Colt Case Ingersoll Garden Tractors

Hello,

I just rebuilt my starter generator. I also installed a new battery. I made sure the new battery had a full charge before using it to clear snow today.

Tractor worked great for about 5 minutes, then the generator light came on when I increased the rpm’s because of heavy snow. The light remained on when the rpm’s were lowered.

I’ve found some good info from Eugen on testing the regulator that I will follow.

Should I have polarized the regulator/generator after the rebuild? I read somewhere that it wasn’t necessary, but this light has me thinking that it might be.

I would appreciate any thoughts you might have.

Thank you


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Findwaldo, yes with a starter generator you do not need to polarize. I found my generator light was coming on and staying on no matter what rpm. So I purchased a new regulator and it still came on. So I installed a ammeter and it reads charge when the engine is running. I have no idea why the light always came on. Harry

You don't say what model year GT you have but on the later 3 digit models there is a voltage sensor (C30265) that is known to fail over time. When this happens the light will remain on even though the GT is charging OK.

That would have been helpful, sorry all.

This is a 1975ish 444

Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk

@findwaldo Welcome to the site . Check where the bracket fastens to the block for good clean ground . Check the with a meter at the battery to verify low voltage . If after following Eugens test you still have low output pull the S/G and check the brushes . I had one that drove me nuts after rebuilding . Finally found one of the new brushes , the braided wire was loose in the carbon block . Manufacturers defect .

I charged the battery back up with an external charger. Started it up and the light went out. Used the tractor for about 5 minutes and the light came on. With the tractor running, I tested the voltage at the battery and it was indeed low (12.4). Then I put the positive probe on the "A" terminal of the generator to see if it was put volts out and if it was I was going to suspect the regulator. However I only got 1-2 volts, so if my workflow is correct, I believe I have a problem with the generator...

Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk

hey @findwaldo welcome to the site!

not sure I can help, but let us know what troubleshooting you do and what you notice and I'm sure the problem will be fixed.

findwaldo wrote: ↑Mon Jan 29, 2024 4:00 pm I charged the battery back up with an external charger. Started it up and the light went out. Used the tractor for about 5 minutes and the light came on. With the tractor running, I tested the voltage at the battery and it was indeed low (12.4). Then I put the positive probe on the "A" terminal of the generator to see if it was put volts out and if it was I was going to suspect the regulator. However I only got 1-2 volts, so if my workflow is correct, I believe I have a problem with the generator...

Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk

Were you getting power to the "F" field terminal ?? If not go to regulator , if yes go to generator .

Edit .. After rereading this I realized I did not explain myself properly . "power" should have been ground and when I check it I put + of meter to "A" terminal and - of meter to to "F" terminal . It is a quick check . Bobs diag. tree is the correct way to do it .

I didn’t test voltage at the F terminal.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Just a guess here. But can the regulator cover be taken off. Maybe clean the points in the regulator. Some had an adjustment for voltage settings.


Noel

What was hiding under the cover of the regulator on my Case 195
I also had the generator light blues... Putting in a new regulator fixed the light and put a on my face

findwaldo wrote: ↑Mon Jan 29, 2024 5:05 pm I didn’t test voltage at the F terminal.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I don't usually bother to check voltage at the "F" terminal. The regulator varies the resistance between the "F" terminal (field winding) and ground. Open and there is no charge, zero resistance= full charge, some resistance gives a charge rate somewhere in between.

The easiest way to determine whether you have a generator or a regulator problem is to follow these steps:

1) Check battery voltage with engine off and note the value.

2) Start the engine and again check voltage at mid to 3/4 throttle. You should see and increase if the charging system is functioning, if not there is a problem.

3) Next, with the engine again running at 1/2-3/4 throttle, momentarily ground the "F" terminal either with a jumper wire or simply by shorting the terminal to the case of the generator with a screwdriver. This puts the generator into full charge mode. If it is capable of producing output, the generator light will go out, if you have an ammeter you will see full charge, usually 15 amps with a Delco Remy starter/generator.

A) No change in the gen light or ammeter, you have a generator problem

B) If you see full charge by voltmeter at the battery, gen light goes out or ammeter pegs itself you have a good generator and a bad regulator.

Hope this helps,

Bob

Thanks @myerslawnandgarden - That is a really useful step by step troubleshooting list...
I think I'll be that into one of my manuals so I don't forget!
Gerry

Yes thanks Bob. I too will note this explanation and save it. I use to be able to remember information like this but not any more. I need to keep notes for future reference. Thanks again Bob. Harry

Thank you, Bob for your troubleshooting steps. I finally had some time today to tackle this.

The battery voltage to start was 12.79 started the tractor and saw no increase in voltage. I then went on to step 3 and tried grounding the F terminal … no change. So, this points to a generator problem.

I started to reference a post I saw on this page:

https://simpletractors.com/forums/topic ... rator-bad/

3rd post down by Maxwood. Very informative.

I started following Maxwood’s troubleshooting when Bob’s showed the generator was bad.

I went to step 2 got a resistance reading of 7.8-7.9. Low but okay.

Step 3 looked okay

Step 4 I didn’t have a 0 ohms, so no shorted armature. So I proceeded to blow out the commutator and windings.

I topped off my battery with a charger, and put it all back together to test.

I started the tractor and all looked good. No generator light. The battery was charging, around 14 volts. I put a positive meter lead on the Generator A terminal and the negative lead on the battery negative terminal. It looked like the generator was putting out 14-15 volts. It continued like this for about 5 minutes. I kept measuring throughout the 5 minutes and the voltage readings were consistent. Then the generator light turned on. I measure the generator A to negative battery and was getting 1-2 volts. Battery voltage was 12 something … not charging.

It seems really odd to me that it’s working great one minute, and then it’s like a switch flips and the generator goes from putting out 15 volts to 1-2 volts. At this point I tried grounding the F terminal again, but no change in voltage. The way it’s acting makes me think regulator, but because grounding the F terminal does nothing, it must be something glitchy on the generator…


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

If grounding the "F" terminal after the no-charge indication and there was no change, there is a problem with the generator. Sounds like it works sometimes and then not.

I think that I would return it to the rebuilder for testing.

Bob