BX Alternator Upgrade..or was it?

[sailnseagulls]

After recently added a soft cab with work lights, wiper and strobe to my BX23. After reading some posts about this, I decided to order the upgrade kit and have my dealer install it. The dealer ended up having it a few extra days and the mechanic explained that after hooking everything up, the battery light came on. He then checked the wiring harness that came with it because he had noticed a strip of bare wire where it attaches to the alternator. He put a piece of shrink tube to cover this and checked the continuity of all the wires. He said it checked fine and the alternator was putting out the right current. After installing everything again, the light would come on sometimes at startup. Other times it does not. The dealer returnrd the tractor to me like this and said he was ordering a new harness. After talking to him and the mechanis, they have no explaination. I told him I want another whole kit ordered and installed so I am not plaqued by this forever. He agreed to this. Any ideas what the heck is going on?

 

[Dyer retired]

I bought the 40 amp alternator from an ebay seller and ordered a complete wiring harness from my Kubota dealer. I installed everything myself and don't recall there being any bare wires with the harness. The terminal that connected to the alternator didn't have a boot to cover it after it was installed, but I had another one that I used and have had no problems whatsoever. It sure sounds like you asked your dealer to do the right thing and it sounds like they are willing to do it for you. Let us know what you find out. Dyer, retired.

 

[escavader]

If you read my recent post i had on this,My system wouldnt charge either.Plagued me for a month.Turns out to be a defective fuse[not blown]checked out with a continuity test,but when you plugged it in it electricity wouldnt flow through it.You should have 12 volt[or what ever youre battery has in it] at the alternator when the tractor is OFF.Put your meter on the battery read it,when you start up,you should read 14 something volts.These two test should tell you if the harness is good or not.Do a continuity test on the 50 amp fuse,make sure it doesnt rattle like mine did also.Iknow its frustrating but when you get it working its awsome.More power than youll need.

ALAN

 

[Lefty_Kubota]

how much was the alternator upgrade kit? Not counting labor

 

[sailnseagulls]

Alan,
Yes..I did follow your thread and the problem with the fuse. I decided to have the dealer install the kit because I wanted to avoid the hassles. As it stands, the dealer is ordering a whole new kit and going to install from scratch. The main wire from the alternator was scraped somehow exposing a bare wire. seems strange in a brand new kit which he said came directly from Kubota. I thought about the fuse, but figured at this point it is the dealers problem and I would rather start new. I may have to look just to satisfy my own curiosity.

Phil...the dealer quoted me $187 w/o labor for the whole kit which included the relay, harness and a couple different brackets for different models.

Dyer...I don't think mine came with a boot either. The wire wasn't supposed to be bare...it got nicked along the way somehow which is why they originally were going to order me a new harness. I will keep you posted.

 

[Lefty_Kubota]

thank you.. I am considering getting this upgrade kit, as i plan on adding on more lights... " just like Allen"

 

[Dyer retired]

Alan,

Phil...the dealer quoted me $187 w/o labor for the whole kit which included the relay, harness and a couple different brackets for different models.

I had an interesting experience at my dealer. I had not had any dealings with eBay purchases, so I had originally asked my dealer for a quote. The quote he gave me was $358.00 with the alternator and harness....no labor included in that price, because I intended on installing it myself. I went to Messick's with the part numbers and got a cheaper price for the whole kit by about $100.00, so I ordered it. I got notice a couple of days later from Messick's that the alternator was no longer carried by Kubota (apparently they are normally shipped directly from Kubota.) I went back to my dealer and asked if they could get it for me and they tried ordering it and got the same response, so it wasn't some fluke? I'm not sure what was happening, but ended up going to an eBay seller that Blackmagicwoman (Shaun) had recommended and got the alternator for $85.00 with shipping included. The harness from the dealer was another $85.00, so it all ended up coming in cheaper than what I had anticipated and it all works great! Not sure what the issue with the alternator from Kubota was, because I read a lot of posts about people getting them from dealers for the same unit I needed. As Alan has said, once you get it installed, you'll like the ability to run just about all the lights you could think of with little concern for killing the battery. Dyer, retired

 

[sailnseagulls]

Dyer,
When I ordered the kit a couple weeks ago, I mentioned to the dealer that I heard they may be no longer available. He said he had not heard that and called me about five days later to say the kit came in. When I asked that a new one be ordered, he said no problem and he would call me as soon as that one comes in. I'm looking foward to getting it installed once and for all as it is snowing/icing here right now! I want to try out the new Whelen strobe!!
Larry

 

[sailnseagulls]

UPDATE...
The dealer called while I was away last week and said that he had the new alternator kit. They picked up the tractor yesterday morning, replaced everything with the new kit as I asked, and returned the tractor in the afternoon. The battery light is off now and everything seems to be working properly. I have not had the chance to use it at night yet with all the lights on but from what everyone says , I should be very happy. I have to say this dealer is great and did all this even though he hasn't even given me the bill to date and wouldn't until I was happy.
Larry

 

[Dyer retired]

UPDATE...
The dealer called while I was away last week and said that he had the new alternator kit. They picked up the tractor yesterday morning, replaced everything with the new kit as I asked, and returned the tractor in the afternoon. The battery light is off now and everything seems to be working properly. I have not had the chance to use it at night yet with all the lights on but from what everyone says , I should be very happy. I have to say this dealer is great and did all this even though he hasn't even given me the bill to date and wouldn't until I was happy.
Larry

Congratulations! I think I can guarantee that you'll be happy with the new modification and the peace of mind when you light up at night. Dyer, retired