Vintage Charging system

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paulb42
Posts: 8
Joined: October 3rd, 2008, 9:24 pm

Vintage Charging system

Post by paulb42 »

I trying to get my charging system to work. I have had two conflicting bits of advice from two people who I trust.

a: get a 6V generator, 12V solid state voltage regulator and 12V battery.
b: run either a full 6 volt or full 12 volt system.

The first advice I had received was (a) so I currently have all of the parts purchased for that solution, however I am noticing that the voltage regulator doesn't fit on the generator very well.

Thoughts on charging systems and where to mount the regulator?

Thanks, Paul

P.S. This is what I have so far:
[ external image ]
Dietmar
Site Admin
Posts: 650
Joined: June 24th, 2006, 11:56 am

Re: Vintage Charging system

Post by Dietmar »

Paul:

I think I would have gone with option B since the 12 v gen is cheaper and you already are going to run the 12v battery.
BUT, since you have what you have, why do you need to mount the regulator on top of the generator? It can be mounted on the firewall, inside the cockpit, on the fan shroud, etc - anwhere where there is room.

Hope this helps
Dietmar
shark32
Posts: 29
Joined: November 29th, 2006, 9:02 pm

Re: Vintage Charging system

Post by shark32 »

My son and I both have vintage vees with working charging systems. Both are twelve volt systems with a 6 volt starter. To my knowledge, the 12 volt generator did not have the voltage regulator mounted on top of the generator, only the 6 volt. My son has the regulator mounted on the front of the fan shroud and mine is mounted on the back of the shroud closer to the battery.

Barry
Dietmar
Site Admin
Posts: 650
Joined: June 24th, 2006, 11:56 am

Re: Vintage Charging system

Post by Dietmar »

Barry:

You are correct- the (street) cars with a 12v system have the voltage regulator under the back seat. That's why I asked Paul why he wanted to mount it on the generator.
Dietmar
paulb42
Posts: 8
Joined: October 3rd, 2008, 9:24 pm

Re: Vintage Charging system

Post by paulb42 »

Mounting the voltage regulator to the fan shroud is not a bad idea. I thought that they were 'supposed' to be mounted on the generator. Looks like I was mistaken. Thanks.

So do either of you know if running a 6V Generator, 12V voltage regulator and 12V battery will work. It looks like my starter is 6V as well.

Paul
shark32
Posts: 29
Joined: November 29th, 2006, 9:02 pm

Re: Vintage Charging system

Post by shark32 »

Paul, don't try that combination. A 6 volt generator puts out about 9 volts maximum. Running that combination will draw the battery down. I've seen it done by another vintage racer. He would faithfully charge the 12 volt battery between sessions. By the end of the next session the voltage would be low enough to seriously affect the performance.

Barry
Rickydel
Posts: 199
Joined: July 5th, 2006, 11:09 am

Re: Vintage Charging system

Post by Rickydel »

Actually, I know a couple people that run that combination (12VDC system w/6VDC gen.) and it marginally works for them. There is no charging going on at lower RPMs. If you are an autocrosser, it may not work very well.

Paul, what you may not be aware of is the 12VDC generator has a much larger diameter than the 6VDC generators do. Thus, the generator towers, that incorporate the oil fill port, are very different as well.

So, if you were to go with a 12VDC generator, you will have more than just the generator to change.
SR Racing
Posts: 1205
Joined: June 24th, 2006, 1:58 pm

Re: Vintage Charging system

Post by SR Racing »

shark32 wrote:Paul, don't try that combination. A 6 volt generator puts out about 9 volts maximum.
Barry
Actually it will put out far more than that. Even up to 50V !. It totally depends upon regulation. The problem you are seeing is simply that it was designed for ~6V at idle so that it will still adequately charge the battery. With a proper 12V regulator it will adjust the output to 12V but it might take more than an idle RPM to do it.

The output of a generator is totally dependent upon its regulation. The faster you turn it, the more voltage it will put out. (and thus current)
paulb42
Posts: 8
Joined: October 3rd, 2008, 9:24 pm

Re: Vintage Charging system

Post by paulb42 »

Hey all, I just wanted to thank you all for your responses. I thought I'd post a follow-up for others with the same problem. I ended up keeping the 6 volt starter and generator as well as the 12 volt battery and voltage regulator. On the dash I have a orange light which I have hooked to the regulator to indicate whether the battery is being charged or not. At idle and low speeds (driving on the paddock) the battery isn't being charged so the dash light is on, but at speed the generator more than charges the battery.

At the end of my first day of racing I put the battery on a charger just incase, but the charger indicated that it was already at full charge. Tested the same after day two as well.

Thanks for all of the responses.

Paul
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