Alternator not charging

Chad504 · Mar 20, 2009

Ok I installed a good quality 1 wire Delco 10si alternator on my H. I don"t want to debate the merits of a 3 wire over a 1 wire. I got it to fill the void until I get my generator rebuilt as 12 volt.
The situation is this, when it was first installed it worked great, however the water pump belt was too loose. once it warmed up and started slipping the it would stop charging. Easy enough, I adjusted the pulley to get the proper amount of belt tension. everything spins right now but the alternator will not charge.

I have checked all of my connections and have a new "known good" ammeter in place.

Anonymous-0 · Mar 20, 2009

I don't know if this is what's going on but it's
worth checking. I did some looking into the one-wires a few years ago and according to the info.
I was given, the self-exciting doesn't kick in until you achieve a certain rpm. The knock was that if you just start up and stay at idle, it
would not produce any output. In order to get it
going, you have to give it some throttle at some point. Just a thought, easy enough to check out.

Janicholson · Mar 20, 2009

A one wire not charging that has no external connections to the internal regulator is difficult to assess except by having it hooked up to a good battery (solid groung from alt to chassis, and a solid heavy wire connection to the amp gauge (in this case)), then spinning it fast enough to make it excite. I am a bit concerned that the alt might have died while it was in operation (the belt slipping you mentioned could be an issue of excessive operating losses and failure). My suggestion is to check the grounds and conductivity of all components, start it and run at high idle (wide open) and see if it charges, if not, it may be toast. (Ignore this part if you need to) The process of making them one wire can lead to issues of stability and leakage losses. Best of luck, JimN

Bob M · Mar 20, 2009

Chad - I'm uncertain from your post which belt (generator or fan) was slipping and you tightened.

If it was the GENERATOR belt, most likely now it's the fan belt that's slipping. With the engine stopped, manually try turning the fan. It should turn the crank pulley and inch or two before slipping. However if the crankshaft doesn't move, tighten the fan belt. (DON'T overtighten the belt - that'll quickly ruin the water pump bearings!)

However if the was the FAN belt you tightened, the fan - and thus the alternator - are now turning considerably slower than before due to the increased pitch diameter of the water pump pulley. This lower speed is now below the "cut in" RPM of your 1-wire alternator. Hence it won't begin to charge.

Solutions: 1 - Install a smaller pulley on the alternator (to spin it faster), or 2 - Install a new - and hopefully a bit shorter - fan belt that when properly tensioned will spin the fan and alternator faster.

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Note this all presumes your new 1-wire alternator is in good health (it may not be!)

Chad504 · Mar 20, 2009

it was the fan belt that I adjusted. None of the belts are slipping now.

Chad504 · Mar 20, 2009

All of my connections are good, wires are correct sizes. This is just a fix to keep it going for a year or so, until I get it restored, but allowing me to use it in between.

Bob M · Mar 20, 2009

OK - gotta be either the belt adjustment has caused the alternator is now spin too slowly or something's gone wrong with the alternator itself. (I'm guessing probably the latter...)

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However if this just is a temporary setup, you can get by without a working generator/alternator. Simply use an external charger on the battery as needed.

With battery/distributor ignition, a good battery, not using the lights and operating the starter infrequently (ie. long continuous runs) you can easily get 15 - 20+ hours of engine run time from of a single battery charge. (I've done it many times...)

And if your tractor has a magneto it'll run even longer...

Alternator not charging

Chad504

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Anonymous-0

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Janicholson

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Bob M

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Chad504

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Chad504

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Bob M

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