Max ii with briggs van guard 16hp engine help please

[wiggy]

Hi Guys
I have a Max II that has a B&S Vanguard 16HP engine, how do you know when its charging? the amp meter does not move only goes (-) when lights are on, then back to middle,just I will be fitting a 3000 winch and LED spot lights and want to make sure she is charging ok, tried an amp meter on the battery leads and nothing
Any help would be great to point me in the right way what to check.
Richie

[brunpup]

Well, according to how I was taught long ago, if your meter goes down with engine off and a load (lights) on, and then goes back up when you start it, its charging.. And to measure amps, you have to put your testing meter in series of one of the battery cables.. ie disconnect battery cable and put one lead on cable and other on post, with meter on amps setting, and start er up.. However, if you're doing that with a DVOM I don't recommend doing it this way... you'll fry the fuse inside of it. Easiest thing to do would be check battery voltage with engine off, then start it up, and while its running, check voltage again.. It should go up.

[wiggy]

Hi Brunpup
Thanks for reply, just thought the amp meter may move up when running? I have clamp round cable amp meter, but showing nothing?tried the amp meter on my quad and show charging,so the meter is working.
I just checked and off is at 0, when running it goes to -5 running and same with lights on, battery reads 12v and 12v running with lights on running goes to 11v! any ideas?
Richie

[Outlaw1]

Hi Wiggy,
I have a Max ll with the stock meter and my needle goes to the right about 1/8 inch with the motor running. When I switch to the lights on mode, it clicks back to the neutral position and immediately goes back to the prior reading to the right. However, I have had gauges in the past do what yours is doing and the batts were charging. Follow brunpups advice and you will know for sure. If you find out your batts are being charged and not getting a reading from the gauge, i'd say its time for anew gauge. That's my 10 cents worth

[ken white]

A simple way to check the charging system is to measure the voltage at the battery when the engine is off and then measure the battery voltage while its running.

If the charging system is operating, the battery voltage will increase when the engine is running.

If the battery voltage does not increase, you have an issue with the charging system or fused link on the motor.

Your cables/wiring are fine since you see the needle go negative when adding a load.

[wiggy]

Hi Outlaw1
I did try it, but the battery reading goes down to 11volts! i know it should be going up when engine is running ,but its not.

[wiggy]

Hi Ken
thanks for reply, any ideas were to start looking?
Richie

[ken white]

If you PM me your email address I can send you a copy of the service manual.

EDIT: It has a very good table to identify your charging system type, charging values, and how to troubleshoot.

[wiggy]

Hi Ken
Thank you, I just sent it.
thanks again.
Richie

[ken white]

Tried to send the manual to you but it was too big, so I sent you a link to my OneDrive account - you can download it from there.

Let me know if you have any problems and good luck with your repair.

[wiggy]

Hi Ken
I got a file threw, will pm you.
Thanks Richie

[Toys4Me]

I've had 2 briggs that the voltage regulators went bad. I've replaced both with aftermarket regulators from amazon and haven't had an issue since.

[thebuggyman1]

One troubleshooting tip that is missing here is: You can't test with just the engine running. At idle the charging system is putting out next to nothing. Raise the RPMs up and see if your needle moves. It is usually hard to watch the meter when you are driving, but if your charging system was not actually working you would need to put a charger on your battery regularly....or be jump starting it every time.

[wiggy]

Hi Guys
Thanks for reply, I did keep the engine reved up and no movement on amp meter, only -, even volts go lower when lights are on when high revs. so need to get top raised now and look deeper.
Richie

[Nubs]

If there is more than a 16 amp draw from lights etc for to long the regulator will burn out. gotta check Your grounds first I would say.