Mike_eash 59 #1 Posted August 3, 2023 I have a charger 10 that I am restoring my first full restoration However my battery is not charging I tested ac volts from stater was around 25.3 volts However battery is only charging at around 12 Is this a stater problem or a regulater problem i read somewhere if stator is not putting out between 50 and 60 its likely bad Can someone give some insight I'm a newbie Thanks 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ebinmaine 67,454 #2 Posted August 3, 2023 Most Kohler single cylinder stators should put out around 35 Volts AC, give or take. This has to be tested above half throttle. Preferably full throttle. 3600 RPM. One of the most important things to remember is that these are DC systems. Direct Current. No ground equals no circuit. Bad ground equals bad readings. Be sure the engine is well grounded and connected to the battery ground. Be sure the Voltage Regulator is well grounded. 4 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gwest_ca-(File Mod) 11,041 #3 Posted August 3, 2023 Measure voltage across battery posts. Turn key to RUN position with the engine not running Measure voltage at the DC+ regulator terminal. Should be the same voltage. If it is not the same the charge current has no good path back to the battery. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rmaynard 15,436 #4 Posted August 3, 2023 Rarely does a stator go bad, but if you look in the Kohler manual, there are other stator tests that can be done. The Kohler manual can be downloaded from our manuals section of the forum. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ed Kennell 38,158 #5 Posted August 3, 2023 3 hours ago, ebinmaine said: Be sure the Voltage Regulator is well grounded. Remove the reg. and clean the back and the mounting surface to bare metal. 2 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rmaynard 15,436 #6 Posted August 3, 2023 Just a thought before we get too far, is this a 1969 or 1972 Charger 10? If it's a 1969 we are dealing with a Tecumseh HH100 engine vs. a Kohler K-241 on a 1972. The basic operation is the same, but details about testing the stator may differ. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ed Kennell 38,158 #7 Posted August 3, 2023 6 minutes ago, rmaynard said: If it's a 1969 we are dealing with a Tecumseh HH100 engine In his title Bob. It's a 10 HP Kohler. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gasaholic 224 #8 Posted August 3, 2023 9 hours ago, Mike_eash said: I have a charger 10 that I am restoring my first full restoration However my battery is not charging I tested ac volts from stater was around 25.3 volts How exactly was it tested? Was this test done with meter on AC volts and both probes connected to either wire from the stator? at 3600 RPM? If yes, then likely bad stator. If not, then test was done wrong. (Testing a wire from stator to ground, using AC volts, you're only getting half the AC wave, thus half the stator output - which is why you must test across the 2 wires to get a full AC wave reading.) 9 hours ago, Mike_eash said: However battery is only charging at around 12 Is this a stater problem or a regulater problem i read somewhere if stator is not putting out between 50 and 60 its likely bad Can someone give some insight I'm a newbie Thanks Remember you are converting AC volts to DC volts through the regulator, and this usually means the regulator (a more advanced rectifier) is going to be taking only one half of the AC sine wave (at it's simplest, typically the + side) and thus it is going to output half of the AC volts as DC volts. So, if you are truly getting 25V A.C. then it would stand to reason you're only seeing 12V DC Typically at full blast (on a low battery charge) the rectifier is going to regulate output to 14.8V so you want to see a bare minimum 28V AC volts @ 3600 RPM , more typically you'd see 35-42 volts AC (Note this is off the seat of my pants figures, my memory is not as good as it used to be, but I am very sure the minimum output from a good stator must be 28V AC volts at full throttle) 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mike_eash 59 #9 Posted August 3, 2023 Thanks for the input guys! To your point gasaholic the way I tested my stator was at full throttle using my battery - terminal as my ground point. I did have my meter turned to ac current I assume I tested it wrong since I used my battery as a ground point if I am understanding correctly. I will test again across both wires. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mike_eash 59 #10 Posted August 3, 2023 Hey gasaholic I tested my stator again across both wires it fluctuates between 29 and 30. Hey side note Could a bad battery cause a bad charge reading? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gwest_ca-(File Mod) 11,041 #11 Posted August 4, 2023 3 hours ago, Mike_eash said: Could a bad battery cause a bad charge reading? Sure can. One can not accurately diagnose a charging system with a defective battery. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ebinmaine 67,454 #12 Posted August 4, 2023 10 hours ago, Mike_eash said: Could a bad battery cause a bad charge reading? 7 hours ago, gwest_ca said: Sure can. One can not accurately diagnose a charging system with a defective battery. Yepp. Mike, that's why it's important to separate the circuits for testing. Isolate the issues from one another. Unplugging the engine from the harness keeps the meter reading specific to the engine output. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rmaynard 15,436 #13 Posted August 4, 2023 21 hours ago, Ed Kennell said: In his title Bob. It's a 10 HP Kohler. I'm going to have to stop responding at 3 in the morning 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
