Bolens Isieki G174

[tundraman01]

My charge light is on. With the motor running, I get about 8 volts across the
battery terminals. How do I tell if the problem is the voltage regulator or the
alternator?
I have the numbers from the alternator and I found them for sale on the web. The
regulator just says 1X01 on it and I'm not getting any hits on that off the web.
Any info any one has on diagnosing and parts would be appreciated.

 

[Ilikeurtractor]

Disconnect the wire from the alternator to the starter connection (i.e. battery +), start the engine, and check voltage from the alternator + (the wire you disconnected) to ground. It should be around 14VDC. Getting 8 VDC across the battery terminals is rather odd and, to me, would indicated the something going to ground assuming the battery is in good shape which it may not be due to it not being charged for a while. Check the voltage across the battery with the engine off to help troubleshoot and let us know.

 

[Ilikeurtractor]

If it does turn out to be the regulator, search "satoh regulator" on ebay and you'll find one on there. It isn't a bad idea to have a spare anyway as you can't just go to the local auto store and pick one up (at least as far as I know if you want one that will "plug-and-play"). The one on ebay is a solid-state regulator as opposed to the electro-mechanical one that came with these tractors, and, in theory, should be more reliable.