The Silver Box

[Kevin31]

I was unsure where this topic should go, so I posted it here. Feel free to move it for me in it is in the wrong spot. Thanks.

OK, so I got my Hustler all wired up, and turned it on with the new charging system all hooked up (thanks to every one that helped. I am very glad that it worked.) But now my question is the Silver box. I think that it is called a rectifier, but will it automatically detect, and shut off, when the battery is full? It was putting out about 13.8 volts at idle, if that helps anyone. Thanks for all the help!

[Beeman]

That little silver box could be a rectifier (does it have two wires comming to it off the altenator/mag? and 1 or two wires leaving it for the + and -?). You'd be best to try and find a technical doc on the part and figure out if it has that feature... if you can't figure it out, you can solve the problem of over charging by wiring up your lights to become your "running lights", where they are always on when the engine is on.

-Beeman

[Kevin31]

Yes it does have two AC wires comming from the engine, then transfering it to one DC wire, it charges the battery. The voltage comming out was aprox. 13.8 volts. I was unable to find any info about it, maybe someone else has. Thanks-

[liflod]

13.8 sounds great out of your rectifier. Make sure you keep a battery hooked to it while it is running to regulate the output of the rectifier. Without a battery, the voltage will go up possibly enough to fry some headlights. The battery voltage will regulate the amount of current flowing into the battery. Most charging systems run at 13.8 volts.

You are good to go.

[Kevin31]

. The battery voltage will regulate the amount of current flowing into the battery.

Are you saying that as long as the battery is hooked up, it will not over charge? I don't have any headlights hooked up to the charging circut. The AC power comes straight out of the engine, goes to the rectifier, then DC voltage goes into the battery. So the battery will slow down the voltage that the rectifier is sending to the battery, to not over charge it? thanks for all your help; i really appreciate it.

[Beeman]

The battery will slow down the amount of amps comming off the rectifier when it is comming into full charge, however it will still continue to draw amps and will start to weaken the plates within the battery (and cause it to heat up... etc) which means short lifetime of the battery.

It is true that the battery will act as a regulator (technically if the rectifier does not have an internal regulator, the "D/C" voltage coming off it is more like an A/C sin wave with the negative portion inverted so that your voltage is jumping between ~18 to 0 volts but averages to 13-14), so the battery in this situation will simply average it all out (making it safe for lights that can't handle the short duty cycle of 18 volts). But regulating the voltage does not help the overcharging problem.

By placing a load on the circuit when the engine is on, you can by-pass the overloading amps from the battery to whatever you feel like running. I think lights make sense... but you could always run a little fan or even a resistor.

[Kevin31]

Thanks for the suggestion. I really dont have the desire to add another circut onto there. As easy as it may be. Do you know if the rectifier has an internal regulator? All that the silver box says is "Repco" and then a model number. How much will it shorten the life of my battery if I run without a regulator? Thanks for all your help.

[liflod]

13.8 volts will not over charge your battery.

[Kevin31]

13.8 volts will not over charge your battery.

13.8 was at idle. I did not rev up the engine to see what it would reach. Probably not too much higher. What do you think? Even if I drive for 30 - 45 minutes that will still not over charge the battery? For the most part, the only energy that I am using from the battery when driving is the fuel pump, on occasions some lights, and some times a bilge pump. The fuel pump may be the same idea as running a set of "Running lights" as perversely suggested. If I get the time this week, I will check the voltage when the engine is reved up. Thanks for all your help.

[Beeman]

I doubt the rectifier will have an voltage regulator in it's circuitry. If you do test the voltage I'd be interested to see what the A/C (RMS) voltage is on input of the rectifier.

If you have a electric pump that'll be fine.

[Kevin31]

Out-out voltage

If you do test the voltage I'd be interested to see what the A/C (RMS) voltage is on input of the rectifier.

Ok, so tested the AC voltage at high rev, and it came to 17 volts. The DC out put at high rev was 14 volts. With the fuel pump running off the battery all the time, I will be safe.

Thanks for all your help.

[liflod]

Even without the fuel pump, you will be safe. Small engines have been using this rectifier set up for years. All the rectifier contains is 2 diodes. It is possible to add a regulator, but thats not necessary.