Battery charging?

[ol'George]

Originally Posted by TommyK

Bysprhit, I replaced the VR, but with a standard VR from a parts store. Don't know if that matters. Cody, my VR is under the seat, next to the battery, if that helps. A black box with 3 termintals coming off of it. Thanks George, I'll try your suggestion. I love my cub, I wish I had more land to mow! I replaced the air filter when I replaced the SG, and it's like having a brand new cub! The air filter had never been replaced, judging by the condition it was in. I'll post pixs if I can find my cable for my camera to download them to my PC.

By standard do you mean Standard Streak brand name or just what someone thought might work?
The V/R needs to be for a specific starter/gen.set up.
My experence is other V/R set ups will not work on a Start/gen set up.

[Matt G.]

There are also at least 2 if not 3 different V/Rs for Cub Cadets, depending on which model of tractor it is. If you don't replace it with correct one, you have to be very careful to hook it up right. RBedell probably has wiring diagrams or something else that can explain this better than I am.

[TommyK]

George and Matt, I think you are both correct about the VR. I believe the VR I purchased is meant for a ford mower. Removed the new VR, put the original VR back in, and still no charge. My neighbor has a spare VR from another cub cadet, we're going to try the spare, he's trying to find the correct gap settings for the contacts. If that doesn't work I'll order a correct VR for replacement. Thanks for your help.

[CMA's129]

Armature to core air gap .025-.030
contact point opening .012-.019

[TommyK]

We have a charge!! Thanks CMA's129 for the figures. I'm going to start from the beginning, I hope I can help someone with the same problem. When I purchased my cub, it was not charging the battery. The first thing we looked at was the VR. Tried adjusting the contact gaps. Still no charge. Took the SG apart, found that one of the brush's was hung up. Unstuck the brush, still no charge. Installed a VR from a tractor parts store, just a stock VR, still no charge. Installed a replacement SG, still no charge. Put the original VR back in, adjusted the gaps correctly, and now it charges! So I think the problem originally was the brush that was hung up on the original SG. But we then incorrectly set the gaps in the VR, so it wouldn't charge with the original SG or the new SG. FYI, if anyone needs to purchase a VR, make sure you buy the correct replacement part. I think the one I bought was for a ford, and it didn't work. My original SG is probably still good, now that the brush is no longer hung up. Thanks everyone for your help and suggestions! I hope my experience will help someone as well.

[ACecil]

Glad you got it fixed, Tommy!