24v regulator adjustment

[Scary]

Ha ha ha, yes it's definitely one of a kind! I built it recently to solve a few problems I've had for years. I work for a local company full time as a fitter. I have to do everything from diesel fitting and electrics to line boring, cnc cutting and general fabrication. I pride myself on being able to go where others can't and outsource as little as possible. Most of my work is onsite, but I do have a workshop for the bigger gear.

Thanks for the interest

[John H]

Well, some good news. You CAN adjust the voltage, the screw in the picture was covered with silastic to hide it, but it changes the output. It only moves a half turn and the output changed from 26.2v to 31.7v. The bad news is that my reg must be on its way out as it is holding voltage fine and then jumps to 34v sporadically. I think I even saw 36v for a while. It is almost like there is a loose wire that's shorting out giving it full voltage, but there is none, I checked. This leaves me with 3 real options,

Option 1,
Replace the faulty reg with new (ha ha ha, not at the price I was quoted!!)

Option 2,
Repair this reg, the problem is that it has been filled with a silicone resin making it very hard to get into, but I could also look at building my own regulator to control the field coils (I have before on other projects and it's surprisingly easy)

Option 3,
Scrap the half ton of weight and free up a heap of room by replacing it with a Bosch or similar unit that has a reg already in it to solve all the issues. I just have to make a mount, but that's easily done in the machine shop. That way, in the future, it is an easily obtained part off the shelf, and not something hard to obtain.

I will have a chat with my electrical wholesaler tomorrow and see what the price of a bosh unit is I think

                                                                                                                                                                                                                     OPTION 4....although a little agricultural,is to replace the variable resistor,which should be available at electronic shops.If you or someone else here has an RPS it should state its details.Inside the regulator should be a solid silastic gel.Carefull removal around the pot to expose the body and 2 wires going to the pot,trying to free up as much  cable to be able to solder on new pot after removal of the old one.Leave as much of a tail as possible as the new pot is easier to fit externally on the regulator(ensure good insulation).This is a doable(although time consuming) field repair that I have had to perform in the past.Hope this is of some use.

[Scary]

Thanks for that John,
I will probably go down those lines in the not so distant future as I would like to keep the vehicle as original as possible, but not right now as time is of the essence.

FYI to those in need, i had a chat with my local wholesaler and have found an alternative. It is a 24v 80A alternater off a cummins. I will have to make a bracket for mounting but it comes with a charge light output as well so I can have a warning light on the dash if needed. I'm only looking at the 80A as I do not use the 24v side while driving and the batteries will only soak around 40-50A anyway, so should be ample. The alternater is brand new and quite compact. The price was $301 for the alternater and $26 for a twin A-belt pulley to suit. Not a bad deal I believe.....

[Aussie Jeepster]

I'll go looking. I seem to recall seeing an EMEI about the 24v system somewhere. I'll see what I can find. What is the model of the unit you have?

Sorry, we no use at all when I found it.

[Scary]

That's fine, I appreciate the effort anyway jeepster

[Bo Loserr]

okay, so after a bit of research i have found out that the brand of alternator is "milspec" out of Albury. http://milspecmanufacturing.com/brushless-alternators/

maybe if you contact them they can help you out.
or if you have sorted out a new alternator but want to hook it up through the pto box this company sells the plugs and sockets
http://www.mil-spec.com.au/index.php
 

[Rangy35]

You must have a close look at the sense wire of the circuit, if my memory serves me correctly its the yellow wire the 24V system uses to monitor the batterys condition to charge them accordingly. So the lower the voltage on the batterys the higher the output of the alternator. But the alternator can be confused with a poor connection on that sence wire.
I experianced it on my 12V system.
But you could also be correct with the regulator/rectifire failing.