16 HP Vanguard voltage regulator
 

I picked up a project 2160 tractor that needed some work on the engine. I did a valve job and top end rebuild on it with new gaskets. It now starts up and seems to run great, but I noticed that I get the 'amp' light come on when I use the PTO. I checked the battery and it sure seems like I'm not getting a charge from the alternator system. It appears that I either have the 10 or 16 amp system--I cant tell which. It seems as though all the parts are the same except for the size of the magnets inside the flywheel. Regardless, I seem to be getting 20 volts AC out of the stator (so I'd assume its the 10 amp system). I dont have the shunt in order to measure the amperage, but the red wire out of the voltage regulator only shows 5-6 Volts DC. Does this mean I have a bad voltage regulator? It is mounted right to the side cover on the engine, but could it also be a bad ground? I guess Id just hate to buy a new regulator if thats not my issue.

Thanks for any info or advice.

Not enough....you should be near 30VAC.

May I add near 30 Vac @ full throttle
If you measured only 20 V AC and it was @ full throttle, it sounds like a stator problem.

Sorry..........that was an assumption on my part
:crap:

It was about half throttle. I'm curious why do you say it should be 30 Vac? I see some documentation that says it should be 20 Vac also...with the only differences in the size of magnets inside the flywheel? And since the stator and voltage regulator are the same for both, shouldn't the regulator still put out the correct DC voltage, but just at a lower amperage?

Regardless, I'll test the stator again tonight at full throttle instead of half. All the readings reference 3600 rpm, but I don't have a tachometer for it.

You need 30VAC to produce 14VDC once it is rectified and regulated.

Ok. The service manual says 20 Vac for 10 amp system and 30 Vac for 16 amp system. However, I dont see any way to tell which system I have without removing the flywheel and measuring the magnet sizes.

Was just looking on the net for an answer and do see where some are listed @ 20 V ac--- this is a briggs right?
Try running it @ 3600 and if it comes up to near 30V you are sure it is ok.
Educated guess is regulator is bad @ 5-6 V.dc output. that is awful low.
It would be good if, as a test, before you buy, you could substitute a known good reg.
I used a 3 wire like that from a kohler on a tecumseh till the correct one arrived and it worked just fine.

For what ever it's worth I've seen way too many Vanguard VR issues. To the OP if you have 30 Volts AC on the 2 red wires at wide open throttle the stator is probably OK. I have converted a number of Cubs to the Kohler VR. So far so good. This pic is a is a Vanguard with a Kohler VR..

I did a test tonight at nearly full throttle and it was showing about 29 volts AC. At first the DC output voltage was up to around 10 and then it dropped to the 6 that I saw yesterday. After a minute or two I checked again and it looked like 0. The body of the VR seems grounded just fine, so maybe it's just bad?

What model kohler unit are you using? Hopefully that's all that's wrong here.