4610 charging problems

[Greyhound101]

4610: What simple checks can I make to determine whether the alternator or voltage regulator is bad? What I'm seeing on my voltage gage (I mounted an external gage in the dash) is battery voltage for most of the time and then it'll jump to 14v for a few minutes and then back to batt voltage. Don't know if the wiring is suspect or if it's alt or regulator.

 

[RodinNS]

It sounds like a loose connection, possibly on the field wire to the alternator... but it could also be a bad regulator or a bad battery temperature sensor. It also depends on what alternator is fitted... Most of them should have a 32 amp Motorolla with an external regulator mounted on the firewall beside the battery. It could also have an internally regulated Lucas alternator... and both will probably have the battery sensor. Aside from loose connections I'd probably toss either one of those alts and install an off the shelf Delco 10si unless the Motorolla simply needs a new regulator. If you need to replace the alt... both the Motorolla and the Lucas are quite expensive.


Rod

 

[Greyhound101]

Is the batt sensor internal to either alt? Also, what is necessary to change to the Delco? Are there wiring instructions you could point me to?

 

[RodinNS]

The battery temp sensor is a black pad in the bottom of the battery tray with two wires hanging from it. If it's bad, unhook it and place a jumper in the harness connections and that should restore full charging ability... if the sensor is bad.
Delco conversions are pretty easy on those things, electrically. If it's got an internal Lucas job, the Delco swaps right in place once you modify the brackets and get a longer belt. If it's got the motorolla... you have to tape up a couple of wires and unhook the regulator from the harness and it will work without modification. Again, brackets need to be modified. I just take the bottom bracket, flip it over and elongate the second hole into a slot so the bracket can slide forward... then I usually cut a 1-1/4" strip of 1/4" flat bar in an arc and weld that to the original upper bracket and cut a slot in it for the top mounting bolt... and you need a belt that's probably 1/2" to 1" longer than the original. It takes a bit of screwing around but doesn't cost much. I just get the lifetime warranty Delco 10si from NAPA and if they ever do crap out, return it for a replacement.

Rod

 

[hurleyjd]

Pretty good price on new alternator. I have bought from them and received good service.
alternator

 

[Keith Williams]

Rod et all,
I would add to RodInNS excellent post. You need to find the wire that goes to the regulator coming from the charging warning light. Run a new wire to the excite circuit of the 10SI alternator from that circuit ( or run a new wire from the dash to the alternator from the charging light).

That way when you turn the key on the light will come on indicating that the charging system is not working. After you start the tractor, the light will go out as soon as the alternator kicks in and starts charging. The light also comes on as soon as you shut down the engine so you make sure to turn the key off.
HTH
Keith

 

[RodinNS]

I should have been a bit more clear about the wiring... but in both cases I use all wiring that was there. On the Motorolla's you grab I think the regulator wire... pretty sure it was the yellow one in that harness and hook that to terminal 1 for the indicator light/excitation voltage. Terminal 2 is jumped to the BAT terminal for sensing. Then the large primary wire in the harness is hooked to the BAT terminal on the alt. The rest are taped up. That REG wire in the harness goes to the indicator light and the regulator in parallel and that's why you simply unhook the external regulator.
In the case of the Lucas alt with internal regulator... you just isolate the wire in the harness that goes to the indicator and use it, hook the primary to the BAT terminal and tape the rest of the live ones up (those are usually for the battery temp sensor. In both cases make sure to use the ground wire to the alt case...

Rod