Club Car Generator Isn't Charging

tcrowe3

New Member
I have a 94 gas club car and the generator isn't charging, I put a meter on the output side of the generator and is just showing battery voltage. The brushes look fine, I can charge the battery and starts perfect. So does anyone know what would cause the generator not to charge?
 

Yankee Dog

New Member
What a very timely post! I just came home from a weekend with my cart (a 1992) doing the same thing. Same as you, my brushes look fine. Have not had an oportunity to tear into the starter/generator yet, but, I may not even need to. My next guess (if the brushes really are fine-not sure how long they should be), would be the voltage regulator?

I assume you have checked all of your grounds, and not sure if this matters, but the fuse? I did on mine thay all seem (ohm meter and visual check) to be fine with excellent continuity.

So, help us out folks, what gives? Do I (we) need to measure up the brushes and report back?

My cart is up at the cabin, and I only brought back the starter/gen thinking it needed just a brush swap out, but as mentioned earlier, my brushes look fine as well. I played charge and swap out the battery all weekend.

Thanks, not trying to muscle in on your thread, but it sure sounds like we have the same problem! YD
 

tcrowe3

New Member
Sorry to hear you are having the same troubles. I checked all grounds, fuse, and everything else under the sun. My brushes are new so I really don't think thats it. I am not sure what else would prevent it from generating.
 

Yankee Dog

New Member
I agree, just did a little searching/reading and it sure sounds like a fairly common problem. Just ordered a new regulator.

Turns out I probably did not need to remove the starter/gen, but, when your shootin from the hip (no computer up at the cabin), you do what you gotta do. Thanks
 

tcrowe3

New Member
I put my meter on the generator itself and only get 11.8 volts. Would a bad voltage reg cause such a low reading on the generator?
 

Yankee Dog

New Member
Did you have the RPM's up when checking? From what I have read, you need to have the rpm's up a little. The voltage should increase with the increase in rpms, but that does sound a little low. YD
 

Yankee Dog

New Member
Well, now I am at a loss. Hopefully those with more experience will chime in. I am interested to know as well. I am only guessing at this point, but I wonder if something is shorting in the regulator. Maybe try disconnecting the yellow wire at the "DF" terminal and then check the voltage. I assume that is where you checked the voltage at?

Once again, I am not completely sure about this so do not do anything until someone else confirms this. But I can't imagine it hurting anything by trying to check the voltage with the yellow wire removed.

It sure would be nice if someone could explain what each of terminals on the starter /gen are for. The reason I say the yellow wire, because according to the diagram, it looks like that is the wire that "puts the charge back in the battery"? YD
 

Yankee Dog

New Member
There is a way to force the generator into "full output mode" for testing. I am hesitant in describing it because I have not done it myself and don't want to ill-advise anyone, but a search on google revealed some info. It sounds like a bad regulator could cause the low reading as well.
 

Yankee Dog

New Member
OK, well, I do have some ohm meter testing procedure/instructions at home for the stater/gen. Found them the other day online. I will post those later this eve. It will let you further test the field coils, etc with a meter to look for shorts, etc. YD
 

Yankee Dog

New Member
Here is a link to an article that explains how our starter/gen functions, and some tests you can do (with a meter) to see if it is functioning properly. I did the ohm check, and mine failed, but I am still not convinced. I have the new voltage reg in hand and will install it this weekend anyways.

If I find any more diagnostic info, I will post it here.
 

tcrowe3

New Member
Well I have put 3 different generators on mine and it still won't charge. I am going to replace the regulator this week I guess. Does anyknow if these generators have to be polarized before they charge? Or by any chance does the voltage regulator excite the generator to make it charge?
 

Yankee Dog

New Member
Not sure of the exact answer, but I have read that the gen/starter is just "plug and play". Nothing fancy, make the proper connections, and it should work. Sure sounds like the voltage reg to me also. Good luck, let us know how it works out.

The voltage reg is easy, just remove one wire at a time if your concerned about geting them mixed up, but, they are all color coded so install is easy. YD
 
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