voltage regulator

Burk62450

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ok i have a 2020 troy bilt super bronco. starts and runs fine for three wees, one day a week starting and running high idle or mowing for 1-2hrs. on the fourth week like clockwork the mower will not start it will only click. jumped mower and runs fine. used meter and tested -batt to -cable and showing 0.05 draw. only switch or electrical component that will kill the draw is disconecting the voltage reg. ordered new regulator from troy bilt and issue still there with 2 differant new regulators. the mower has done this since it was sent from factory. and i cannot find any other issue. also battery is still testing good, charing system is showing 13.8-14 while running so should deffinately be charging just fine. anyone know of something im missing or problems troy bilt may be having with their regulators. thanks for any help
 

Born2Mow

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• Have you had the battery "load tested" ? That's the only way to pronounce a battery "good".
• "Battery Charge" consists of Voltage and Current. You can charge at 14V, but be at nearly zero current. More meter readings needed.
 

Rivets

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First of all, since this is a 2020 unit I would not be playing with it, as it should still be under warranty. That being said, if you still want to fool around with it I would check the following. First, you must check that the battery cables are clean and tight on both ends. Particularly the ground cable where it attaches to the frame or engine. Second, I would take a battery voltage reading the next time you finish cutting. The next time you cut, take another voltage reading before starating the unit. The readings shoI’ld be within .5 V of each other. If they are not and the engine will not start without jumping, take another battery voltage reading when you finish cutting. This time, disconnect the negative cable while storing. Next time you use it, take another voltage reading and if the battery is low you have a bad battery. If the voltage is good and the engine starts, you probably have a battery draw some where and we’ll have to give you more in-depth instructions as to how to proceed. When you post post back include all engine numbers so we know what you are dealing with. Again I suggest letting a dealer go through the electrical troubleshooting if it is under warranty.
 

bertsmobile1

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Not specific to your problem , but hope it will help you to understand what is happening.
The only difference electrically between an electric motor and an alternator is the position of the magnets & coils to each other.
So when turned off the alternator will try to become an electric motor powered by the battery.
This is why unregulated systems use the ignition key to isolate the battery from the alternator.
To prevent this happening, regulated systems have a diode in the power feed to the battery to prevent backfeeding from the battery
A lot of regulator rectifiers have a small current draw when the engine is turned off but that is in the milli amp range and a good battery will feed them for nearly a year without going flat.
 

JethTran

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Hi....your battery post to post is 12 volts right?
Ground meter dark lead to neg post on battery. Red lead on red wire going to battery key on. Ought to be battery voltage.
Take red lead red wire going into vr motor wot ought to charge voltage.

https://www.7pcb.com/
 
Last edited:

Born2Mow

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Hi....your battery post to post is 12 volts right?
Ground meter dark lead to neg post on battery. Red lead on red wire going to battery key on. Ought to be battery voltage.
Take red lead red wire going into vr motor wot ought to charge voltage.
Sorry, but this information is not true.

First... A "12V battery" is 12 volts in name only. Really good ones are up around ~12.8V, and the thing is useless by the time you get down to ~12.2 volts. So if you see a 12V battery with only 12.0V, get ready to drive down and get a new one.

Secondly... due to the chemical nature of a battery, you need to go through some shenanigans to bleed off the "surface charge" in order to read the REAL voltage. Those would be very hard to accomplish at home with a simple meter reading.

Hope this helps.
 
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