Thanks Tim, Bern, and Sean for your responses. You are right Sean, that VR I referenced is about $125. Not cheap, which is why I was concerned about the confusing (to me) description of this generator as being 6volt on the main ad, but says 12volt when you dig into the detailed specs.
If it is the correct electrical specs, but maybe slightly different in dimensions from the original VR, maybe I could find a way to get it to fit. I'll try to keep it short, but here reasons for this, and may answer to your questions Tim:
The generator stopped charging and was making noise at the end of last year. Seeing the scarcity and cost of new 6v generators, I decided to have this generator repaired (again). It was repaired/renovated only 2 years ago by a local generator guy with a good reputation. Rather than go back, I contacted a guy in Wyoming who advertises generator repair on ebay and has a lifetime garantee for his work. Nice guy, out in Wyoming, and has been doing such work for 40+ years with vintage generators. So I sent it to him. When the generator got there, it arrived damaged with the bracket broken off at the back of the housing. He replaced it, and also said the bushing had gone out of it so it ruined the armature and rubbed on the fields. So the armature was replaced. He replaced the back housing with updated one that has a ball bearing rather than a bushing. Here is a pic of it showing the old ones on the right and the updated ones on the left.
View attachment 61760
When I installed it back on the tractor, I found it was not charging at the battery, but I seemed to be getting about 2-3 volts at the generator (tested using voltmeter neg lead at armature terminal, and postive lead at ground). I figured the generator itself was probably ok. I contacted the guy in Wyoming and he said it is very likely the VR, but to also do another check at the generator field. So instead of neg meter lead at armature, I checked it at the field terminal. There I was getting pretty much nothing. The needle barely moved on my analog voltmeter (well under 1 volt). He told me it was almost certain that the VR was not working. He recommended a Regitar regulator. They are made in the USA and will last at least 20-30 years. He said something about them having tungsten points and not tarnishing. They are pricey, but if you want something that will last, unlike these cheap foreign-borne VR's, then that is what it is. I've gone through several VR's over the years and don't want anymore of that junk. That said, I need to go through the wiring (again) to make sure there isn't something bad going on with that, though I have not seen any issues such as broken wires or lose connections. Some of the wiring is not visible, being wrapped in tape or whatever insulator material. Thinking I should check wiring continuity from each wire end to end staring at the VR.
I am not very good with electrical stuff, so I rely a lot on what you guys suggest; and the guy from Wyoming also seems very knowledgeable and helpful. All that said, I'm still confused about that Regitar VR ad I referred to, and will probably try contacting the company to get more info. Sorry for the long story, but that's what's going on. Hope you reply if you have any other comments or suggestions.
Thanks!
