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C.E. Niehoff & Co. Regulator
#1

I believe I have a regulator issue.

As I drive, I go down to 11.9 V and back to 14.3 V. It may stay at 11.9 for 10 minutes or so, so its not just a quick second that its low.

I don't believe it should ever get below 13.2 while driving, correct ?

Electrical is not my strong point. Should I do more testing ? Or is it automatically the regulator ?

Dave, Karen, w/Buddy and Moose. 
06' Newell #784
towing a 05' Featherlight enclosed trailer for toys and tools, 
or a 21' F350 Big Grin w KTM 300, and MTB in the back
35' Packard 4 dr convertible
59' Nash Metropolitan
+ 4 more cars and 8 motorcycles


Carpe Diem. Have Fun
Tomorrow is not guaranteed.
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#2

Based on the thread topic, I assume you saw a Niehoff regulator in the engine bay?

There are procedures for checking regulator and alternator problems. But, honestly, if electricity and voltmeters are not your forte, you are better off taking the coach to an alternator place and letting them do the diagnostics. A truck shop will likely just throw parts at it.

Wouldn't hurt to check all the battery connections, and those ground lug connections in the engine bay. By checking I mean take them loose, clean them, and reinstall. Remember negative first when disconnecting a battery.

Richard and Rhonda Entrekin
99 Newell, 512
Maverick Hybrid Toad
Inverness, FL (when we're home Cool )
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#3

Yes, It says Niehoff on the regulator mounted external to the Alternator.

I'm not afraid to use the Volt meter, but wasn't sure what wire is the one that reads battery and which reads charge power.

Simple is to check connections first, I agree. I'll do that and get back to you all.

Dave, Karen, w/Buddy and Moose. 
06' Newell #784
towing a 05' Featherlight enclosed trailer for toys and tools, 
or a 21' F350 Big Grin w KTM 300, and MTB in the back
35' Packard 4 dr convertible
59' Nash Metropolitan
+ 4 more cars and 8 motorcycles


Carpe Diem. Have Fun
Tomorrow is not guaranteed.
Reply
#4

I am going to ask a few goofy questions based on my experience with Newells and Alternators. What brand and model of alternator is on the coach? And how many wires are connected to the back? You should have one big Positive wire, one big Negative wire, and then one or more smaller wires. I am really interested in the smaller wires, since that will determine the appropriate troubleshooting document to send you.

In both Newells I have owned, I have found that whoever wires them at Newell has a non standard way of wiring them.

In the first one, the voltage regulator was connected to wires, but the wires were dead ended just short of the alternator. I was not smart enough to figure out how the alternator was working but it was. I rewired that one to standard setup.

And my current coach has a “one wire” alternator, meaning it only needs an ignition activated 12V source to turn the alternator on, and it senses voltage from the charge wire. But, since the charge wire was connected to the center post of the battery isolator, and sensed zero voltage since the isolator is a great big diode, the alternator produced no output, But, Newell had made a jumper on the isolator from the center post to the chassis battery post. It made the alternator work, but it also had the result of tying the chassis and house batteries together enough to power the led lights in the coach. I also rewired this one to the standard method.

I tell you this yarn to forewarn you that you may find something non standard in the way the coach alternator was wired at the factory, and that non standard makes the troubleshooting hard to follow.

You could always throw a regulator at it, but that may or may not address the issue.

I

Richard and Rhonda Entrekin
99 Newell, 512
Maverick Hybrid Toad
Inverness, FL (when we're home Cool )
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#5

Load test your batteries. WE had a similar issue with our coach showing wonky voltages while driving. It would trigger a low coolant level high voltage alarm on our DDEC II. Ende up fixing the issue when I replaced the 2 bad house batteries. Our House & chassis batteries auto merge when driving.
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#6

Lifeline batteries for chassis are less that 2 years old. House lifelines batteries are about 6 month. The Alternator has a large 1/0 ? positive lead coming off and a 10 gauge single wire going into a plastic harness and disappearing towards the front of the engine where I can't get to. The regulator has 4 wires (12 to 14 guage). I don't have my load meter, its back at the shop.

I hope my issues were the cable tightness on the batteries. They were twist-able/loose when I check them. I removed, cleaned and reinstalled. I do not have my protectorate spray I would normally add. Its back at my shop. That's the second thing on my list to carry with me now.

I started the coach, it showed 12.6V at start up and at 900 rpm it went to 13.9 and within a few minutes to 14.3. back at Idle it drops to 12.8. This is about normal form what I've seen in the past. I won't have a chance to drive for another 2 weeks or so. Its during the past drives, its after a few hours that I see the Voltage drop to the high 11's, stay low, then slowly come back.

I'll report back future findings.

Dave, Karen, w/Buddy and Moose. 
06' Newell #784
towing a 05' Featherlight enclosed trailer for toys and tools, 
or a 21' F350 Big Grin w KTM 300, and MTB in the back
35' Packard 4 dr convertible
59' Nash Metropolitan
+ 4 more cars and 8 motorcycles


Carpe Diem. Have Fun
Tomorrow is not guaranteed.
Reply
#7

I could be totally wrong. It happens often.

The single 10G wire sounds like a one wire alternator. Look for that wire in the compartment to the right of the engine. It should tie to an ignition on 12V source. Mine was identified on the terminal readout in the back,

But if that is the case, the voltage regulator is not needed. Would be interesting to look at the color wires on the regulator and see if any of them even attach to the alternator.

Just out of curiosity, would you post a picture of your battery isolator?

Richard and Rhonda Entrekin
99 Newell, 512
Maverick Hybrid Toad
Inverness, FL (when we're home Cool )
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#8

My first thought falls back on my electrical experience.  If a large load is applied, the voltage is going to drop.  Now if something is faulting, besides the regulator, and if it is large enough, it could overwhelm the voltage available causing a drop.  Given, it would have to be a pretty sizable load but it is something worth looking into.  

I have noticed for years that something is cycling causing a voltage drop in my dash voltmeter.  It also causes my dash lights to change brightness.  I have been unable to discover what it could be.   The real proof would be a recording voltmeter at the isolator or even a recording ammeter.  I don’t have one for DC.  So far, it hasn’t caused any appreciable harm and inspections of nearly all components and connections hasn’t revealed any excessive damage.  

Could this be the same thing happening in this thread?

Gordon Jones
2000-45'-2slide-#567
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#9

        Here is what I thought the battery isolator is. The other picture shows the 10g going into an echo charger. 

Can anyone explain how the echo charger works. It seams to be wired into the house batteries. Although this isn't as important as the charging while going down the road.

As far as loads goes, I don't do anything while driving to add loads. I'm really consistant with what is on and off. I almost always drive with my lights on. I do turn them off when I see the volts low and it may come up .1v, but not much.

Dave, Karen, w/Buddy and Moose. 
06' Newell #784
towing a 05' Featherlight enclosed trailer for toys and tools, 
or a 21' F350 Big Grin w KTM 300, and MTB in the back
35' Packard 4 dr convertible
59' Nash Metropolitan
+ 4 more cars and 8 motorcycles


Carpe Diem. Have Fun
Tomorrow is not guaranteed.
Reply
#10

Yep, that is the battery isolator, and the wiring looks to be standard.

The echo charger automatically charges your engine batteries from the house batteries.
Very useful when parked for long periods.

Richard and Rhonda Entrekin
99 Newell, 512
Maverick Hybrid Toad
Inverness, FL (when we're home Cool )
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