Voltage regulator

A

aermotor

Well-known member
I drove my car for 2 yrs. with original cut out and decided to install a FP regulator last June. Everything worked great until 3 days ago and the generator quit. I installed another cut out and sent the regulator back to be analyzed by John. What else can I check in the mean time? History: all wires front to back replaced, Brakeliter wired to stop light only, Logolites installed as instructed at the time of regulator installation. With the now installed cut out I get 8 amps all the time and 4 amps with the lights on minus 2 more amps while aooghaging. I average 130 miles a month since I began driving the car, half at night and half daytime. Any ideas?

John
 
Tom's Voltage Regulator replaces the adjusting brush inside the generator. No one will ever know. :cool:

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I like the large heat sink Tom uses; it helps keep the magic smoke in.

I did not see a post in the for sale section. Do you know cost and contact info?

I found a nu Rex unit in a box of parts. Need to replace cut and patched wires before testing. I want a regulator before installing a 12v step up for gadgets.
 
Bikerider58 said:
I like the large heat sink Tom uses; it helps keep the magic smoke in.

I did not see a post in the for sale section. Do you know cost and contact info?

I found a nu Rex unit in a box of parts. Need to replace cut and patched wires before testing. I want a regulator before installing a 12v step up for gadgets.
Click to expand...

Tom is not a vendor but a hobbyist that discovered a way to regulate the voltage of the generator.
Just find any post of his (there are about 20,000) and click on his name to send him an email.
 
I also have a Powerhouse fitted with one of Tom's regulators for about 6 years now...no issues. Very satisfied.
Good Day!
 
I had one of those FP cutout regulators, and did not like the way it worked, and then it failed. I replaced it with one of Tom's regulators, and it works perfect.
 
I too am not a fan of those cut out regulators. I had problems.

The original system with original parts are pretty bullet proof. The original system with one of Tom's regulators is even 'more better'.
 
2manycars said:
I had one of those FP cutout regulators, and did not like the way it worked, and then it failed. I replaced it with one of Tom's regulators, and it works perfect.
Click to expand...

What compensation did you get, if any, for the failure? So far I have been asked to send it back with a check for $25.00 to have it "analyzed" to see who's fault it is that it failed. The insinuation was that I did something wrong and it just showed up after 6 mos. Everything works good now with a $15.00 cut out from a local repair shop but I still want a regulator for night and day driving. The $ are adding up with FP and I am "over the barrel". I guess I should have listened about Tom's first.

John
 
Another very good voltage regulator is available from;James Peterson (jpetersonbend@yahoo.com) It is mounted in the band and works! Mine has 20,000 Miles and no problems. It is mounted in a band that replaces the stock band. Easy to install -- just swap bands.
 
aermotor said:
What compensation did you get, if any, for the failure? So far I have been asked to send it back with a check for $25.00 to have it "analyzed" to see who's fault it is that it failed. The insinuation was that I did something wrong and it just showed up after 6 mos. Everything works good now with a $15.00 cut out from a local repair shop but I still want a regulator for night and day driving. The $ are adding up with FP and I am "over the barrel". I guess I should have listened about Tom's first.

John
Click to expand...

It was several years ago, and I mentioned on the forum that it had failed, and he responded and said send it back for a refund. I did, and got the refund. I dont know why he now wants $25 to check it. Do you think he has had too many failures? He seemed like a honest guy, but I like the way Tom's regulator functions better.
 
Tom's regulator converts the generator to t true 2 brush generator with the field current controlled by a regulator.

The current to the field is varied depending on the state of charge of the battery and the load on the system, ignition, lights etc.

When I drive my car, after initial start up, the ammeter will show essentially zero after the battery is fully charged. The generator is then only generating enough current to run the ignition system. With this system, the generator should last a very long time

I am not sure how the cut out type regulator works but I do know the "Third Brush" is still in the system and the generator is always charging. I would think this is hard on the generator.

Chris W.
 
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What seems to happen with the Funprojects regulator is that people don't follow the directions.The directions say do NOT polarize the generator with the regulator hooked up.People get on here and read how to polarize the generator,and go out the their car and do it.I think I've bought seven over the years for my own cars,and a few for others people.I installed one of Tom's in a powerhouse for somebody,all are working fine.I did have one band type in a generator,that one worked great until it came unglued from the band and wound itself up in there.
 
I have no dog in this fight but I will give you my experience. I bought a cutout style regulator from Macs quite a few years ago and it has worked flawlessly. I got really sick of resetting the 3rd brush every time I was going to drive at night so ended up splitting the difference and setting the charge rate too high for daytime driving but not enough to run the lights at night. Either way its very hard on the battery. After installing the VR I don't worry about it, battery stays topped off all the time. One thing to remember, a regulator of any type is adding relatively delicate modern electronics into a very noisy (electrically) electrical system. You have to be careful about jumping, charging, etc. With the old style cutout it is bulletproof but tough on the battery. There's the trade-off.
One more thing for those thinking about installing a regulator, follow the directions exactly, there are no second chances with electronics. If your wiring is in bad shape with shorts and bad connections periodically, don't bother with a VR, you'll just wreck it anyway.
 
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