Voltage Problems.....

[jlinn1]

I recently bought a YM 1610D, when running just the engine my multi-meter says its running 12.52 Amps, when the headlights are on the meter will drop 1/10 of a point every second and with the rear fender light on it will drop even faster. My local auto store says the battery is good after a quick load test, but says the alternator should charge at least 13.0 Amps with the lights on so as to not drain the battery......Could this be the alt? Or the voltage regulator? Any ideas would help.........

 

[BobRip]

I recently bought a YM 1610D, when running just the engine my multi-meter says its running 12.52 Amps, when the headlights are on the meter will drop 1/10 of a point every second and with the rear fender light on it will drop even faster. My local auto store says the battery is good after a quick load test, but says the alternator should charge at least 13.0 Amps with the lights on so as to not drain the battery......Could this be the alt? Or the voltage regulator? Any ideas would help.........

I think you mean "volts" and not "amps" in the discussion above. Try raising the engine rev to operating speed and check again. Check the voltage at the battery terminals. Alternators cannot put out much power at idle. If it still does not go up to at least 13.8 volts and you have a good multimeter then you probably have a problem. However, if the battery is staying charged and starts you engine fine in cold conditions then everything is fine. Remember as long as the battery stays charged then the alternator is doing its job. Running a lot of load for a long time at idle will run down most alternator driven electrical systems. You should also test for a loose/slipping belt.

 

[jlinn1]

Yes I did mean Volts, sorry typo. As far as the testing procedure, I ran the multi-meter with the engine running at 1500 RPMand again at 1800 RPM with the same result. When running with the lights on at night for 60 minutes it is sufficient to run the battery down enough to not have enough juice to start the engine back up. I also thought of the fan belt, and it was within limits, according to a mechanic friend.

 

[clemsonfor]

not saying it could not be the alternator, but the voltage regulator goes out more often. It is probably behind the dash on the other side of the metal panel behind the fuel tank. Id check this, and do testing on the alternator also, but if i had 1 think i could guess id say the voltage regulator.

Go to hoye tractor a sponsor of this board and look up you tractor, he has parts diagrams which will show you where its located and then you can see the relacement cost.

 

[BobRip]

Yes I did mean Volts, sorry typo. As far as the testing procedure, I ran the multi-meter with the engine running at 1500 RPMand again at 1800 RPM with the same result. When running with the lights on at night for 60 minutes it is sufficient to run the battery down enough to not have enough juice to start the engine back up. I also thought of the fan belt, and it was within limits, according to a mechanic friend.

Yeah, looks like the regulator or alternator. My guess it's the regulator since even when unloaded the voltage is too low. Usually if its the alternator it puts out nothing or it drops with increasing load with the engine reved up.

 

[jlinn1]

Thanks for the ideas Bob Rip! Ill give the regulator a try and see what happens!!

 

[normde2001]

You can test by unplugging the regulator and briefly checking the alt. output for 22-30 vac. if there, bad reg. , if not could be alt. or both. Regs. are $pendy, ($75-$80, plus shipping), and probably not returnable.

 

[clemsonfor]

if you did want to throw parts at it, and it wasent the reg you could sell the extra on ebay or here if there is a for sale forum, and recoup 2/3 your money maybe. That being said do the trouble shooting, dont throw more parts than you have to at something

 

[BobRip]

You can test by unplugging the regulator and briefly checking the alt. output for 22-30 vac. if there, bad reg. , if not could be alt. or both. Regs. are $pendy, ($75-$80, plus shipping), and probably not returnable.

Good idea. Where do you connect the meter for 22-30 VAC.

 

[bruce1966us]

connect the meter to the 2 wires coming off the alt. check at 1500 rpm.

 

[jlinn1]

Voltage update.....

I unhooked the regulator and checked the alt. with my meter and it read;
0.9 VAC. After seeing this I removed the alt. and took off the cover, the inside was rusty and very dirty. After cleaning it up and taking emory cloth to the inside surfaces and shining everything up I reinstalled it and retested it. This time the alt. tested at 2.0 VAC. With the regulator plugged back in I got 12.75 on the battery, which is better than the 12.52 originally but, again flip the lights on and it plummets to sub-12. The new regulator hasnt arrived yet but I will update again when I get it. -Justin

 

[clemsonfor]

From the test description i would say that Alt is bad. The voltage regulator cannot turn 2 volts into 13. That 12.6?? is just the battery voltage after recovering from the startup. This number will vary a healthy battery will be around 12.65 give or take .1 volts. I would say that alt is dead as a hammer. Dont install the regulator yet. Take that alt back off and take it to an advance auto orileys or autozone, they can bench test it and tell you if it is good, i suspect its bad. Search posts here i beleive a guy said he put the alt off his suzuki samari. They are the hitachi alternators and i also heard that they were used on datsuns? If you can find a similar alt that will bolt up from an auto application chances are you could save some money.

