Lazy Charging.

I think i'll put the green wire back in it's slot to bring the OEM regulator/rectifier back online to see if it's ok. I probably jumped the gun on swapping it out. I'll just pull the plug on the new one. The new regulator looks factory where I installed it, and it's better there than having it riding the pine in my toolbox getting all scraped up.

Well, it was a lovely day riding along the Ottawa river through the small towns between Ottawa and Hawkesbury. Stopped by the Tim's and had an ice cap. Watched the local shindig going on at the Harley shop. Never saw so many wife beaters and faux Stahlhelms in my life. One group of grim looking bikers rumbled by, their patch letting you know they were IRON WORKERS Goddamit! Also the largest congregation of CanAm Spyders I've ever seen. Anyhow, after coming back the Quebec side I was disheartened to see my charging output once again had stalled at 12.5v. This was with the OEM regulator, so I reattached the Chrysler regulator and carried on. No dice. I got home and my brushes were back up to 30 Ohms. Well damn...

No problem I thought. I'll just throw in the new brushes and holder. It seems like the stock brushes are the issue. Well, imagine my surprise....
New brushes on the left. Do you see any issue here?

Brush holder on the right was too big to fit in the alternator frame. It went in half way. Had to pull it back out. I figured I'd file fit it to make it work when one of the tubes the brush passes through fell off in my hands.

Sometimes you just have to chuckle.

Your new brushes are assembled correctly. Your old brush has been modified. The originals had the wire soldered and attached to the top side of the bracket. To install, you slide the insulating disc down the wire towards the brush, compressing the spring. Then you wrap the wire around the side of the bracket so the insulating disc can be fitted to the bottom side. The disc is rectangular, not square, and only fits under the bracket correctly and down into the cutout in the brush block one way.

Yes, you are correct. Once I pulled my head out of my ass and realized I had to pull the pad and wire down over the edge I knew I had two correct brushes. Imagine my surprise when I installed them and got 60 Ohms for resistance. Thankfully, one ride had the charging output rising slowly from 12.5v back up to 14.4v within a few minutes as the new brushes bedded in. They are now sitting at 8 Ohms and will probably improve a bit more with some running.I think the final problem with my charging system was a brush spring that had overheated and annealed. There was almost no tension left in it. I guess after the long ride today whatever wear was created was not taken up by the spring so resistance in the circuit slowly increased over the 3 hours of riding. Hopefully this has finally put the stake through the heart of this one..

5twins said:

I may eventually try a Fiat regulator on the '83 and it will be interesting to see if it's output changes as the battery gets recharged.

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5twin I have a Fiat regulator installed with a Windy nation rectifier. I have led front and rear lights but standard filament turn signals. With headlight off and ignition on, I usually see around 13.1 or so volts. Once started climbs up to 14.3 or so but never goes above 14.5. At cruising speeds in 5th (90kms/hr) is a constant 14.3v. I have a Shorai lithium ion battery. BTW my rotor’s resistance is high 3’s ohms.

Superjet said:

my rotor’s resistance is high 3’s ohms.

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That's a scary number, likely to change for the worse.

I agree Gary but so far have 1300kms on it and hasnt budged. Keeping an eye on it via voltmeter and have a backup plan/parts.

So Superjet, you're saying your Fiat regulator doesn't reduce the charging output by a few tenths of a volt after the battery is replenished? That seems to be how my VR115 on my '78 works but my '83 stock system never drops.

5twins it usually climbs up 14.3 or 14.4 once after a push button start and stays. There are no auxiliary safety devices in my wiring. Only headlight,tail, blinkers, horn and ignition. Usually run headlight with high beams on and running light on tail.