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  1. #1

    450 not charging

    I noticed my lights were a little dim so I put a volt meter on the battery & found out it's not charging. I was wondering if you can bypass the regulator to check the stator the way you can on older cars or will that mess something up? Also, are ther any common problems to look out for? Thanks for the help.

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  3. #2
    Most Senior member SteveS's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by alc View Post
    I noticed my lights were a little dim so I put a volt meter on the battery & found out it's not charging. I was wondering if you can bypass the regulator to check the stator the way you can on older cars or will that mess something up? Also, are ther any common problems to look out for? Thanks for the help.
    You will want to unhook the white wire harness plug from the R/R and then measure the AC voltages on the plug on the harness with the engine running. If it is around 20 VAC or better then your stator has the appropriate output. If you measure very low then do it again at the disconnect down on the bellypan (by where the wires cone out of the engine case) to make sure that it is not that connector causing the grief. Also check for continuity to ground on the white wires with the connector disconnected from the R/R. That should measure infinite ("Overload" on most digital ohmmeters). If it measures a low resistance then one or more of the coils within is shorted to ground and the stator will not work.

    Here is an old thread from the original HotRod site that goes into this subject in more detail:
    http://hotrodrhinoforums.forumotion....rical-problems
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    http://i723.photobucket.com/albums/ww240/supallas/SteveSJBS%2048w_zpsg8cskcue.jpg ...... 2004 660 Camo, "Rhino". And now, also a Wolverine X4. "Wolfy".
    |___________________________________
    | Two roads diverged in a wood,
    | I took the one less traveled by....
    | Oh, Oh .

    | .............
    | ...............
    | ............... #
    |___________________________________

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  5. #3
    Thanks Steve, Hopefully I'll get the chance to check it out tonight. Gotta say though, not too bad... First breakdown ever with the rhino!

  6. #4
    Okay, so I checked out the stator a little while ago. First I checked voltage at the battery, 12.1v not running/12v running. While running I unpluged the regulator & checked voltage between terminals,18-20v idling/28-30v above idle. When I plugged it back in it started charging 13.6v. I rode around for a few minutes & you can tell by the headlights it charges & stops charging randomly.Now I'm thinking bad regulator.(I hope so... it's a lot cheaper than a stator)

  7. #5
    Most Senior member SteveS's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by alc View Post
    Okay, so I checked out the stator a little while ago. First I checked voltage at the battery, 12.1v not running/12v running. While running I unpluged the regulator & checked voltage between terminals,18-20v idling/28-30v above idle. When I plugged it back in it started charging 13.6v. I rode around for a few minutes & you can tell by the headlights it charges & stops charging randomly.Now I'm thinking bad regulator.(I hope so... it's a lot cheaper than a stator)
    Since it started working, by your description, when you plugged it back in, it seems likely that it was a poor connection. There is a good chance that there is nothing wrong with the regulator. Unplug and re-plug the connector(s) a number of times to try to burnish the contacts a bit. This may scrape any corrosion off of the contacts. Use the machine with an eye out on the charging voltage when you are running it. If it happens again, you may want to clean the contacts with an electronics grade contact cleaner which will leave an oily film to help prevent further corrosion down the road. Only then, would you want to point your finger at the regulator and say "Bad Dog!". :-)

    Your 13.6 Volt reading seems reasonable as the battery is on the weak side to begin with. That would mean that the charging voltage is being drawn down a bit by the current flow to recharge the battery. 12.7 volts is nominal for a fully charged battery that has been at rest for a good while. 12.0 Volts is a half discharged battery as a rule of thumb.
    ____________________________________
    http://i723.photobucket.com/albums/ww240/supallas/SteveSJBS%2048w_zpsg8cskcue.jpg ...... 2004 660 Camo, "Rhino". And now, also a Wolverine X4. "Wolfy".
    |___________________________________
    | Two roads diverged in a wood,
    | I took the one less traveled by....
    | Oh, Oh .

    | .............
    | ...............
    | ............... #
    |___________________________________

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  9. #6
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    Well now I know who to reach out to when I have an electrical problem. You da man Steve!!!

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  11. #7
    Most Senior member SteveS's Avatar
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    BTW, just as aside: Long ago I made a test cable for my multimeter to make battery charging measurements quick and easy. I made a cigarette lighter cable by wiring a lighter receptacle plug to a couple of banana plugs that go into the multimeter. I use it on all of my vehicles if I want to check battery state of charge or charging voltage. No need to even open the hood.
    ____________________________________
    http://i723.photobucket.com/albums/ww240/supallas/SteveSJBS%2048w_zpsg8cskcue.jpg ...... 2004 660 Camo, "Rhino". And now, also a Wolverine X4. "Wolfy".
    |___________________________________
    | Two roads diverged in a wood,
    | I took the one less traveled by....
    | Oh, Oh .

    | .............
    | ...............
    | ............... #
    |___________________________________

  12. #8
    Back in business!!! I put on a new regulator this afternoon & rode around for about 2 hours everything working great. Even though I haven't had a chance to ride since last Sunday, just knowing I couldn't was driving me crazy.

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  14. #9
    Most Senior member SteveS's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by alc View Post
    Back in business!!! I put on a new regulator this afternoon & rode around for about 2 hours everything working great. Even though I haven't had a chance to ride since last Sunday, just knowing I couldn't was driving me crazy.
    Excellent!
    ____________________________________
    http://i723.photobucket.com/albums/ww240/supallas/SteveSJBS%2048w_zpsg8cskcue.jpg ...... 2004 660 Camo, "Rhino". And now, also a Wolverine X4. "Wolfy".
    |___________________________________
    | Two roads diverged in a wood,
    | I took the one less traveled by....
    | Oh, Oh .

    | .............
    | ...............
    | ............... #
    |___________________________________

  15. #10
    Super Moderator Yotehunter66's Avatar
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    We need to get you to do some electrical vids Steve. You're not camera shy are you? That would be an awesome video.
    Commander 1000
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