Bob, yea, me too. A new Generator is around $500.00.
JJ, my major problem isn't the machine breaking down, but the time its soaking up, taking away from our production work. The landscaping work we're doing now is going to have to pull me and my guys thru winter to next year, usually January and February are negative cash flow months.
Lucky for me my main guy helped me Saturday (instead of spending time with his family, and 9 month pregnant wife), he wired it to bypass the charging to run off the battery...I'm not sure if he has a volt meter, I know I don't. BUT what I know is the generator looks like it got hot, and it smells burnt....the only replacable part is the regulator package.....so what choice do I have but to get the kit asap and replace it and hope for the best. Meanwhile, I was simutaneously replacing a brake box one the 1 ton truck...two bulbs on the 18' trailer. I didn't have time to replace the fenders on the second dump trailer and get it ready for inspection, fix the tail light on the first dump trailer, and fix the lights on the landscape trailer, or do the Ford which is due for oil change also! We have three trucks, the PT a JD 4720, two 60" mowers two walk behinds, many handhelds. So I always have lots of junk breaking down, ironically I think the PT has less hours on it than anything else, but breaks down more than anything else!
Meanwhile we have to try to use the PT as best we can to get these jobs done, who my customers want done as soon as possible.