Charging failure

fonsbravo · Post by **fonsbravo** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 3:35 pm

Hi all.
I`m new here, so I`ll give it a go;
My 63`Superdexta does not charge. The charge light is NOT lit when reving to approx 800 rpm and above.
When I measure on the battery terminals, there is no charge at all.
Generator checked by making a bridge between the 2 connectors, and measuring between these and ground. @ 1500 rpm it shows 16V. Anyone have any other suggestions of what to try?

Thanks in advance!

Regards
Jørgen

Norway

Emiel · Post by **Emiel** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 4:29 pm

Hello Jorg,

Why do you think your tractor doesn't charge the battery?

When the light is of, voltage of the generator is above the voltage of the battery.

When the battery is full, the generator does not produce a big amperage to the battery.

How many Volts do you meassure on the battery when running about 1200 to 1500 rpm?

Best regards

Emiel

fonsbravo · Post by **fonsbravo** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 5:05 pm

Emiel wrote:Hello Jorg,

Why do you think your tractor doesn't charge the battery?

When the light is of, voltage of the generator is above the voltage of the battery.

When the battery is full, the generator does not produce a big amperage to the battery.

How many Volts do you meassure on the battery when running about 1200 to 1500 rpm?

Best regards

Emiel

Hi.

I measure 12,5 volts

Jørgen

Dunggatherer · Post by **Dunggatherer** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 8:30 pm

Hello Jorgen,welcome.

The charging light works sort of the other way around.
When you turn the key,the light comes on.
This triggers the dynamo,that starts producing electricity(when the engine is running),and then the light goes out.
The voltage on the battery clamps should be slightly higher than with a switched off engine. Usually some 13 to 14 volts.
But the dynamo does not charge too well when idling,so revv it up a little when testing.
So please test it again and let us know what you find.
It's a Dexta,so there's no doubt we can fix things.

Greetings from the Netherlands.
Rob.

Aussie Frank · Post by **Aussie Frank** » Tue Sep 02, 2008 11:01 am

Hi Jørgen,

If you follow the following link you wil find all you need to know about how to test your Lucas generator and control box and even how to make adjustents where necessary. http://www.sterlingbritishmotoringsocie ... ources.htm To me it sounds like your control box needs some adjustment.

Regards, Frank.

fonsbravo · Post by **fonsbravo** » Tue Sep 02, 2008 3:28 pm

Dunggatherer wrote:Hello Jorgen,welcome.

The charging light works sort of the other way around.
When you turn the key,the light comes on.
This triggers the dynamo,that starts producing electricity(when the engine is running),and then the light goes out.
The voltage on the battery clamps should be slightly higher than with a switched off engine. Usually some 13 to 14 volts.
But the dynamo does not charge too well when idling,so revv it up a little when testing.
So please test it again and let us know what you find.
It's a Dexta,so there's no doubt we can fix things.

Greetings from the Netherlands.
Rob.

Hi.
I`m not too good with electrics so any help is appreciated!
Just measured it, and with the motor switched off, I measured 12,55 V and then starting it and reving it to 1500 rpm, it is still 12,55 V....

Jørgen

Post by **Brian** » Tue Sep 02, 2008 4:49 pm

Does the battery go flat (discharge)? with your volt meter on the battery, turn on all the lights. Take a reading. Then start the engine and take another reading running at 1500.rpm. Then turn on all the lights with the engine running and take another reading.

In theory, your battery should read 12.6 volt rising to around 13-14volts when the engine is running at around 1500 rpm. But if the battery is not discharging and 12 volts is still shown when it is under load (all the lights on), everything may be OK. Have you an ammeter you can put in the circuit?

Dunggatherer · Post by **Dunggatherer** » Tue Sep 02, 2008 9:43 pm

And when you turn the key,does the generator dashlight come on?
If it doesn't i would check that first,it could be simply a broken bulb,and then the generator will never start...

Oops,dynamo...

Post by **Brian** » Tue Sep 02, 2008 10:39 pm

The bulb won't affect the charging on a dynsmo Rob. Once a dynamo starts to turn it will generate current. We used to tow start cars with totally flat batteries using thatproperty to generate a spark.

Paul · Post by **Paul** » Wed Sep 03, 2008 10:19 am

If the Generator is producing a charge when bridging the terminals yet no charge is making it to the battery, wouldn't this indicate the fault would lie with the voltage regulator ?
And isn't that regulator fun to get at and try to adjust with the motor running.... bump..spark..

jump.

buggar !! LOL

Post by **Brian** » Wed Sep 03, 2008 11:06 am

Regulator + screwdriver + inexperience = Smoke and

+ lighter wallet.

You need to follow the test proceedure and the instructions when setting up the regulator with all the meters.

