Brought the old girl home today

RichardTX · Apr 7, 2011

What engine and engine spec number do you have there?

THe Kohler ignition systems are pretty bullet proof.

The tag indicates you have points and I assume a condenser. Can you post pictures of the coil?

woodsman2011 · Apr 8, 2011

Hey Richard. Yeah, thats what the tag says but that ain't what shes' got. This one has the breakerless alternator ignition. I need to do a little more checking to make sure but in talking to Rick at the gravely shop, he says that if I convert it to points/condenser system, I'll be happy I did. He has all the parts I need to do it. Been trying all day to get a hold of him but no luck. I guess I'll try again tomorrow.

Top # is;G-30- 37732 and spec# is;47232C.

Thanks

Kelly

By the way, I had the blower housing off of it this evening checking current with a test light and checked both terminals at the magnetic trigger at the flywheel. Terminal I had battery voltage (from ignition switch) and terminal A had nothing til the engine made @ 8 to 10 revolutions and then it lite dim. I wonder if I could had an alternator problem? The wire on terminal A comes from the alternator to the trigger.

Kelly

RichardTX · Apr 10, 2011

The alternator stator should have continuity so it may be the wiring or stator that is bad.

woodsman2011 · Apr 13, 2011

Well, all I can say is, BOYS, SHES ALIVE!!!! Ignition parts came in today and I put it all together after work. Fired right off. I think my daddy would've been pleased because he sure did love these things and I have to tell ya, (as he always said, "I wouldn't take a gold monkey for it". I quick question though. What volt reading should I be getting at the battery? I checked it and it seems low to me but I ran the bush hog til dark just now (@ 45 min.) and it never faultered once. Just real happy here on this end and thanks to the folks that hooked me up with info.

Happy trails

Kelly

RichardTX · Apr 14, 2011

Normal battery voltage while the system is charging (near full throttle) and a good battery should be 14.4 to 14.6 with 13.8 as a minimum.

If you are reading less than 13 volts, then the charging system isn't working.

I found that once I learned how alternators work, troubleshooting is easy assuming I have a reasonable digital VOM.

woodsman2011 · Apr 16, 2011

Well folks, I'm in the rotory plow business. Finally rounded up one today. Had to disassemble the driveshaft housing and clean/pack the bearings and now I have to say its good as new. I got the complete plow with dirt shield, 2 gear cases and 2 driveshaft housings in the deal. Now all I need is a dry spell to dry out the ground. I did take it to the garden and made a few passes with it and it worked great but it is real muddy. Hopefully we'll get a rest from the rain.

Kelly

2manyrocks · Apr 16, 2011

The old rotary plows have bronze or brass parts in them. Be sure to use gear oil that is suitable for bronze parts. I had to get it from my local oil jobber because none of the box stores carried it.

woodsman2011 · Apr 17, 2011

Ran the rotory turning plow through the whole garden plot today. Ready to plant. Man I really love that thing. And I found (as I suspected) that the old girls not charging. I checked with a DVM of questionable accuraccy and it read battery voltage but today I got the plow hung on a monster of a rock and it chugged the tractor down to a stop. Went to crank it back up and, not enough juice to turn the engine. I hooked up jumpers to my truck and let it charge for around 10 min. and finished my plowing. It runs a long time for something that isn't charging but I guess its time to drag my nose through the manuals and find the trouble tree for the charging system.

Kelly

2manyrocks · Apr 17, 2011

I may be getting my kohler engines confused, but as I recall, there is a solid state gizmo attached to the engine block that needs to be tested, and if it is good, then you may have a stator problem under the flywheel.

RichardTX · Apr 18, 2011

The battery is oversized on those tractors. The reason for it is they wanted more weight to balance the machine.

THe way to troubleshoot is to measure the ac voltage coming into the regulator/rectifier. If the AC voltage is within spec and the regulator output is connected to the battery, and the regulator case is grounded, then the regulator is bad. Check the terminals on the regulator. Corrosion will cause the charging system to not work.