Delco Remy voltage regulator

I have been having a very hard time getting my '53 H to stay charging for any length of time, {more than a few days}. I have had the generator rebuilt at my local shop, and replaced the regulator as well. This works for a few days then it quits charging again. When I took the parts back to my repairman to be tested, the regulator was bad again. I have repeated this process three times getting regulators from my repairman and from NAPA. I finally got fed up and took the tractor to my repairman so he could be sure it was wired correctly and installed properly. He says it is. He believes that is faulty regulators he is buying. He took one of my bad ones apart to show me where the contacts are coming loose from their mount, when he touches it it begins charging again. He wants to find an OEM regulator which we believe would be a Delco Remy unit. Does anyone know where we can find one? It is a 6v pos. ground system. I would convert it to 12v but it cranks over well and starts easily so it shouldn't be necessary, and I plan on restoring it so I would like to keep it original. I have a lot of faith in my repairman, I have been taking generators, starters, etc. to him for 25 years, and I believe what he says so I would like to help him find what he needs.Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I would get the # from the gen then get the correct reg from www.nnalert.com as they have ones listed for your gen. Yours is probably one with the third brush that can be set for rate of shatge.

Id give Jim a call at Agri Services in New York and ask him about the brands and quality of VR"s he stocks. Hes at www.wiringharnesses.com tell him Ol John T says hi.

John T

you can get a real delco part, at a good parts house, not napa. Used ones can be rebuilt. or try [email protected]

Google The Brillman Company in Mt. Jackson, Virginia and contact John Brillman. He can check your voltage regulator and either rebuild it or supply you with a new one.

Get ahold of Wayne at triodiode. Wietzles DC in Norwalk, Ohio.

This subject has been gone over in great detail several times. Quality of new regulators is a real issue. Old regulators used to be polarity sensitive as the two points were made out of different materials so they were reversed for pos or neg polarity. Then you have the issue of different generators used on the H, the early ones with the high low switch for charge control used a field coil that drew more current so if you use that generator with a regulator you have too much current flowing through the points and cause premature failure. Next, setting the third brush closer to main brush on adjustable models, to try to get more amps to hold the lights and battery ign, also causes more current flow through fields and thus points. I would have your service man run a field current draw test at battery voltage on the bench and if it is over 2.5 amps (very max 3) I would say no regulator would last. Those combination current, voltage regulators used on these model tractors always were less than desireable. Finding a genuine Delco, well, I think they have out sourced building their's also.

Many if not most of the aftermarket regulators ar crap.

I just bought two in row from this website and neither worked right. Both A&I versions of a Delco, but both quite different even though the same part #.

First one had no hardened points in the cut-out area. Tractor would charge, but they'd stick when shut down and I'd have to pull the cover and pry them apart.

I called and they sent a second one. This one was built much more rugged and weighed much more. Night-and-day difference. Put it on and the system chareged at 16.5 volts. So, I had to pull the cover off and adjust the voltage limiter to 14.5. Now it's fine (for now).

So two, new, and both not works as they were shipped.

Also bougt a new Echlin from NAPA for a different machine (still a Delco copy). That was a few years ago. Every spring, I have to pull the cover off and file the points in it (for the voltage limiter). Then it will work fine all summer.

I paid $33 for the Delco copy I bought on this Website (A&I brand). I also noticed that John Deere sells their's for almost $100 !! Same Delco cross-reference number. So maybe for that high price, the one Deere sells really is a Delco - or at least made to the same quality level. For Delco # 1118981 or 11118988. Used on IH and Ferguson tractors as well as many others.

I got a new old stock Delco Remy voltage regulator for my TD-5 from ebay. They come up there once in a while as long as you know the part number you need.

Of the ones we see in the catlogs, one is made in India and one in the US. Sadly, I was told by a guy that owns a business restoring antique car and tractor electrics taht he has trouble with both and lately even more with the US version. I"ve been through he-ll and back with the charging system on my SH and now everything is new right down to the field coils and armature on the generator and Ive been through 3 regulators. The latest is functioning so I"m holding my breath.

Just bought one from him for my 230 that must have lasted all of three hours. Local auto electric shop found one made in the USA. Not cheap - I think about $80.00 but it's lasting OK. They said most are built in (I think) India and are just junk. Every thing else that I've bought from Agri-service has been great. Nice people.

Yes, they are frustrating. Problem is mostly quality and application of parts. Never had very good luck with any rebuilt generators. The deal was though, some one would buy a rebuilt at auto supply or some other dealer as we did not sell them until we had to out of necessity, and then they brought them into me to check them out. Well, improper field coils were the main problem, armatures were turned down to the minimum, poorly cut mica in armature grooves, hard brushes that make poor contact, and then undersized shafts and bushing so even if all you need was a bushing you had to sell the man a different generator. Knock on wood, one of my own H tractors I left it on 6 volt with generator, found a good looking used regulator, tuned it and adjusted it and it works good. I used to even take the points out of one regulator and put them in another, we had a good test setup for adjusting voltage under simulated full charge battery conditions and I did a lot of that. I don't have all that equipment now days but know what I can get by with .