem that has started recently or has it been a ongoing issue? Have you taken the battery to be load tested? Check the battery voltage with the engine running and not running. It could be something as simple as the connector to the regulator/rectifier having come loose.

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adsm08

A regulator controls the amount of power made by the generator. A rectifier turns AC voltage in to DC voltage. 

 

The generator is an electro-magnet in the center of some copper windings. The stronger the magnetic field, the more voltage made. The voltage regulator essentially just varies the amount of power put to the magnet so it can vary the amount of voltage put out by the unit.

 

Most things on cars (and tractors) want to run on DC voltage, the coil, the battery, the lights, etc. AC voltage will either make them not work correctly, or damage them outright. But almost all generators of this type produce AC voltage. A series of diodes is used to turn the AC voltage into DC voltage by only letting it flow one way. That is a rectifier.

 

Rectifiers are easy to test, just put a volt meter set to AC volts on the battery with the engine running. You shouldn't get more than .1V AC per winding in the generator.

 

Testing a regulator is a little harder, because you need to know which post is which. However low output, which can also be measured at the battery by checking DC volts with the engine running, is probably a bad regulator.

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rmaynard
17 hours ago, D Day said:

...Also, shouldn't the motor stay running when it's disconnected from the battery? 

Simple answer is no.

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