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Battery overcharging

2K views 9 replies 6 participants last post by  dixie460 
#1 ·
Good evening y'all. I did the overcharging prevention relay on my 332 today using a relay I picked up (i.e. not the Deere kit) and wiring the voltage sense circuit to the starter + terminal via the relay contacts. Regulator is brand new, Deere p/n MIA881279. Regulator housing less than 1 ohm to chassis, this regulator also has a black "ground" pigtail which is attached to one of the regulator mounting bolts. Voltage is normal (approx. 14.5VDC) below about 3/4 throttle, above that is spikes to 17+. Anybody ever have the relay mod not work for them?
 
#3 ·
That's what I was afraid of. It ain't the first (nor will it be the last) part that I've seen fail right out of the package. I suppose Deere treats electrical parts like the auto parts stores do? No returns, you own it, if you don't like it then you can stick it where the sun don't shine?

I'll call the dealer in the morning, but if they won't take it back I'm tempted to get one of the $25 ones on Amazon just to get the battery charging correctly for now.
 
#4 ·
Did you measure voltage at both the battery and the sensing wire?


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#7 ·
Did you measure voltage at both the battery and the sensing wire?
Sure did.

Thanks! I considered using something like that but it doesn't have an output for the idiot light. I'd rather have a voltmeter on the panel but there ain't exactly a lot of space there. However I also considered using a universal regulator and just designing my own separate circuit to monitor voltage and control the idiot light, because then I could make it illuminate for low OR high voltage. I could always just throw one in for now and worry bout the light later, I just want my battery to charge.

I've used the cheapo VR's on eBay for years with no more issues than I got with JD VR's. Same with fuel pumps. One $20 12v fuel pump and I can buy three before I get to the price of a JD pump.
I was wondering about the cheap ones. I hadn't checked eBay yet but when I was reading the reviews for the units on Amazon, people were saying they don't quite line up with the mounting holes. Or that the battery light stays on or flickers. I'll check eBay, thanks!
 
#8 ·
Well just to finish up this thread, I've resolved the problem. As expected, I installed this part: https://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Rectif...958588&hash=item1ec8cfd9a5:g:QQwAAOSwupRdUr6V

and now my tractor's battery charges at the proper voltage and the warning light operates correctly. Called my Deere dealer and tried to exchange the defective regulator however they didn't want anything to do with it, as I expected. I do understand that some people buy parts just to throw at a problem in hopes of fixing it without proper troubleshooting, then hope for a refund after they fry the new part. It just kinda sucks I'm out over $100. That makes this regulator the most expensive paperweight I own lol.
 
#9 ·
I've seen threads about replacement VR's not lining up with original mounting holes. A piece of 10ga./1/8" plate can be drilled for mounting to engine using old VR as template and mounted with flat head screws. Mounting holes for new regulator can be drilled using new VR, shifting/offsetting maybe 1" to clear original mounting holes, and mount new VR with flat head screws & nuts.

Hopefully, this may help someone in future repairs. Bob
 
#10 ·
Yeah I saw that complaint (bolt hole centers not the same) while reading the reviews of various aftermarket regulators. By the way some people were describing it I figured the thing wouldn't line up at all. Figured I'd just take a steel plate and weld some studs on both sides of it, with one side having the correct spacing for the holes in the tractor frame and the other side having the correct spacing for the slotted holes in the regulator. New regulator showed up and bolted right on. It IS narrower and the bolts are not centered in the slots, but they ARE still mostly within the slots and with the factory washers installed, there was no need for me to fabricate a mounting adapter after all.
 
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