Posted by Sherman in Idaho [24.32.202.166] on Sunday, April 07, 2013 at 14:13:36 :
In Reply to: 6 volt posted by mark from mass [98.217.11.91] on Sunday, April 07, 2013 at 09:14:31 :
It's not really clear what you're trying to do. If you're trying to diagnose a non-working charging system, I could try to explain it all here, but you'd be better off to find someone nearby who understands electricity who can walk you through the basic steps. It's really all very easy and straightforward, but because you're dealing with something you can't see (electricity) it seems mysterious to mechanics who are used to dealing with things they can see.
You will need a meter (the cheapest is adequate) and someone to show you how to use it. A good place to start is to take the cover off the (presumably mechanical) voltage regulator and see what happens when you manually open and close the various contacts. You will need to learn the meaning of amps and volts in intuitive terms, not just words, and you will need to learn that when it comes to electrical problems "divide and conquer" is much more economical and faster than the popular "shotgun approach". In the former, you split the system into pieces and isolate which half the problem is in (in this case, probably the generator versus the regulator, but could include the battery or wiring) and then narrow it down within that half. In the latter, you replace whatever you "think" might be the problem or somebody told you might be the problem, and continue doing that until you've replaced everything and/or run out of money.