Very Hot Voltage Regulator.

[JimmyMac]

OK folks....I have a good one here. Correct me if I am wrong, but an idleing Gator should have a voltage regulator that you can touch.....RIGHT? I'm talking about all lights off and all accessories disconnected/isolated and a known good battery...cool...even warm maybe, but in the first five min, there is no way it should be burning hot. RIGHT?? Solid State electronics do not like voltage spikes, vibration and especially HEAT.
1155
If you are seeing 155 Degrees F, then I got that picture to upload. That's right, 155. Now I am not a Deere tech, nor am I a Kawasaki tech, but Thats got to be too hot.

Soooo...if you are still here reading this then I guess you'll hang around for a bit so here goes.....

Once upon a time, there was a happy little gator in a muddy traill far, far away in the Florida Swamp, with a happy family and some happy Dogs...... ok ok, I'll knock it off.

Gator dies, battery dead. New battery installed, meter on battery, 14.2 at idle. Gator dies again within an hour, no charge condition. I figure that muddy hole I was just stuck in killed the stator, rotor or both, so I order all new stuff.. Go to pull the stator, need a puller so I figure, well I'll test it. three wire system, must be three phase right? so I test them....Like I would a bike...
-each wire to ground. "OL" Cool not shorted to ground.
-wires 1 to 2, then 1-3, then 2-3 are tested, resistance at 2 "point somthing close to each other" ohms. Also good. (I think)
-AC Output, 1 to 2, 1 to 3, 2 to 3 are tested and they are all 20 somthing VAC at idle and 40 something VAC at about 1/2 the RPM range.
So far Looks like the Stator is Good to Go.

replace the Volt Reg, fire it up and...charges great. 14.2, but then I notice the Volt Regulator is super hot so I shut it off. Normally if its hot but charging, there is a lot of load, or a lot of resistance somewhere in the power side of the system.....if its hot and OVERcharging, then I'd be looking for high restiance in the ground side of things.... ( At least this is what I'm thinking). So I perform a voltage drop on the positive side of the regulator and the other lead to the battery...while running and connected, it's 0.2 somthing volts... (anything over 1VDC is Badd MMMKayy) That tells me the "hot" wire from the reg to the battery is not broken or poorly connected..(right) Next i do the same on the ground side...It reading was like 0.02 something, telling me good ground as well. So far everything looks good. (at least to me)

Now here is where I can't figure this one out....there is a third wire comming out of the regulator, it's yellow. It has hardly any resistance to ground .05 (they are connected) with the key off..however, with the key on, it reads battery voltage. (So, key off grounded, key on, battery voltage present) This must be the short that is loading the battery right!!?? So I disconnect the black harness from the regulator andrun the engine to verify a cooler running regulator and.....155 degrees again with only the stator connected to it. At this point, I re-test the stator to check it while its hot (sometimes insulation breakdown occurs only when hot) Guess what, its fine. passed my tests anyway. So I scratched my head for a bit and decided to have some others look at the challenge I have in front of me.... pluss I have a 4:00am wake up so I needed to leave the shed.... and I wanted an excuse to post a pic. :BG:

Does anyone kmow what that yellow wire comming out of the regulators black connector is for?
What temp does your regulators run with no load except for the engine? (Probably should have asked this first huh? I could be chasing my ever lovin tail!)

Mac...

[JimmyMac]

OK. 69 views and we are still at a loss.

Will someone please just fire up their Gator...wait about five min with it idleing....then lift the bed and see if they can keep their hand on their regulator?

PLEEEEASE?

It's on the inside frame rail, passenger side, under the bed....It has big fins on it. If you can't touch it for more then a few seconds, I'm good and we can enjoy our toy!

Thank you Thank you Thank you!!!

Mac

[denisf]

I will as soon as mine comes in......Due date is Tuesday tho !

[JimmyMac]

Today is Gator Eve! I bet you can't sleep a wink tonight...

[JimmyMac]

This Gator has no place for my cooler......

1160

Can someone please just check the temp of their voltage regulator for me? Just put your hand on it.... tell me how hot it feels.