Or you could return the regulator, uninstalled (they will not refund an installed electrical part) and just pay another $70 and get the correct alt.

 

[Mickey_Fx]

I think you're going to find the alt/reg are not your typ automotive design. The small (power wise) alt is powered with a permanent magnet so NO regulation is possible. Power out is A.C. The "regulator" rectifies the A.C. to D.C. and monitors voltage and shunts the excess power to ground which limits voltage to "set point".

If it were mine and the alt had failed, I'd replace the alt/reg with a suitable automotive system. Could be as simple as selecting a single wire model with built-in reg. Replacing the alt and reg would require some rewiring to handle the different mode of charging.

 

[jlinn1]

Voltage problem fixed??

I installed a new regulator that came from Hoye today and tested with my meter, at idle it read 13.71 and at 1500 RPM read 14.62. Even with the lights on it reads 13.30 and seems to hold at 1500-2000 RPM. So I guess as long as I dont have the lights on at idle it should be all right, I do all my snow-pushing in the dark so the lights are a must.

Thanks to all who offered help!! It was greatly appreciated!!

 

[clemsonfor]

glad to hear that that fixed it any you now can play.

-nate

 

[BobRip]

Voltage problem fixed??

I installed a new regulator that came from Hoye today and tested with my meter, at idle it read 13.71 and at 1500 RPM read 14.62. Even with the lights on it reads 13.30 and seems to hold at 1500-2000 RPM. So I guess as long as I dont have the lights on at idle it should be all right, I do all my snow-pushing in the dark so the lights are a must.

Thanks to all who offered help!! It was greatly appreciated!!

For a while I thought that I gave you some bad advice. I am glad it worked out. It looks like the alternator needed the cleaning that you gave it anyway.

 

[normde2001]

Voltage update.....

I unhooked the regulator and checked the alt. with my meter and it read;
0.9 VAC. After seeing this I removed the alt. and took off the cover, the inside was rusty and very dirty. After cleaning it up and taking emory cloth to the inside surfaces and shining everything up I reinstalled it and retested it. This time the alt. tested at 2.0 VAC. With the regulator plugged back in I got 12.75 on the battery, which is better than the 12.52 originally but, again flip the lights on and it plummets to sub-12. The new regulator hasnt arrived yet but I will update again when I get it. -Justin

You sure can't argue with success, but are you sure your meter was set on AC volts and not DC? That test should work.

 

[MJPetersen]

One thing that you might consider if you need to use the headlights and maybe other work lights a lot is changing to a lower wattage bulb. With the new LED lights you can get the equivalent of a 60 watt bulb that will draw 1.5 watts of power. I did this with my YM 1510D and others have too. Search on "LED" in the "Customization" forum. Another plus is that the LED bulbs have a life of 20,000 hours--even if you cut that in half for vibration and such that still is a LOT of tractor time. The LED's now come in many different bases and styles.

Mike

 

[jlinn1]

Mike,

Checked out your lights on the 1510D. It looks like an easy fix for lower wattage of lights. Where did you find the LED's at?

Justin

 

[MJPetersen]

I just got them from a "Home Depot" type store. They are a 12v LED for a spot light. MR 16 and MR 11 were the numbers, but there are other designs that would work as well or even better. Here are a coupld of sites that carry them in the States. I just "Googled" "12 volt LED lights." Super Bright LED and Low voltage LED lights.

I used the MR 11's but if I were going to do it again I would use the 1157 replacement bulbs and a stop light socket--then you would have high and low beams (Well bright and very bright). Super bright has many different styles of bulbs that fit the 1157 socket. Their spider style is most interesting--but their are many that would work well.

The problem of LED's is their general narrow beam of light--straight ahead. Therefore, choose a bulb that has a wide light beam--They mention this in degrees 18 degree, 90 degree, 120 degrees, and 130 degrees.

Mike