# craftsman charging problem



## sglenn (May 25, 2011)

I have a 12 HP mower with a briggs and strattion engine. I am getting 29 volts to the battery when tractor is running but once the PTO electric clutch is engaged it drops to 6 volts. I do not know if the regulator is bad or if the electric clutch could be bad and drawing too much power. The mower runs fine and starts easy with a charged battery.I am just looking for thoughts before purchasing a new regulator for it.


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## Hoodoo Valley (Nov 14, 2006)

Welcome to the forum Sglen! I'd say yes, but frankly have never encountered excess voltage like that so no practical experience in that regard.


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## jhngardner367 (Apr 5, 2011)

*advice by proxy*

Gentlemen,my name is Kim.I'm John's wife.He was pinned by a tractor,this evening,and can't move too well,but he insisted on checking this sight,so I'm doing the typing,beside the bed,so he can see.He says that the alternator,under the flywheel,may have crossed circuits,causing high ac voltage,and not enough dc voltage to work properly.The wiring should be checked at the alternator-side connector.If it has 2 wires,one should read 13-18vdc,and the other should have 12-16vac(for the lidhts).If it only has 1 wire,it should be 12-16 vdc. He says to tell you all that he will be back tomorrow,if he feels better.the docto says he either bruised or broke some ribs,and the pain pills are kicking in,now. I hope you don't mind me helping him,but that old coot LIVES for tractors !Good night.


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## Thomas (Nov 1, 2006)

Hello Kim.
Tell John speedy recovery and do take it easy for we like him around long..long time,also if John should become stubborn and doesn't listen to you Kim just lets know and we shall take it from there.


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## wjjones (May 28, 2010)

jhngardner367 said:


> Gentlemen,my name is Kim.I'm John's wife.He was pinned by a tractor,this evening,and can't move too well,but he insisted on checking this sight,so I'm doing the typing,beside the bed,so he can see.He says that the alternator,under the flywheel,may have crossed circuits,causing high ac voltage,and not enough dc voltage to work properly.The wiring should be checked at the alternator-side connector.If it has 2 wires,one should read 13-18vdc,and the other should have 12-16vac(for the lidhts).If it only has 1 wire,it should be 12-16 vdc. He says to tell you all that he will be back tomorrow,if he feels better.the docto says he either bruised or broke some ribs,and the pain pills are kicking in,now. I hope you don't mind me helping him,but that old coot LIVES for tractors !Good night.



Tell him get well soon, and Thank him for the tip, and His Wonderful Wife/you for the typing... I think he is a mind reader because i was going to post up today asking how to check the charging system on my ys4500...


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## wjjones (May 28, 2010)

sglenn said:


> I have a 12 HP mower with a briggs and strattion engine. I am getting 29 volts to the battery when tractor is running but once the PTO electric clutch is engaged it drops to 6 volts. I do not know if the regulator is bad or if the electric clutch could be bad and drawing too much power. The mower runs fine and starts easy with a charged battery.I am just looking for thoughts before purchasing a new regulator for it.



Welcome to the Forum!..sglenn.. I think you will find that jhngardner367 has gave you a good place to start your troubleshooting the electrical system. It kinda seems like the load is to great for the charging/electric system so i would lean towards the pto is trying to, or has already seized up.. Keep us updated..


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## dangeroustoys56 (Jul 26, 2010)

29 volts? Yeah somethings goofy with the stator - the PTO's pull alot of juice, but it could be wearing out- keep in mind socking 29 volts to the battery will also over charge it and eventually kill it as well.

Only problem is the flywheel will need to be pulled if the stator turns out to be bad.


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## sglenn (May 25, 2011)

thanks all for the advise,sorry to hear about your accident John, hope you are feeling better.
took ac voltage reading at stator as you suggested, ac voltage varried from 10 to 29 volts constantly changing. dc volts were very slitht sometimes negative. I am ordering new stator. will let you all know the outcome


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## jhngardner367 (Apr 5, 2011)

*Old coot!?!?!*

Hey guys,I'm back.Just some bruised ribs,and scrapes.That'll teach me to get in front of a snowmobile trailer,without a front rail,when someone starts a Case446 in gear! I did some more checking,and that 12hp SHOULD have a 10amp stator.If so,it should have either the single wire,or a double wire.The single wire stator should have a reading,at full throttle,of 29-38vacWITH AN EXTERNAL REGULATOR.If it has a diode inline,it should read 12-15vdc. On the 2-wire stator,one wire will have a diode,and read 12-15vdc,and the other wire will read 20-20vac,for the lights. You also can do a simple check,to see if it might be the pto,or pto switch.First,disconnect the pto wires at the connector.some have 2,most have 1.On 2-wire pto,connect one wire to -,and one to +,with the engine running.With 1 wire pto,connect the wire to +,with engine running.If the tractor acts the same as before,the pto is bad.IF it improves,it's either the switch,or awire problem.Hope this helps,and welcome to the forum.AND guy thanks to you all,too,for your cocern!


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