ford 3000 voltage stabilizer again

[peteironstation]

Okay guys I need some help. Need to be ready to make hay in a few weeks. I just replaced the water pump, hoses, etc on my 3000. Decided after checking here to change out my voltage stabilizer since I hadn't had a working fuel gauge in awhile and temp reading was suspect. I installed the new Voltage Stabilizer and fuel gauge still pegged off and temp was high. While checking all the connections. I noticed the fuel gauge and temp gauge where now working, but the gen light was dimly lit. I checked the fuse and it was blown. Put in a new fuse and turned key to on and gen and oil light lit up, Cranked tractor and lights went out, but now the fuel gauge and temp gauge went to pegged high. Put a test light on voltage stabilizer and blew fuse. Fuel gauge and temp gauge started working and gen light dimly lit. What gives?? I need to get this problem behind me. I've read a lot of the previous posts on voltage stabilizer issues, but seen nothing that quite addresses this. Thanks for any and all help.

 

[JMOR]

(quoted from post at 19:18:47 05/09/14) Okay guys I need some help. Need to be ready to make hay in a few weeks. I just replaced the water pump, hoses, etc on my 3000. Decided after checking here to change out my voltage stabilizer since I hadn't had a working fuel gauge in awhile and temp reading was suspect. I installed the new Voltage Stabilizer and fuel gauge still pegged off and temp was high. While checking all the connections. I noticed the fuel gauge and temp gauge where now working, but the gen light was dimly lit. I checked the fuse and it was blown. Put in a new fuse and turned key to on and gen and oil light lit up, Cranked tractor and lights went out, but now the fuel gauge and temp gauge went to pegged high. Put a test light on voltage stabilizer and blew fuse. Fuel gauge and temp gauge started working and gen light dimly lit. What gives?? I need to get this problem behind me. I've read a lot of the previous posts on voltage stabilizer issues, but seen nothing that quite addresses this. Thanks for any and all help.

ounds like a wiring/connection gremlin, since the gen & oil warning lights do NOT operate off of the stabilizer. They will work without stabilizer even installed. Only temp & fuel operate off of stabilizer output. Be sure case of stabilizer is grounded or it won't work.

 

[peteironstation]

any ideas why the fuel and temp work with the fuse blown? the voltage stabilizer is mounted to the inst cluster with two screws. I would think that would ground it?

 

[JMOR]

(quoted from post at 19:50:39 05/09/14) any ideas why the fuel and temp work with the fuse blown? the voltage stabilizer is mounted to the inst cluster with two screws. I would think that would ground it?

es, as long as instrument cluster is grounded. The gen light is fed voltage to both sides of lamp. From ign sw/fuse to one side & from generator ARM to other side, such that when gen working, the reg contacts close & both sides are at same voltage & lamp goes out (no bulb current). With fuse blown, the stabilizer it receiving power via the gen lamp, so it glows dim (small current). see dwg.

 

[peteironstation]

OK. I understand that part, but tomorrow when I put a new fuse in. I'll have the gen and oil lights coming on and going out after I crank the tractor as they should, but fuel and temp gauges pegged high. Is my new voltage stabilizer bad? Will running another ground wire off the VS case help. Sorry if some of these questions sound stupid, but I'm kinda slow mastering electrical problems.

 

[JMOR]

(quoted from post at 21:18:50 05/09/14) OK. I understand that part, but tomorrow when I put a new fuse in. I'll have the gen and oil lights coming on and going out after I crank the tractor as they should, but fuel and temp gauges pegged high. Is my new voltage stabilizer bad? Will running another ground wire off the VS case help. Sorry if some of these questions sound stupid, but I'm kinda slow mastering electrical problems.

nother ground to stabilizer can not hurt anything, but if it is already grounded well, it won't help either. Is stabilizer bad/good? If you have an analog voltmeter, you can observe its output, digital won't cut it here. Stabilizer is much like your turn signal blinker, in that it just switches on & off, so that the average voltage is whatever is required by gauges, about 5 v as I recall, but that is not what you are looking for on your analog volt meter. You are looking for the switching or "blinking". If it is a steady 12v it is not working (most likely because it lost ground). A very simple device consisting of a bi-metal part that bends to open contacts when heated by coil wrapped around it, then cools to close contacts.......repeats.

 

[Sean in PA]

Put a test light on voltage stabilizer and blew fuse.

Voltage stabilize is an oddball device. It takes 12 volts DC input and switches itself on and off repeatedly so that the true output is single sided jagged AC, but the average output is somewhere around 5 or 6 volts DC. Its output is only intended for those two slow reacting gauges so you never notice the rapidly changing output voltage. Hooking a 12 volt DC test light to the output is not a good test, and it might even be expected behavior to blow a fuse if you do it, but I'm not sure of that.