OC46 Diesel Electrical System has power even with key "off"

[Ed Miller]

I just put in a rebuilt generator and new regulator and now I have a problem I never had before.   With the key in any position I have 11 volts at the battery, or load terminals with the machine turned off.  The key has three postions besides the starter position (fully turned clockwise.)   There is one CCW from vertical, vertical and CW from vertical and finally one past the CW position that is springloaded and starts the machine.   Is this a factory switch?  I haven't been able to remove the insturment panel, the slotted screws are stripped.  I guess I'll have to drill them out and then use an easyout. The wires are all painted in the engine compartment so I can't see the color codes.  No lights on this machine. Any ideas?   

[John Schwiebert]

I am confused. You should have more voltage at the battery. (12.6-13.2 Volts. The battery will alway have voltage no matter if the key is off or on. Is that what you are asking?

[hotratz]

Are you asking if you should have battery voltage at the generator output terminal with the key off? Like John said, Your battery sounds like it's low for one. What voltage do you have across the battery when it's running?

[Tim Ling]

Make sure that you polarize the charging system anytime that you disconnect any part of the system.

[Ed Miller]

The 11 volts is at the battery terminal on the voltage regulator.    When the machine is running I get about 12.7 volts measured at the battery itself.  It drops to 12.4 or so volts when I turn the machine off so I think the generator and voltage regulator are OK.     I'm just wondering how the ignition switch is supposed to work.   Which position shuts off the Power to everything if this ever happens.    I know that the battery is connected directly to the starter, so I should have 12 volts there and on the cable that runs from the starter under the dash to the ameter I think.   Not sure about the rest of the system however.   I'll start to look at the wiring diagram but the copy I have isn't too clear.

[Blake Malkamaki]

I don't think that is the original switch as I doubt it would have an accessory position to the left. I don't even know if they had a start position - may have had a button. Since you shut the engine off by shutting the throttle, the key does not have a bearing on that. If you have 11 volts at the battery with the switch on or with the switch off, it sounds like your battery is getting bad or just low. Does the voltage change if you take the cables off the battery?

[Robert Barbour]

A good fully charged battery should be 12.7 volts when the machine is off.  You should have 14.5 at the battery when running to charge the battery properly.  12.7 volts will not do it!

[hotratz]

 You can try putting your battery on a charger for a day. Take it off, let it set for a day and then check the battery voltage. If the battery is good it should retain at least 12.5 or more volts. This would be the time to load test it too.