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One other thing to add, I did compare the wiring from the old Courage to the Intek 21, and wiring is basically the same. Main 12v lead is the same, lights are the same, and the tractor starts and shuts off with the key and all safeties are functional, so what I originally assumed was a wiring problem (different pin layout) doesn't appear to be so.

If the regulator does not fix your issue you might think about reading the charge amps instead of voltage.
You can find a 15-0-15 or 20-0-20 ammeter for less than $20 and temporary install in the battery charge or regulator output wire going to the battery.
Look on fleece bay under something like lawn tractor ammeter or tractor dash ammeter.

Well, the regulator didn't fix anything. Still just battery voltage. I do have a clamp on ammeter, and it's reading a solid .07 amps. So, I guess I'm at the stator now. Before I throw more parts and money at it, I'm going to swap the flywheel for the one the stator was originally matched with on the ELS 22hp. I guess it's possible that even though they looked the same, there might be a difference in the magnets or something. Just ran the engine for half an hour or so, so it's a little too hot to work on right now. Tomorrow I'll get it swapped out and cross my fingers....

Are you sure the voltage regulator is grounded?

This manual may be of some help. https://www.briggsandstratton.com/c...a/en_us/Files/FAQs/alternator_replacement.pdf

Star Tech, it's mounted to the steel side cover of the engine which is bolted to the engine. I can run a separate ground wire directly to the battery no problem. But I figured when the original regulator was showing over 14v on the output, that that indicated it was working. It seems as though it's more of an amp problem than a volt problem if that makes sense....with the engine at high rpm, the battery voltage never increased, in fact it slowly dropped over about a 15 minute period.
The extra ground wire is something I'll do tomorrow before I swap the flywheel. I really don't think the flywheel will turn out to be the problem, but since everything has to come off to replace the stator anyway, I'll give it a try.
Rivets, thanks for the link, I'm about to dig in now.

https://www.tractorforum.com/


Well, I tore into it this morning. First thing was checking voltage drop at the 12v wire at the regulator. Battery voltage, 13.2, voltage at the regulator plug, 12.74 which I think is probably acceptable. In response to a suggestion here, I ran a dedicated ground wire to the regulator... No change. I checked DC amps output with my clamp on meter, .5 amps, not quite 10-16.
So, I was at the point then of pulling the flywheel. This is where "true confessions" begin, I was on autopilot putting this thing together because I was convinced it was a piece of cake. I know better, but it got me in a couple of ways. Confession#1, I noticed that the engine was kind of hard starting but didn't know why. When I pulled the shroud off, one coil has an air gap of about the thickness of a sheet of typing paper....the other a gap the size of thick cardboard. Gotta fix that when it goes back together....
Confession #2, when I got the flywheel off, it is different from the one from the donor ELS. Same number of magnets, but the ELS flywheel magnets are wider, longer and a tad thicker. Ooops.
But now I'm at the stator, and if I can get pics to load you'll see what I found. New stator on order, going to use ELS flywheel, and properly adjust air gaps and we'll see where we are. I can't say the stator was like this when I pulled it, but I suspect it was, another black mark on me. I'm far from a newbie working on stuff, but I guess the over confident, under paying attention germ got me.

1. 
   
   
   https://www.tractorforum.com/attachments/img_20231109_133604043-jpg.89744/
   https://www.tractorforum.com/attachments/img_20231109_133610852-jpg.89745/
   https://www.tractorforum.com/attachments/img_20231109_133615184-jpg.89746/
   https://www.tractorforum.com/attachments/img_20231109_123741551-jpg.89747/
   https://www.tractorforum.com/attachments/img_20231109_123738414-jpg.89748/

To me that stator looks fried. Did you go through the the troubleshooting procedure described in the manual I posted?

Rivets said:

To me that stator looks fried. Did you go through the the troubleshooting procedure described in the manual I posted?

Click to expand...

Yes, but basically Briggs eliminates the stator from being bad if it's making enough voltage (in this case, 30v AC or better). Mine was making 32v AC, but with the obvious burning I doubt it was making any amperage. New coil will be here tomorrow, have some running to do but if I get home in time to get it put together we'll find out for sure.

olscout99 said:

Well, the regulator didn't fix anything. Still just battery voltage. I do have a clamp on ammeter, and it's reading a solid .07 amps. So, I guess I'm at the stator now. Before I throw more parts and money at it, I'm going to swap the flywheel for the one the stator was originally matched with on the ELS 22hp. I guess it's possible that even though they looked the same, there might be a difference in the magnets or something. Just ran the engine for half an hour or so, so it's a little too hot to work on right now. Tomorrow I'll get it swapped out and cross my fingers....

Click to expand...

Just Drive it! Boosting from a running vehicle engine can burn out a Stator.

That stator is burned bad,
You better make sure that the replacement is not overloaded or it will happen again.
Appears you tried a new replacement regulator and still same symptoms of no charge.
I would install a fuse in the regulator output B+ wire until I confirmed it going to be Ok. (not overloaded)

You say you have a clamp on ammeter. Most clamp on ammeters do not read high DC amps which is what you need to read instead of voltage readings. They are for high AC amps.
If the ammeter does not read around 10 DC amps as a clamp on you can get a 20-0-20 DC ammeter for less than $20.

Give us a good report back after you get the flywheel off (sometimes they refuse to come off easily) and the stator replaced.

Flywheel is off, stator replaced. For good measure coils cleaned up and tested. But I'm stalled for lack of a flywheel key. New ones supposed to get here today, so hopefully I'll have news by this evening. Normally I have a couple of keys on hand, but of course not when I really needed one.....

Hopefully your problems are solved. Lots of good advice here. Proceed carefully. Electricity is Fast!

IT LIVES! The new stator did the trick. Just over 14v once it settles in after starting. Apparently the stator was my issue all along. Now I can conclusively say, even if your stator is outputting the required AC voltage, it can still be bad and cause a no charging problem. Thanks to everyone for their suggestions, I've learned a few things I didn't know and have a few more resources now if I have problems in the future.

Well Done Sir. I try to do a good deed and learn something every day. Doesn't always happen but averages out. Check your Oil, clean out your Wallet and buy Wife/GF flowers. Helps your daily odds.