S A 200 (ENGINE) generator/ regulator question

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The 12 volt generator on a just aquired Redface is dead. I have the basics down from an old Motors manual, but not much is said about pos ground,vs neg ground. My question is the regulator mounted on top of the generator has some numbers on it and 12V neg (might be 12V -) so I assume it is for neg ground, must I stay neg ground or will everything change when I polarize it? Thank'sSA 200 RED FACESA-200 BLACKFACEanother BLACKFACEMILLERMATIC 35SMILLER 251 W/SPOOLGUNMILLER AC/DC BUZZ BOX
Reply:Positive ground systems work better than Negative ground.  This is true based upon the flow of electrons in a DC circuit.I don't understand your first question.You can change the polarity of the system, but why?  It was designed to work.  Now, if you add an electronic distributor, or another electrical add-on, you will have to change the systems polarity.  Depending on who's been there before you, and what they have done will decide the complexity.Good luck..... keep us posted.-Rhyno07 Fowler 200D65 RedFace04 Miller TB 302, 22hpMiller 12RCMiller HF 251-1Lincoln SP135HyperTherm PM 380and a few others... Originally Posted by RhynoBut, if I "all of a sudden disappear....  ...." hopefully I didn't suffer too much....
Reply:After reading your post, again, did I answer your question?-Rhyno07 Fowler 200D65 RedFace04 Miller TB 302, 22hpMiller 12RCMiller HF 251-1Lincoln SP135HyperTherm PM 380and a few others... Originally Posted by RhynoBut, if I "all of a sudden disappear....  ...." hopefully I didn't suffer too much....
Reply:mine is positive ground, its a 72' and its been screwin with me for a month. Trying to get everything set correctly I keep blowin the gen out.
Reply:Hi, Sorry for the delay, turkey day ran a little long.First I see I did not mention that the gen is not working. Also it did not have a battery, and the cable ends are for a stud like a marine or heavy truck battery, so there is no way to know how it was hooked up. I know that polarity starts with how the battery is hooked up, my question is will this regulator that is marked 12V- work pos ground or will It fry when I flash it? Another way to ask the question is do I have to find a regulator marked 12V+ ?SA 200 RED FACESA-200 BLACKFACEanother BLACKFACEMILLERMATIC 35SMILLER 251 W/SPOOLGUNMILLER AC/DC BUZZ BOX
Reply:Welcome to the WWF truckbiz. If you haven't already, go here: http://www.mylincolnelectric.com/Cat...ualsearch.aspx and put in your code# for manuals you can use for your machine. If your machine has a generator instead of an alternator you have a positive ground. The + battery post is the ground for that system. The alternator uses the - ground. It's relatively easy to switch the machine to an alternator, too. Search gave me this.http://weldingweb.com/vbb/showthread.php...ght=alternatorGood luck with your machine, let us know what worked for you.Only when the last tree has died and the last river has been poisoned and the last fish has been caught will we realize we cannot eat money.                                         -Cree Indian ProverbSA 200 LincolnVictor Torches
Reply:Thank's everyone for the input, I am trying to keep the gen if I can. The question I can't resolve is if I can use a regulator stamped 12V-, if I hook everything up pos. ground.SA 200 RED FACESA-200 BLACKFACEanother BLACKFACEMILLERMATIC 35SMILLER 251 W/SPOOLGUNMILLER AC/DC BUZZ BOX
Reply:Originally Posted by truckbizThank's everyone for the input, I am trying to keep the gen if I can. The question I can't resolve is if I can use a regulator stamped 12V-, if I hook everything up pos. ground.
Reply:Thanks denrep, the funny part is If I hadn't found this site a few weeks ago I would have just polarized it neg ground and been done. I really thought this would be an easy question, I haven't worked on a generator in 30 years, and I guess no one else has either. I am going to take the regulator apart and clean it up today and I think I'll just do it neg ground so there is no issue.SA 200 RED FACESA-200 BLACKFACEanother BLACKFACEMILLERMATIC 35SMILLER 251 W/SPOOLGUNMILLER AC/DC BUZZ BOX
Reply:Well, here's the end,( I THINK) Took everything apart and cleaned it all up, I didn't like the way the commutater looked so I turned it and cut the mika, checked for opens and shorts then put it all back together. I knew the regulator was marked neg. so I hooked up the battery neg ground because I didn't want to fry anything. polarized it and started it up. It started putting out right away, so I let it run a little while but the ammeter was reading backwards, so I figured what the heck, it must have worked the other way before, so I shut it down, changed the battery cables around, polarized it again and fired it up and presto-changeo everythings golden, working pos ground  just like it's supposed to!SA 200 RED FACESA-200 BLACKFACEanother BLACKFACEMILLERMATIC 35SMILLER 251 W/SPOOLGUNMILLER AC/DC BUZZ BOX
Reply:Originally Posted by citizen smithmine is positive ground, its a 72' and its been screwin with me for a month. Trying to get everything set correctly I keep blowin the gen out.
Reply:well heres the story with mine. The gen originally wasnt putting out any power so I took it to a certified rebuilder, had it rebuilt, installed it with all the wiring hanging out and it ran like a dream and gave me 13.6v all the way around. shut her down and wire everything up to a new voltmeter get everthing zip tied in place, start it up- 4.6v coming out and a run down battery. couldnt manually make the regulator give me more power. It was flashed correctly but who knows. Its at another shop now. Im 160 in the hole on the rebuild and I got a 35 dollar deposit at this shop now so Id rather not ditch it for an alternator at this point although in retrospect I probably should have done that from the start.The real bitch of it is that aside from the charging system, this machine runs like it was fresh off the production line. Its quieter than my trailblazer and smooth as butter. Oh well. The shop its at now has a Lincoln certified tech, so hopefully he will sort me out.
Reply:Originally Posted by citizen smith. . . had it rebuilt, installed it with all the wiring hanging out and it ran like a dream and gave me 13.6v all the way around. . . .shut her down and wire everything up to a new voltmeter get everything zip tied in place, start it up- 4.6v coming out and a run down battery.
Reply:Early ones were positive ground.  The electronic ignition add on boxes from Pertronix can be had in either negative or positive ground.  Later on if you want to upgrade a machine to the electronic idler you will need a negative ground system however.