That one little thing will help out so much.

Mac

[JimmyMac]

A week later and over 230 views....still no help.

......really?

[GATORDONE]

Jimmy, What model and year is it?

[JimmyMac]

It's an 07 620i.

Vin# M0XUVGT011043.

Thanks GD..

[denisf]

Jimmy, I'm getting mine today. I'll take a reading as soon as I can.

[RMOSSSO1]

Jimmy:

I have a 825i and I do not think it is the same as what you have. The 825i is a Chinese engine, as I understand, and thus the reason for lack of responses. Seems most of the posts I read are for the newer 825i and 625i. Different engine, probably different electrical systems. Am I wrong?

Good luck with some help.
Rich

[JimmyMac]

Thanks denisf...congrats! Your gonna love it!

Rich,
Good point.. I guess It's hard to think about the 620's after being exposed to the 825's. What an amazing piece of equipment. I defanatly have one on the list...

The 620i is a Kawasaki Mule engine. So is the charging system. The CVT set up, however, is not. I think it's all JD. I just replaced my entire CVT set up, and all came in JD boxes. I have a complete step by step "how to" with detailed pictures that I took while replacing it.. Even how to make the clutch puller. I'm going to build a thread on that as soon as we get home from the keys.. I haven't researched the engine on the 825 but you are right, they are different....

Thanks so much for the replys. I truly appreciate the help.

[JimmyMac]

Update. Thanks to the folks at Everglades Farm Equipment, who were nice enough to talk even on their lunch break, our voltage regulators are supposed to run rather hot. To hot to keep your hand on hot. Yup that hot. Was on out way back from the Keys and stopped for fuel passing their dealership. Decided to stop and ask a tech. Our local JD focuses on construction, so an AGG was a nice visit. They had several gators too. Nice people, very helpful. Thanks again to all that tried and especially the folks at Everglades Farm Equipment!

[r1cobb]

UPDATE to Post--Done: "I am in the middle of debuging my Gator 620i as well. Simular traits as well: Gator stops running on a good battery. Circling the wagon on several post and a discussion with a ex-Deer mechanic.

i have called my local Deere shop trying to identify the AC voltage expected from the charging coil in the engine. It was almost like they did not understand the question and kept giving the output voltage from the regulator. You post gives me a value and range to compare. (i have to check my unit first)

There are three wires leaving the regulator: Red, Black, and Yellow. Hear is my guess ( i will check this weekend). The red is positive voltage for charging. The Black for ground. The yellow is the comparative voltage used by the regulator: it uses the voltage in determining how much to output. [From: http://www.johndeeregatorforum.com/forum/showthread.php?11606-voltage-regulator-with-alternator]

From the discussion with the mechanic, he first comment was to check for a short in the wiring bundle from the cab to the regulator. i am going to guess it is related to tracing the yellow wire. if the comparative voltage is gone, the regulator will try to over drive unless it pick up a short value that tells it not to output.

History: i have replaced the regulator within the last 4 months, and on a larger battery replaced a couple of months ago.

i may use a third option: add the optional alternator (it may bypass some of the wiring problems)."

Results of Troubleshooting: Traced the yellow wire through the wiring bundle to a small dead end near the battery bundle.

Then jumped to the fuse panel: removed the panel and cleaned the trash from the back of the panel on the firewall (it was collecting a small bird nest). Cleaned the small contact crust from the fuses with a Dremel tool brush. I also applied Kroel lubricant to the contact areas.

Than jumped to the Ignition Switch: Found the yellow wire! Performed an ohm check to the plug on the regulator. The plug and switch had a lot of hard dielectric grease that had harden. Cleaned with Dremel tool and reassembled (applied Kroel)

With the cleaning, the unit is working ok. My has been charging and running fine. I got the CD service manual a week after locating the bad contacts and the yellow wire is can be traced to power on connection on the back of the switch and supplies to power to other items as well. With most manufactures and electrical tech, you should reapply the dielectric grease to provide an environmental seal to the contacts.