Over charging problems

[Strykerboy]

So I'm going down the road and all the sudden my light are super bright... look up my volt gauge and it's in the red and then some ... So I pull over and start tinkering with stuff , ,at this time I noticed the battery box and it's not looking or smelling very happy, I was starting to cook the batteries. ... so that notorious #1 wire that I read about on here the smallest one off the generator... yeah I disconnected that.. then started it back up. Great!! I'm not overcharging but I'm not charging either.... so. My question is why having that plugged in would cause it to overcharge like that....

 

[m715]

Without that small wire plugged in your voltage gauge is reading battery voltage only. The wire sends voltage TO the generator to energize it. Someone smarter than me will help you out.

 

[rustystud]

So I'm going down the road and all the sudden my light are super bright... look up my volt gauge and it's in the red and then some ... So I pull over and start tinkering with stuff , ,at this time I noticed the battery box and it's not looking or smelling very happy, I was starting to cook the batteries. ... so that notorious #1 wire that I read about on here the smallest one off the generator... yeah I disconnected that.. then started it back up. Great!! I'm not overcharging but I'm not charging either.... so. My question is why having that plugged in would cause it to overcharge like that....

That wire is giving the alternator battery voltage and since it appears your "voltage regulator" took a dump on you it was giving the "field" full voltage. That means the alternator was going full bore !
New alternator time or a good rebuilt or take out.

 

[cattlerepairman]

The voltage regulator is built into the "end cap" of the alternator. With the part number of the alternator you will be able to find a repair kit that replaces said end cap. Voltage regulator and alternator part number are your search terms. About $80. For an approximately similar price (maybe a little more) you can upgrade to a modern 24V alternator, (non military) if that is what you would prefer.

 

[rustystud]

The voltage regulator is built into the "end cap" of the alternator. With the part number of the alternator you will be able to find a repair kit that replaces said end cap. Voltage regulator and alternator part number are your search terms. About $80. For an approximately similar price (maybe a little more) you can upgrade to a modern 24V alternator, (non military) if that is what you would prefer.

The problem with these "Leece-Neville" alternators is if they do go over voltage they have a tendency to take out the "diodes" also. I would just get a "modern" 24 volt alternator and be done with it. If you don't then you might end up chasing your tail all around trying to fix everything that starts failing on the old alternator.

 

[18operator]

I changed the voltage regulator on my alternator back in August 2016. When I realized it was overcharging, I changed the regulator right away. Everything seems to be as it should. If something happens again, then I'll go for the modern 24V alt. It's a gamble. I won this round so far.