3400 Ford diesel charging problems

ASBURYFARMER · Jun 25, 2014

Can not get tractor to charge. Putting hot wire to generator armature lead will cause generator to spin. I assume generator windings are intact. Grounding field terminal on voltage regulator does not cause needle on volt meter to spike. Battery is brand new. Also, tach does not work. One of my 4400's only puts out 12.44 volts at operating RPM. Isn't this low? What should normal output voltage be?

pmsmechanic · Jun 25, 2014

2.2 volts per cell which works out to 13.2 volts. Anything above that and in theory the battery is charging. I would consider 13.8 volts a minimum on a stationary engine that hardly gets shut off. After running an engine a few minutes after starting you should see around 14.2 - 14.5.

mitch becton · Jun 29, 2014

your 3400 ford should have come with a lucas tach operated generator have you disconnected the regulator from gen and test with a volt meter post whats going on here if it is working it should go up in voltage because regulator is disconnectd as for the tach not working it is run by a gear on back on gen typical problem if rest works this can be replaced repost results can be easily replaced