TEA20 Govenor operation

[kaesark]

Folks
Since putting my little fergy back together the govenor as far as I can tell is not doing the job of compensating when the engine is put under load as in when negotiating a step climb. It is the only mechanical part I did not replace or renew.
I have now ordered a new govenor cup and weights.
Am I correct in thinking the govenor should kick in regardless of revs or gear engaged.
Thanks

 

[Brian-S]

Good day Karstark,

The governor runs continuously-it doesnt kick in as such. The throttle lever is actually a governor speed setting control and is not directly connected to the carb. Its the governor that controls the throttle setting and therefore engine r.p.m. at all times. Governors can be finicky things to get right. I had to rebuild mine before it would work properly.

 

[Tom H.]

If you have a service manual it will go into detail as to the throttle/Governor setup. It may seem a bit tedious but follow it and you should be all set. Ive had similar issues with a TO30 and was able to correct it.

 

[Steve@Advance]

Here's some governor theory:

The way it works, the dash lever controls the governor spring tension. Set at idle, the spring is relaxed, the throttle is held closed. As the dash lever is moved to a faster speed, the spring is put under more stretch, which opens the throttle. The spinning weights try to over ride the spring to return the throttle to closed. The weights spin with the engine speed, more speed, more power to over ride the spring, the throttle is moved toward closed. Less engine speed, the weight slow down, the less power the weights make, the spring wins and opens the throttle. It's a constant balancing act between the force of the spring and the force of the spinning weights depending on the engine speed.

A basic test of the governor adjustment:

With the engine off, dash lever set for idle, the throttle arm (on the carb) should be closed all the way against the idle stop screw.

With the dash lever in the fast position, the throttle should be spring loaded to the wide open position.

If this is not happening, look the linkages over. The most common problem is the length of the rod from the gov arm to the carb is wrong. Runaway, the rod is too short, lack of response, it's too long. It's a fine adjustment, so be careful. The rod needs to be just long enough for the gov to push the throttle closed.

Once that is adjusted, the final adjustment is setting the governed speed. That is done with the U bolt clamp up above the generator. Set the speed for about 2000 RPM. It takes some trial and error to get it all right, but once you get the jest of it, it's not too difficult.

Search 'TEA20 Governor adjust', there is a page from the manual, has the instructions and a diagram.

 

[kaesark]

Hi
Thanks so much for your explanation. I never
really understood how it all worked but I am certainly enlightened now. Having said that I do really suspect I have a dodgy governor weights or cup. I do have the full manual so somewhat confident that I have all the linkages and spring settings correct.
I will let you know once I replace and set her up again.
Thanks

 

[cdmn]

A person can't say for sure, but the governor flyweights have a limited life. Mine flew apart and got jammed
into the timing chain and busted up the front cover. Note: TEA governors are different from TO governors.