charging system

[honeaj]

Hello all, I am having trouble keeping my batteries charged on an M43. I am just now aggravated enough to do something about it. Does the generator have to be repolarized when the batteries have been unhooked for recharging? I am going to clean the ground tonight if it is not raining to see if that helps. Checked the generator by hooking a volt meter to the batteries while vehicle was running. It was showing 24.7 volts. That doesn't seem like quite enough. After I charge the batteries, the battery guage in the truck will show it charging in the green for a while, then it goes to yellow. I know I have several things to check, but thought I would check on the polarity situation first. Thanks in advance for any advice/info. Jerry

[Charles Talbert]

System usually does not require polarizing. You likely have a bad gen or regulator unless you find obvious corroded fasteners or bad wiring.

[honeaj]

charging problem

Charles, Thanks for the reply. I am afraid you're right. I just hoped maybe it was something as simple as repolarizing. I have a 424 International tractor that must be repolarized every time the battery is unhooked and read in the tech manual about polarizing the M42 system when installing a new generator,but I didn't know if the system held its polarity when the batteries were unhooked. By the way, I said in the first post the vehicle was an M43, it is an M42. Sorry about that. My fingers don't always hit the key I tell them to. Thanks again Charles. Jerry