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On 21 Mar 2002, at 15:18, Y and C Everhart wrote: > What could be causing the points to burn? I checked my generator with no > load (all wires disconnected) and I had 6.5volts at idle and when revved, > the voltage jumped accordingly. I also checked the voltage at the battery > with the new regulator in and it was right around 6 volts while at idle, and > around 6.5 to 7 volts when slightly revved. The car is all stock, with no > electrical accessories other than a Blaupunkt radio that is 6-12 volt > switchable and it is on 6 volts. I have no experience with 6V systems, but I suspect that they are very similar to 12V ones. The voltage at idle is almost meaningless; what you need to measure is the voltage it levels out to as you raise the RPMs. This is the regulating voltage. For a 6V system, the regulating voltage should be 7.0- 7.2V, measured at the battery. The thing that goes bad in the 12V regulators is the resistor that looks like a wire wrapped cage on the underside of the regulator. This resistor goes open and this leads to excess sparking of the internal contact points, which then fry. You can check this resistor with an Ohmmeter, but you have to open the regulator first so you can open the contacts that short around it. I had been saving old regulators for years before I figured this out. Once I thought of that I went thru my bucket of old regulators and found that EVERY resistor in there was open! I looked once to see if I could buy something that I could replace that resistor with, but came up empty. It is called on to dissipate quite a lot of power for its size, which is why it is open wound like that. If you find a good 6V VR that you'd care to loan me, I would be willing to open it up and check out the resistor with an eye to finding a good replacement. Otherwise, I can add a diode to the circuit that will add to the life of the regulator. I do this regularly to 12V VRs, but I've never had the opprotunity to work with a 6V unit. - ******************************* Jim Adney, jadney@vwtype3.org Madison, Wisconsin, USA ******************************* ------------------------------------------------------------------- Too much? Digest! mailto:type3-d-request@vwtype3.org Subj=subscribe