I have just had to sort out a control box where someone thought he knew all about electrics. He must have used a red hot crowbar as a soldering iron!! It took me two days to get it working again.

fonsbravo · Post by **fonsbravo** » Wed Sep 03, 2008 3:09 pm

Paul wrote:If the Generator is producing a charge when bridging the terminals yet no charge is making it to the battery, wouldn't this indicate the fault would lie with the voltage regulator ?
And isn't that regulator fun to get at and try to adjust with the motor running.... bump..spark.. jump. buggar !! LOL

Regulator...Where is it located? 1963 Superdexta

Thanks in advance

Jørgen

aldo · Post by **aldo** » Wed Sep 03, 2008 3:24 pm

fonsbravo wrote: Regulator...Where is it located? 1963 Superdexta

Thanks in advance

Jørgen

The voltage regulator should be located behind your dash.

fonsbravo · Post by **fonsbravo** » Thu Sep 04, 2008 4:01 pm

aldo wrote:
fonsbravo wrote: Regulator...Where is it located? 1963 Superdexta

Thanks in advance

Jørgen

The voltage regulator should be located behind your dash.

Problem solved

Changed the regulator today, and presto; 14,8V @ 1500 rpm.

Thanks a lot guys!

Jørgen

Paul · Post by **Paul** » Fri Sep 05, 2008 10:07 am

Mate I'm glad you got the problem solved...mind you I'm disappointed you didn't try to adjust the voltage regulator that was on it originally....
Maybe thats just a mean streak in me or possibly I dont want to feel like the only twit that has jumped like a frightend school girl when the engine vibration move things as you are trying to look at the rev counter and the volatage meter at the same time as you look for the points closing whilst trying to gently turn the screwdriver with one hand and hold the whole box and dice against the tractor to steady it with the other.
I can visualise Brian rolling his eyes and shaking his head at the description of my inexperience...

i can't help myself ... i have to have a go at doing things ... having said that, both the old dexta and the 135 have had charging system resurrected by my "shocking " attempts at regulator adjusting. LOL

aldo · Post by **aldo** » Fri Sep 05, 2008 11:27 am

fonsbravo wrote: Changed the regulator today, and presto; 14,8V @ 1500 rpm.
Thanks a lot guys!
Jørgen

14.8V sounds quite high, so maybe your battery is low and needs a good charge using a battery charger, or your battery is getting old and not holding a charge. Batteries last a long time if you keep them fully charged all the time. I've got 8 years out of a battery by charging it regularly.

Post by **Brian** » Fri Sep 05, 2008 11:48 am

I have taught electrics on tractors for many years and seen many dynamos burnt out by regulator failures and wrongly adjusted regulators.

At the end of the day it is more cost effective to fit a new regulator when changing/fitting a new dynamo. Not many people have the correct test equipment and you need both ammeter and volt meter connected at the same time to avoid loosing the "magic smpke".

One thing to watch for, especialy on the '000 series is there were two dynamos and two regulators, an 11 amp and a 22 amp of both.

You must ensure that the regulator matches the dynamo. A 22 amp dynamo has an open back plate for cooling. You can fit an 11 amp regulator on a 22 amp dynamo but not a 22 amp regulator on an 11 amp dynamo.

Dynamos will always charge at around 14 volts when bringing the battery up. We talk of a 12 volt battery but this is not strictly true and a dynamo needs to be more than the battery voltage to be able to charge it.

I have come across some on MF tractors that put out up to 18 volts and if the tractor is fitted with an alternator this is common. Most of the equipment we build has a regulator in circuit to cover a range up to 30 volts, because we started to get problems due to component failure due to overvoltage. We had allowed for 15 volts in our specifications.

fonsbravo · Post by **fonsbravo** » Fri Sep 05, 2008 5:59 pm

Paul wrote:Mate I'm glad you got the problem solved...mind you I'm disappointed you didn't try to adjust the voltage regulator that was on it originally....
Maybe thats just a mean streak in me or possibly I dont want to feel like the only twit that has jumped like a frightend school girl when the engine vibration move things as you are trying to look at the rev counter and the volatage meter at the same time as you look for the points closing whilst trying to gently turn the screwdriver with one hand and hold the whole box and dice against the tractor to steady it with the other.
I can visualise Brian rolling his eyes and shaking his head at the description of my inexperience...

i can't help myself ... i have to have a go at doing things ... having said that, both the old dexta and the 135 have had charging system resurrected by my "shocking " attempts at regulator adjusting. LOL

Well, in my case it was an easy desicion...A friend of mine runs a tractor spare shop, and I paid 30 euros for the ragulator. So tryig to adjust/ fix the old one was out of the question on my behalf