6 volt voltage regulator

[MARK ROBKE]

I need a 6v regulator for my 300u. I bought one recently and it stuck on discharge after a few minutes of
run time. I could lightly tap on the side of the regulator, and it would charge briefly and then go back
to discharge. I got another and it did the same thing. (A and I brand) I had the generator checked by a
rebuilder and it is fine. He said he does not sell any 6v regulators because he can't find a good one. A
local NAPA can get a Sparex brand 6v regulator, but I don't know whether to try it or not. A long time ago
I tried a 6v alternator, from a different rebuilder, but could not get it to fit under the hood. Who makes
a good 6v regulator? Or should I give up and search for a 6v alternator? Who makes one that will fit under
the hood? I have 'ohmed' out all my wiring and all is well. I should add, I usually get 7-8-10 years out
of a battery on this tractor, and this battery is about 2 1/2 yrs old and been recently checked. I do not
want to change to 12v. Thanks for all help, Mark.

 

[caterpillar guy]

I understand you don't want to. But I think you would save a lot of headaches if you did . The lack of demand for 6 volt components is part of the reason, and the land of almost never right making them the other. The 12 volt parts are not as good as they used to be but you can get parts that will last pretty good. We have a couple 10SI delco's under an H and MD hoods. without cutting or chopping them. I did have to modify the bracket just a bit for it and shorten the belt so you put it on then put the bolts in the alternator.

 

[gene bender]

your mistake was you didnt get the regulator that is made for your generator get the one made for the DELCOrEMY # ON THE TAG FROM car quest AND NOT ONE OFF THE SHELF

 

[J Hamilton]

Brillmans sells USA made regulators and also a solid state unit. I have NO experience with either one, I have only seen them in their catalog. For 6 volt alternators, I get them from DB Electrical, they are available in pos or neg ground

 

[riverbend]

I have had very good luck with Brillmans. Made in the US. Not cheap.

 

[Charlie M]

Last time I had a generator rebuilt the guy said there are 2 types of regulators - cheap ones and good ones. I've found the ones sold like on this and other similar sites are the cheap ones. Brillman has been mentioned as a source and I have bought a couple from them and they have held up well so far. If you compare prices they are about twice what the cheap ones go for.

 

[Charlie M]

Same for me - its the only place I buy one after buying the cheaper ones and having them fail within a month.

 

[MARK ROBKE]

Well, I just googled Billman's -I had never heard of them-and besides the 6v regulator, they also have a 6v alternator. Has anyone ever got one from them? With all due respect I did try to get a regulator from YT, but all he had was the ammeter that I also had needed. (My old one was stuck and did not show discharge, so I had a weak battery and found the regulator was bad) So what about a 6v alternator? Fit under my hood? (300u) Work well? For the price of their regulator, the alternator is only @ $50+ more. Thanks, Mark.

 

[J Hamilton]

I have bought from the following companies and have had no issues with any of them. All 6 volt. Here is a price comparison of 6 volt alternators I have used, make your own decision which to choose. Brillmans $166 40amp Quality Power $145 60amp DB Electrical $128 37amp

 

[Wisconsin Ron]

Lean strongly towards going alternator if you use the tractor a lot.

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

Took me a while but I found the alternator on Brillman's site:

https://brillman.com/product/6-volt-1-wire-alternator-40-amp-positive-ground/

It is a Delco 10SI, probably the same as what you tried before. How did you try to mount it? With the right mounting bracket a Delco 10SI will fit under the hood. It may be worth the investment to pick up the conversion bracket as well:

https://brillman.com/product/ihc-farmall-h-sh-i4-o4-w4-300-330-350-alternator-bracket-with-adjusting-arm/

 

[redforlife]

You can get positive ground or negative ground regulators. Make sure your getting the right one for how you got your tractor wired up. The letter series was positive ground. Not sure if the hundred series seen a change or stayed positive ground.

Also, upon installation and battery hook up, you really should polarize before starting and using the system.

I know this is basic info. But there might of been something that you overlooked.

If it charged the right way to begin with, then polarized wrong wasn't your problem. But, are you sure it did charge the right way in the beginning??

Also it doesn't take to long to fry a new regulator if you got it hooked up wrong. They can be touchy about that. And when the damage is done, the show is ussually over. No just switching a couple wires back around to make it right. The damage is already done. That's why most stores won't take regulators back on return. Easy to fry one upon incorrect install. And the store don't want to be liable for that.

And it's true, there is cheap junky regulators out there that are just not to good right out of the box. But most replacement electrical stuff, you can run into that anymore. Switches, push buttons, etc.

 

[farmalluver]

If you had your generator checked by a reputable auto electric repair service and it was ok, I am thinking you have a regulator problem. I had a similar issue with a farmall C 6 volt a few years ago. I would get my generator rebuilt, it would work for a couple of weeks then nothing. I would replace the voltage regulator and it would work for a couple of weeks. I went thru several regulators, had them cleaned up, and would start the cycle over again. I didn't get it resolved until I took both the generator and regulator in to the shop and had both rebuilt and matched together. Haven't had an issue now for 2 years.

 

[the tractor vet]

Yep ya can't find a good regulator anymore . hard enough to find a good 12 volt . For years i was hard headed about keeping my S/MTA all stock and 6 volt . batteys are hard to find that last or even have enough cranking amps to spin it over . So i made the switch to 12 volt Not a big deal and now all foir the better i guess as now easier finding a battery as any group 27 will do just fine even a group 24 will do Now better lights .

 

[n9lhm]

Years ago I designed and built a solid-state voltage regulator for a friend's JD L who wanted to keep it all original 6V. I took an old regulator and gutted it out and built the new one in the old base and housing so it looked original. It worked well. I might still have the schematic at home somewhere.

 

[MARK ROBKE]

I actually did that about 25 years ago. Mark.

 

[MARK ROBKE]

After thinking about it a bit, I may try Brillmans with the 6v alternator. I agree with many of the comments and advice. Thanks to all who replied, Mark. P.S. I will let you all know what I end doing at a later date. I'm not using the 300u too much this time of year, so I got some time. I may go to the Farm Machinery Show in Louisville and check there also.

 

[M. Doud]

I've been looking for a decent schematic for that, but I haven't found anything that looked right.

 

[wore out]

(quoted from post at 13:35:33 02/04/23) I've been looking for a decent schematic for that, but I haven't found anything that looked right.

An electronic VR for use with a generator needs to be a bit more complicated than for an alternator as it needs a current limiting feature (to keep the generator from overheating) as well.

 

[n9lhm]

A third brush generator, such as used on these old tractors, is inherently current-limited by where you set the third brush. There is no current limit in the mechanical regulator that these generators originally came with. A two-brush generator, such as used on later cars, DOES require one.