Kohler Not Charging

[leoniru]

My newly acquired pre-owned Max Buffalo's 23 HP Kohler Command is not charging the battery. Had a test meter on the battery terminals while running and ....no output which agreed with the dash gauge. Further inspection revealed that the three terminal plug that goes on a rectifier-like dodad buried under the flywheel cowl on the lower back side of the engine (which is up against the rear of the tub and the dump lift motor and cylinder) was disconnected, so obviously someone was messing with it even though the seller claimed he hadn't had to do anything to the machine since he got it new. (Liar, liar, pants on fire!!) I didn't pick up on this during my prepurchase inspection. I was too excited I guess. Anyway, thinking that I had found the problem - and what a simple fix it was going to be - I attached the connector but it made no difference---still not charging.
As I don't have a service manual for this machine, I'm hoping that perhaps a member or two on here might have had to deal with this issue, and could suggest a trouble-shooting sequence.
My way of thinking right now is, I figure I'm going to have to pull the motor to get at the area to replace that 'rectifier' (or is it the voltage regulator?) component and perhaps check the stator windings. If I don't need to pull the motor, someone please tell me.
What in addition to the obvious throttle and choke cables, fuel line and wiring harness, muffler, and four engine mount bolts, must be undone to pull the motor?
What's the easiest way to uncouple the engine from the drivetrain?
Any info will be of help as I'm an AATV virgin.
Oh yeah, my first impression.......these things seem to be WAY overpriced for the technology, material, and components in them.
Thanx,

leoniru

[LarryW]

I havent had a command series engine but I did find a manual that might help you. Looks like page 44 is where it starts going into the charging systems. Hopefully that will help you.

http://www.kohlerengines.com/onlinecatalog/pdf/sm_24_690_06.pdf

And yea I agree with the over price for techology and such. But the fun factor might be where they get us, lol. I only buy machines that are in the 35-40 year old range and that helps me a lot. But then you have to have time to tinker with them.

[leoniru]

Larry;
Thanx for the Kohler manual link. I'm getting pretty stupid in my old age 'cause I should've thought to look for the Kohler data on line. What I needed is on pages 45 and 46. I just need time to diagnose whether it's the stator or rectifier/regulator gone bad.

[LarryW]

Cool, Hope it helps you. Maybe Racerone3 will chime in too. He is good with a variety of the smaller lawnmower style engines. Good luck with it!

[jpswift1]

On my dad's Max II with a Kohler V twin we had the same issue. We thought it was the voltage regulator, but it was fine after we swapped it out with another one. I believe what we ended up doing was just run a small piece of wire from the voltage regulator to the frame (make sure you sand a small area and never-seize coat it before you mount the wire to get a good connection and keep it from rusting). We did this a year ago so I don't remember the exact routing of it, but it was an easy fix. I think the ground wire that was originally on there must have just came off somehow. Since then, the charging issue has been solved. Hope this helps.

[spookum]

the plug that was unpluged off of the stator -make sure you have AC voltage with the engine running. Go ahead and check all the pins (there should be two thre or 4 of them) you should see a gain in ac voltage with an increase in RPM. that is the plug you had to plug back in. ALso make sure that the engine is grounded well, so check the ohms (resistance) betwene the engine, and the battery. IF those two things check out, well it is probbably your rectifier (you can get a full wave rectifire for dirt cheap, use a generic snow machine one, should be four wire, 2 wires for AC the stator hook up, red for the battery (and a 15 amp fuse) and black for ground.

I really hope it is just a ground, everyone deserves a break

[msafi65]

If you havent removed the dump bed yet pull the rear hinge bolts and raise the back with the lift cylinder. gives pretty good access to rear of the engine. The rectifier dosent fail very often on that engine but the ground wire fron the engine to the rectifter mount screw does. Check the main fuse I believe its under the seat in that one. With the belt off and choke and throttle cables, fuel line and electrical plug disconnected, the four mount bolts can be removed and lift engine out or roll it forward. Its easiest with the bed off but if you block it safely it can be lifted out of the way with lift cyl disconnected. I have found that the spacer washers can be taped togethr and make reinstalling them much easier.

[leoniru]

Thanx everyone for your response efforts. I haven't been able to troubleshoot the machine due to that nasty business otherwise known as 'work'.
Plan on heading out there today, but it's cold out and I don't have a heated work area.......getting soft in my - uh - 'middle years'.

[leoniru]

Well as the story goes..... I have good news and I have bad news.....
The good news is I found the problem.
The bad is I not only need a stator (and likely a rectifier/regulator), but the flywheel magnets were also messed-up. It appears that a complete lack of maintenance allowed an accumulation of dust to build to the point where the stator and flywheel magnets began rubbing. Several of the 'fingers' on the stator are actually bent over and partially ground-off, and what's left of the flywheel magnets doesn't look so good.

Anybody got a spare flywheel for a Kohler CH 22S ??????

[jpswift1]

Well as the story goes..... I have good news and I have bad news.....
The good news is I found the problem.
The bad is I not only need a stator (and likely a rectifier/regulator), but the flywheel magnets were also messed-up. It appears that a complete lack of maintenance allowed an accumulation of dust to build to the point where the stator and flywheel magnets began rubbing. Several of the 'fingers' on the stator are actually bent over and partially ground-off, and what's left of the flywheel magnets doesn't look so good.

Anybody got a spare flywheel for a Kohler CH 22S ??????

Ebay would probably be your best bet on that. It sounds like your issue is almost identical to this:

http://www.6x6world.com/forums/hustler-atvs/20174-i-just-purchased-hustler-950-a-4.html

[leoniru]

Yup, my flywheel damage is worse but my stator isn't as badly damaged.
I just ordered a new stator, flywheel, and regulator. Might as well do it right.
I guess it's just one of those hidden costs of buying used. Still, I don't like being lied to. Ain't no how the seller wasn't aware of this!
Caveat emptor.

[msafi65]

I take it you now have the engine out. look around for any loose parts. as in a broken spark plug. Sorry to say Ive done it and it damaged the same parts you need. I was able to find used at a small engine shop that had dead lawn tractors. You can plug your spec. # and serial # into Parts Tree and get the factory part #s. good luck your going to enjoy it when its running right.

[leoniru]

Update. I've installed the new stator, flywheel (had to modify the fan for the currently available flywheel), and new rectifier/regulator. Fired it up and .......still not charging!*#?@%$#. Oh, forgot about needing to ground the rectifier. Problem solved. Charging fine, and even the old rectifier/regulator was OK.
Thanx everyone for your responses/suggestions.