charge light on all the time

[JayGoss]

Recently had some work on my Series II (with generator/voltage regulator/positive earth- original setup). I noticed the ammeter pegged at the top of the gauge while running. After running for a while the ammeter returned to the neutral location and the charge light came on- and remains on now as soon as the key is turned to the on position prior to starting- and regardless of engine speed when running. I noticed the mechanic had swapped the yellow and yellow/green wires at the voltage regulator. I reconnected the voltage regulator according to the wiring schematic in my rover manual. Now the ammeter seems to work (remains in the neutral position- then dips down when electrical accessories are turned on, etc) but the charge light won't go out. In addition the generator is making a slight whistling noise as if the bearing is worn (not sure if this is a related issue- but it occurred in conjunction with the charge light issue). The voltage regulator and wiring harness are brand new- and the generator is a newly rebuilt unit. Wondering if the wiring mistake fried the regulator or generator? Any ideas/help/wisdom would be appreciated.

[east high]

IIRC that light flips on when a charge isn't detected, so perhaps there's something amiss with the wire that runs that signal to the light? A broken or disconnected connection.

[kevkon]

Wondering if the wiring mistake fried the regulator or generator? Any ideas/help/wisdom would be appreciated.

I doubt your gen or reg is "fried". Sounds like a common grounding issue that can happen , specially when getting mixed up with the pos. ground system. Use a multimeter to check voltage output at the gen. Then use it to check continuity on the lines in question.

[JayGoss]

thanks folks. Will check voltage at the gen and if that's good start going through system. I was incorrect when I mentioned it was positive ground- realized it has been converted to negative earth (battery neg goes to ground strap, ign coil wires reversed, ammeter wires reversed, etc). Spoke w/mechanic this am- he's rush shipping a new generator for the weekend in case it is fried; nice guy- he knows he made a mistake and is taking action to correct....not something you'd typically experience at the Toyota dealer!

[KSMTAW]

If I remeber correctly (its been about 10 years) when I put in my new generator, I had to poalrize it. It came with a little sheet of paper that told me how to do it.

You had to tell it to be positive or negative ground.

I think you had to touch one of the terminals to the positive post for certain amount of time (30 seconds or so)

Can anyone else refresh me/ or him on this?

Thanks-
Todd

[thixon]

Can anyone else refresh me/ or him on this?

Thanks-
Todd

http://www.lrfaq.org/Series/FAQ.S.elec_positive_ground.html

See step 6:thumb-up:

[JayGoss]

Well thanks for the replies folks. Turns out the generator was blown- that's what happens when you swap the yellow and yellow/green wires at the voltage regulator! Replaced with new generator from host and all is well. Only issue now is the generator doesn't appear to be a Lucas- either that or it has a different design. One of the leads is on the top of the generator now (instead of both being behind) which places the wire about 2-3" away from the hot exhaust manifold. I can't see that connection being reliable for very long. Anyone have any experience with this new style? Hoping someone out there has a generator with the connection in the same location that has some miles on it & can report that the location isn't an issue.

[JayGoss]

Here are a couple of thmbs of the generator connection location. Whadyafink?

[scott]

can you rotate the gen 180 degrees? put the connector underneath if you're concerned w/ the heat

[JayGoss]

can you rotate the gen 180 degrees? put the connector underneath if you're concerned w/ the heat


Not sure- but a good thought. I would have to dismantle the back plate of the generator and rotate that 180 degrees to get the mounting points in their correct locations- will take a look and see if it's possible. Hopefully my concerns are unwarranted, the connector is far enough away from the header and I'm just being paranoid....