how do i test for a dead regulator? UPDATE

my battery isnt charging and im pretty sure its the regulator.

everything is hooked up as it was. all the wiring is good ive double checked it. but still red light on.

the current coming out of the genny on ACV on the multi meter is good.

before i buy a new one though how do i check for sure that its the regulator?

Nicko

take the cover off and see if it is kicking in,there should be a set of contact points that close up to make it charge

can i take the cover off safely while the engine is running?

Nick, I may have a spare one if you need it?
Barry

take it off before starting and the points can be cleaned just like the dissy points

Gen voltage should be 15v dc. You cant check charge current on acv. Best way is to test the generator by motoring it without the fan belt on. There are detailed instructions in most Scientific or Haynes manuals. If it motors correctly and has good output voltage, the reg is the prob. Cleaning the points may help, but charge voltage must be reset to no higher than 14.4v [12 v system] [7.2 v, 6 v system] by adjusting [bending] the spring tension on the voltage points [the ones near the smaller wired coil].
Be carefull, dont close the current coil points , you short the battery to earth effectively which can burn your car down easily!

take the belt off how would the genny do anything

thanks barry ill check out the points first though.

so on the multimeter on DCV at what revv range should it read 15v?

A generator is a motor, just driven by a belt to make it produce electricity instead of the other way around. By changing the wiring around and removing the belt, you can motor the generator to,A ; test it and/or, B; Restore the magnetic fields in poles. If a gen has sat for a long time the magnets can become so weak they dont produce any electricity, but motoring it will restore the residual magnetism required for the generator to work.

Now an alternator............... thats a diferent story...

ok so i cleaned the points in the regulator which were quite dirty.

and i found that one of the genny brushes had become disconected from its connector wire. so i replaced the brush with a good one and now the genny light comes on only faintly and the genny makes a squealing sort of bearing noise. it had been making this noise before but not normally as bad and it stopped about the same time as it stopped charging.

can anyone explain this?

bump

ok just went out this morning and fiddled a bit more.

the genny light is staying off now(although i forgot to check the charge at the battery) and the squealing hum noise seems to go away when u reach about 2000 revs but is noticable before then.

bearing on the way out but did it make a noise before you fitted the brush

wel yeah it had been making a noise a cpl of weeks ago and i thought bearings but the noise stopped when the genny stopped charging and has now come back since the new brush and its charging again.

is it possible the strain of charging is putting more strain on the bearings? isthat possible?

It is possible. Wen the genny is spinning but electrically not doing anything it is practically freewheeling. When it's trying to push power into the system there is more load. The more current being drawn by the car, the more loaded it is and the harder it has to work. More load means more pressure on the bearings.