FrankenCub charging issue...Briggs Intek 21

[olscout99]

Thanks in advance for reading... First I'll give a rundown of what I'm dealing with. Neighbor lunched the Kohler Scourge in his CC 1042, rather than fix it he gave it to me. I found a good running 21 hp Intek V twin in a Troy Bilt Super Bronco cheaper than I could find a used engine alone. About the same time another buddy donated a non running CC 1022 to the cause. This had a 22 hp ELS V twin that ran but not well. Since the Troy Bilt had a manual PTO, it had the small dual voltage stator which wasn't going to work with the CC electric PTO. I swapped the stator and regulator from the ELS to the Intek. Got everything hooked up and running, and it's running on battery voltage only. I read up on the troubleshooting process for the alternators and regulators, and checked the Briggs ID chart which indicated I have the 16 amp regulated alternator. I did not use the ELS flywheel, because comparing the two side by side the size and number of magnets were the same. I checked for AC output to the regulator, specs say 30v minimum, I had a little over 32 volts. I checked DC voltage at the regulator output wire and got 14.2 v DC. So apparently everything checks out.
I proceeded to do more testing at different points in the wiring, at the DC plug where it plugs into the engine harness I was getting 13.12 volts. Tracing the wires, the wires it connected to on the tractor were battery voltage with the key on, engine not running, so I'm assuming it should charge through those wires. But with engine running and wires connected, battery voltage. I ran a direct jumper wire from the alternator output to the battery positive, figuring to bypass any wiring issues in the tractor itself....battery voltage. So basically it looks like with no load, the alternator is making 14v, wiring losses drop it to the low 13v level but connecting the battery drops voltage to battery voltage.

I just ordered a new regulator, thinking that maybe it's not regulating amps, plus it was cheap. But I'm open to any ideas anyone has what might be the issue. Thanks!

 

[olscout99]

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.

 

[Forest#2]

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.

 

[olscout99]

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....

 

[StarTech]

Are you sure the voltage regulator is grounded?

 

[Rivets]

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

 

[olscout99]

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.

 

[olscout99]

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/

 

[Rivets]

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

 

[olscout99]

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

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.