Chinese made mini digger not charging

[International454]

A neighbour who is a one man band builder has a 3 year old Carter which is Chinese mini digger.. a while ago he had problems with flat battery so he fitted new battery but still having problems as it needs charging regularly
I have not seen digger close up , the owner says there’s no belt and no visible alternator
While I have been writing this I have thought maybe the alternator fits into the hydraulic pump drive some how
Any ideas?
Thanks

 

[International454]

I am in uk

 

[ARC]

Flywheel and coil just like a lawn mower.

 

[Ray,IN]

He might find useful information in an operation and maintenance manual: https://www.manualslib.com/manual/3315801/Carter-Ct12.html Electrical diagram.

 

[Jim.ME]

A neighbour who is a one man band builder has a 3 year old Carter which is Chinese mini digger.. a while ago he had problems with flat battery so he fitted new battery but still having problems as it needs charging regularly
I have not seen digger close up , the owner says there’s no belt and no visible alternator
While I have been writing this I have thought maybe the alternator fits into the hydraulic pump drive some how
Any ideas?
Thanks

What model digger and what engine? Carter made/makes more than one so answers to your question may vary based on model and engine.

In any case, I very much doubt the charging is tied to the hydraulic pump drive.

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

Most of these machines have a 420cc single-cylinder gasoline engine that is more or less a clone of the Honda GX390.

The "alternator" is built into the flywheel. There is a stator underneath the flywheel, and magnets on the inside of the flywheel that excite the stator. A rectifier/regulator circuit changes the output of the stator into ~13.5V to charge the battery. Something is wrong with one of those components.

Useful piece of information: Even though the machine has electric start and a battery, it does not use the battery for spark. The engine will run without a battery. For starting purposes only a battery should last a very long time between charges. Considering the amount of effort required to remove the engine, pull the flywheel, and replace the parts to possibly get it charging again, it would simply be easier to put the battery on a maintainer when he's finished with the machine every day.

 

[Janicholson]

A neighbour who is a one man band builder has a 3 year old Carter which is Chinese mini digger.. a while ago he had problems with flat battery so he fitted new battery but still having problems as it needs charging regularly
I have not seen digger close up , the owner says there’s no belt and no visible alternator
While I have been writing this I have thought maybe the alternator fits into the hydraulic pump drive some how
Any ideas?
Thanks

If it has a module in the charging system with rectifier/s and a voltage control (zener diode) testing that, replacing it, might be easy. Jim