Jinma 284 Electric Light Stays on, Battery won't stay Charged

[nadastore]

My jinma fires up with a jump start, however battery light stays on unless 3/4 - full throttle. Voltage Regulator? Battery? Alternator? or Key Switch. Changed the cables.

Any help would be great.

Thanks

Dave

 

[RonMar]

Sounds like alternator or regulator. But before you can say that with authority, have you checked all the connections? Start at the battery and work your way toward the starter on the positive lead, then on to the alternator. There is a recent thread that has schematics in it that might help. Be sure to check both ends of the negative cable. It is quite common for the negative lead to be bedded on paint where it connects to the frame. You need to get that connection to bare metal, then once tightened you can paint over it to keep it from corroding. You also need to check the regulator where it plugs into the harness up near the fuse block.

Then you need a volt meter, to take some voltage measurements. With the engine running, you really need 14VDC being delivered to the battery to charge adequately. If it is not delivering proper voltage(14-15V), how do you break the tie and see if it is alternator or regulator? One check is to take the regulator out of the equation and feed full current to field momentarilly from a second battery. IF the alternator is OK, this should cause the voltage at the installed battery(alternator output) to jump up pretty high(which is why you only apply full field momentarilly). A jump in voltage above 15V with full field excitation means the alternator is probably OK, and the regulator is most likley at fault. If the voltage dosn't increase, the alt is probably bad.

Another option is to plug in a spare regulator if you have one available...

 

[Bob Rooks]

Also make sure your fan belt is tight. No slipping.

 

[Keno Tractors]

It sounds like the regulator, 9 times out of 10 it wont be your alternator, they don't go out very often. Usually the regulator is the culprit.
Nan

 

[quicksandfarmer]

I've had this problem when the regulator was loose in its socket, pressing it in solved the problem. On my Jinma the regulator is on the fuse block.

 

[Keno Tractors]

I spoke to our mechanic, he said to try pulling out the regulator and pushing it back in, they some times wiggle their selves loose, the regulator is on the fuse box.

 

[Rich Waugh]

I had that problem on my 304 Jinma until I replaced my alternator with a Delco 12Si with integral regulator. My OEM regulator kept failing to make good contact in the fuse block and causing issues. I needed a lot more amps than the OEM alternators could provide for lighting and inverter, and the Delco 70 amp alternator took care of both problems.

 

[erj]

Also make sure your fan belt is tight. No slipping.

Bob,
I learned many years ago that no question is dumb when you don't know the answer.
So - how do you tell if the fan belt is slipping?

RonJ

 

[RonMar]

I nearly lost my regulator, I put a ziptie around it to secure it in it's plug.

 

[Bob Rooks]

Bob,
I learned many years ago that no question is dumb when you don't know the answer.
So - how do you tell if the fan belt is slipping?

RonJ

With the engine off, try to turn the fan by hand in the direction of rotation (It will always turn easier in the opposite direction). If it turns easily, it's loose. This will be especially true of a glazed belt, which indicates slipping, which adds extra heat, which hardens (bakes) the rubber and makes it brittle, which makes it crack, which makes it fail prematurely. There are belt tension (deflection) gauges on the market, but a good rule of thumb is to only be able to deflect it one belt depth. Belt dressing applied judiciously also works.
I use a linked belt that is made from polyurethane and polyester fibres. It isn't bothered by high temperatures, dust, dirt, or age at all. In the extremely rare case of the belt breaking (which it never has), all I have to do is replace a link and away we go again.