11 replies to this topic

[Mini-Hazel-Nut]

Hi all. I really do need help with this one because my electrical knowledge is comparable with my grasp of differential calculus ie nil. I`m just putting the last few wires into my classic hot rod and have incorporated a voltage regulator as I am running an alternator. The small pin wire from the alt goes to my no-charge light and then to the voltage regulator which is bolted to the back of my ally dash. I don`t have any of the other gubbins it would be wired to as on a road car so do I need to earth it via one of the spare tags or what? I have no no-charge light showing at the moment so obviously something is not quite right. The oil warning light is there the moment I turn on the juice but not so the other light. Any suggestions please? 

[Sask_Mini]

Which voltage stabilizer do you have?  Is it the one that has the "B", "E" and "I" terminals on it?  

[Mini-Hazel-Nut]

Ah, now you are asking me a question. The one I am using is a small solid state type with 4 terminals. 2 terminals are of the female variety, the other 2 are male. It`s a small unit about the size of 2 postage stamps.

[Sask_Mini]

Hmm, there are a wide variety of voltage stabilizers out there so its tough to say for 100% the way you should be wiring it without knowing at least what make/model it is.  

 

My best guess is this.  Two of the terminals will be for the 12V and ground coming from your battery/alternator and the other two will be the stabilized voltage that you will use for your instruments such as fuel guage.

[Mini-Hazel-Nut]

Whatever it does here are a couple of pictures of the little chap. I have already tapped electrics from the solenoid to power such few items as I have, should I use this instead?   The pics:-

 regulator 1.jpg   32.26K   14 downloads  regulator 2.jpg   31.99K   19 downloads

 

[Ethel]

There's really only 2 terminals there. The male is usually to the battery and the female to the instruments. earth is via the mounting screw.

[Mini-Hazel-Nut]

I grant you that in the true sense there are only 2 terminals (each being a double) but of the 3 wires coming from the alternator this gadget is first in line from the "lesser" wire before going on to other things that I don`t have. This is where I get confused as I have wired it IN but don`t know where to wire it OUT to.

[Sask_Mini]

Typically you want to wire it out to your analog instruments.  It is really only needed to feed instruments that require a stable voltage supply.  For example, your fuel gauge, if the voltage to the gauge fluctuates as the voltage of the alternator fluctuates then the reading on the gauge will fluctuate along with the voltage.  You don't need a stabilized voltage for things like warning bulbs, interior lights, etc....

 

Essentially, if you have an analog electric gauge you want to feed it from the stabilized voltage supply.  

[Mini-Hazel-Nut]

Ah, thank you Sask. I have no instruments as such just a couple of switches, a start button, 2 warning lights and a pair of stop-lamps. With what you say I can dispense with the regulator then and just carry on. Thanks again.

[DANTOO]

Hello all,

Adding to this post - why is the charging light circuit powering the stabiliser? Could I not just link the charge light direct to earth or would this affect the light going out?

[Ethel]

Convenience probably, you'll want an ignition switched feed so the gauges don't run your battery down. That one already exists behind the instruments.

 

 

The charge light is a different topic.

 

It doesn't earth, it has the battery on one side & the alternator on the other. It goes out when both are supplying it with about the same voltage, so no current flows. If the battery voltage is low, the light glows & gets brighter if you rev the engine (spinning the alternator faster). If the alternator is faulty, or the fan belt  is slipping, revving the engine will have no effect, or make it dimmer.

[Spider]

Also, the Alternator Charge Light is normally on the Ignition Circuit (white wire), whereas the Voltage Stabaliser is normally on the Auxiliary Circuit (green wire).