Adjust 8N regulator?

[Anonymous-0]

My knowledge of electricity is house type can kill you, and messing with regulators can kill your battery. My late 8N generator puts out fine, but the regulator won't click in. Do I dare adjust the Bat relay? If I push it down with the engine off, I get 30 amps discharge and it stays there. If I push it down while the engine is running, the ammeter shows charge, but it won't charge on its own unless I do push the contact down. The system worked fine until it sat 2 years and I painted everything. Thanks for any and all help.

 

[Bob]

You might first check to see of the regulator has a GOOD ground.

You MAY be able to narrow the air gap a tiny bit, or reduce the spring tension a bit (both on the cutout relay).

The heck of it is, without it being set up on a test bench, and having the exact "specs" at hand, it's easy to muck it up so it doesn't "drop out" at shutdown, or whenever the generator isn't charging.

The result will be a dead battery, and the smoke will probably get let out of the cutout, the generator, and posibly the wiring.

 

[Ken from Pa.]

Take your genny & regulator to an auto electrical repair shop & have them checked & set to work together . God bless, Ken

 

[souNdguy]

As Bob and the other poster implied.. regulator tweaking is amostly a lost dark art set aside for those with the experience and specifications ( and proper tools ). If you plan to take a whack at it, be prepaired to just buy another regulator at the first sign of smoke.

Soundguy

 

[Phil (NJ,Az,Sask)]

(quoted from post at 21:47:34 09/12/07) The system worked fine until it sat 2 years and I painted everything. Thanks for any and all help.

Jerry,
Like Bob suggested you likely have a bad Ground (paint). Both the Generator & the Regulator must have the "Same" Ground and that ground must be common to the battery ground post. Both the Generator & regulator are connected to the frame via Its Mounting Hardware or electrical wire connections. Even a separate Ground wire, connected between Generator and Regualtor, depends also on a Good frame connection.

Clean the Paint from Frame contact points such that you have bare metal to bare metal contact. That include the battery ground cable

The discharge "rate" of 30 amps is not normal but once you manually
"Make" the Cutout relay it will stay latched.

RE adjustments:
The problem you describe could be that the VR relay is dropping the voltage before the cutout relay is energized... but you would check that by FULL Fielding the Generator (type A grounding the Gen Field Terminal) and if the cutout relay then "makes" you have problem that an "Adjustment" of one or both relay's may cure.

Energize = Make

JMHO

 

[Anonymous-0]

Shunt coil is open on the regulators cutout.You will see a fine wire going under the heavy cutout winding.See if the wire is connected to the terminal on the base of the regulator.Leave the generator alone.I have found the shunt coil open at the terminal.You may be able to resolder.If not a new regulator will fix the problem.