Glen and others who have replied. I have connected my DVM to the battery so I can see what voltage the gen is delivering to the battery why I drive around town. Yesterday was seeing about 14.2 - 14.3
In order to check he regulator, whch wire do I disconnect at the reg and ground? Mike On Sat, Dec 19, 2015 at 10:07 AM, Glen Hadley <[email protected]> wrote: > Actually, over 14V at the generator is probably too high. A max of 13.8V > is generally considered enough. Sounds like it is overcharging the > battery, much over 12.5V resting is a bit high. My guess is the regulator > - it could be shutting down completely on a long trip after the voltage > hits some threshold instead of keeping the voltage up. If it's holding > 14+V, the generator is OK - that's what you should see if you ground the > control terminal of the generator, which is a sign that the regulator is > the problem. > > glenh :<)> > > On 12/13/2015 1:10 PM, stokester wrote: > > Yup. > > A 100% charged battery should read 12.6 volts, 12.4 = 75%, 12.2= 50% and > so on. > > Over 14 volts from the generator should be enough to keep it charged and > provide enough juice to run the vehicle. > > So your battery shows that it is fully charged and the generator is > providing a charging voltage but there may be other factors. The battery > may read fully charged but until you do a load test its capacity is not > assured. The generator has brushes with springs and a commutator which may > be worn causing them not to make full contact. > > As John mentioned, heat may be a factor. As the armature and other > components heat up there may be other things going on. > > Nick > > On Saturday, December 12, 2015 at 3:19:11 PM UTC-5, mike morehouse wrote: >> >> After trickle charging the battery over the last few days till I got a >> green light indicating it was charged, the battery output with the engine >> off is 12.65. I started the bug and let it idle. No gen light. Revved up >> the engine and checked the voltage at the battery and it was reading about >> 14.3 vdc. >> >> Wouldn't this indicate that the generator is ok? >> >> What to check next? >> >> Thanks Mike >> >> Mike Morehouse >> On Dec 12, 2015 1:30 PM, "stokester" <[email protected]> wrote: >> >>> The first thing I would do is use a meter on it to see the actual output >>> voltage of the generator. >>> >>> Nick >>> >>> >>> On Friday, December 11, 2015 at 9:54:34 AM UTC-5, mike morehouse wrote: >>>> >>>> Good morning. >>>> >>>> I need a little advice with a generator light issue on my stock 72 Bug >>>> with generator. I drive my Bug mostly short trips in town - errands, >>>> church, work, etc...both day and night driving. Car is stock with OEM >>>> generator. No added accessories. Battery was replaced in 2012 and starts >>>> car fine. >>>> >>>> I never have any generator light issues on normal trips in town. Last >>>> night I took it up the interstate on about a 22 mile trip at about 65 mph >>>> and at the 20 mile mark the gen light came on. Car contined to run fine. >>>> Got to my destination and picked up a play script and got back in the car >>>> to make the 22 mile trip back home. Gen light stayed on the whole time. >>>> FYI, I did notice left and right turn signals were flashing very rapidly >>>> when I put them on on way home. >>>> >>>> As I got close to home it did appear that headlights were getting >>>> dimmer. Made it home OK. Pulled in garage and left engine running to look >>>> at headlights. They did look dim. Shut engine off. Checked fan belt. It was >>>> intact and seemed to have plenty of tension. I connected my Harbor Freight >>>> trickle charger to battery and left it on over night. It is still charging >>>> this am. If I do start car this am, headlights seem fine and there is no >>>> gen light on. >>>> >>>> IIRC, the last time I made his same length trip, the same thing >>>> happened. >>>> >>>> Why would I have gen light issues on a 20 mile trip at 65 mph when I >>>> never see that around town? >>>> >>>> Would a 30 or 35 minute trip cause a gen problem that a 10 minute trip >>>> around town might not? >>>> >>>> I guess what I am saying is no gen light occurrences on numerous local >>>> trips but 2 consecutive light issues on 30 min trip up interstate. >>>> >>>> I'd welcome your thoughts as this makes me wary of taking an road trips >>>> in the Bug. >>>> >>>> If I didn't give enough info on symptoms please let me know as I do >>>> need some help. >>>> >>>> Thanks Mike Morehouse in Alabama >>>> >>> -- >>> Visit the VintagVW archives at >>> http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] >>> --- >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>> Groups "VintagVW - Air Cooled Volkswagen Discussion List" group. >>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>> an email to [email protected]. >>> To post to this group, send email to <[email protected]> >>> [email protected]. >>> Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/vintagvw. >>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >>> >> -- > Visit the VintagVW archives at > http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "VintagVW - Air Cooled Volkswagen Discussion List" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/vintagvw. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > > > -- > Visit the VintagVW archives at > http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "VintagVW - Air Cooled Volkswagen Discussion List" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/vintagvw. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > -- Visit the VintagVW archives at http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "VintagVW - Air Cooled Volkswagen Discussion List" group. 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