Dumbest trick I've pulled in a while

[Rod in Forfar]

These things go in threes.

Seems a couple of days ago I shut the Bolens G174 off without turning off the key.

Came home today bushed from a 7 hour drive with a new garage door. Went to back it into the garage but the Bolens was in the way. Battery completely flat. Pushed tractor out to make room for trailer.

Grabbed booster cables, hooked to Tacoma. Sparks. Didn't think anything of it. No response from Bolens. Started Tacoma. Bolens Alternator smoking badly when I disconnected. Truck seems o.k.

Disconnected alternator, started tractor (with booster cables correctly aligned). Moved it to power source and charged battery. Starts fine.

Any chance it's the regulator, or am I in for a complete rebuild?

 

[Rod in Forfar]

Argh! The circuit board is fried (he used some other name for the component). Can't find a replacement. New alternator is available, but $286 CDN plus 13% HST. Think I'll put the dead one back on to run the belt and go put-and-take on the battery for a bit until the sting of my stupidity wears off.

Might just try a jumper wire on the board before I put it back together, though. Did that on several dead computers in the 80's and used my VHS radio for years with a jumper on it after an earlier blooper.

 

[k0ua]

what is actually dead on the circuit board?.. take a pix and point to it if you can... you may be looking at a diode, or 3.. and they arent that much from mouser or digikey. maybe a dollar or 2.. do you have a soldering gun/iron. and a volt-ohm meter? (and know how to use both).. I believe I would try to fix it.
James K0UA

 

[ampa]

I read on a post here recently where a automotive small GM alternator will replace the original at 1/3 the cost of the Bolens alternator,worth lookin' into,maybe someone can provide the Link to this issue....good luck....Ampa

 

[Rod in Forfar]

The trouble with Delco alternators is that they are right-handed; that is, the arm which goes to the adjuster leads from the right side of the case. Iseki alternators, like Kubota and Mitsubishi's, are left-handed.

Frankie at Wholesale Tractor Parts in Georgia (eBay) set me up with an exact copy of my dead alternator made by Mitsubishi, 4-prong plug and all. He warned that I would also need a voltage regulator, so he threw one of them in, as well. Cost? $119 for alternator, $36 for regulator. He sent me an email to call him for installation instructions. Nice guy. No wonder he has 99.7% positive on 4500 sales.

The package is due at my friend's in Pennsylvania in two days. Then it will catch the cottage shuttle northward.

A complicated solution to a problem created by stupidity.

BTW: There was a burned spot on the "board" where a substantial circuit had fried. I tried a jumper wire. My soldered alternator actually ran for a couple of minutes before burning out again. As Frankie told me, "The regulators go first. Hook up a new alternator to a bad regulator and you have another dead alternator."

 

[ampa]

Thanks for the info Rod in Forfar, as for us guys up here in Ontario Canada the USA exchange and shipping would bring up the cost a little than your qouted US price of only $119.00 ,but still a way cheaper than the original alternator and $36 for the regulator, Mitibushi is the brand of 3cyl. diesel engine in my G-174 BOLENS/ISEKI compact tractor,I'm not really too sure if these tractors all had this same brand engine,curious to find this out though, oh' by the way Rod in Forfar, where are you located?.......take care...Ampa

 

[Rod in Forfar]

Where am I located? Uh, Forfar, Ontario? (Between Kingston and Ottawa, within sight of the Rideau Lakes).

 

[Rod in Forfar]

Frankie at Wholesale Tractor Parts in Georgia (eBay) set me up with an exact copy of my dead alternator made by Mitsubishi, 4-prong plug and all. He warned that I would also need a voltage regulator, so he threw one of them in, as well. Cost? $119 for alternator, $36 for regulator. He sent me an email to call him for installation instructions. Nice guy. No wonder he has 99.7% positive on 4500 sales.

The voltage regulator was fine, but the alternator didn't fit. What's more, the core wouldn't fit the old casing. Totally different animal. Revised opinion of Old Frankie there for a while.

Looked at it again, determined.

Eleven 5/16" washers and a 5 X 5/16 bolt from the local feed store took care of the lower end. Problem was the adjustable support at the top was way too short to fit. Back to an abandoned yacht in the back field. Years ago I used a support off a Ford Mustang 302 to hang the Chevy alternator on a timber for the fuel tank. (That way I could run 12V neg and 6 volt positive ground on the same boat.)

Cut a section off it, bolted it to the other one, added more washers as shims, and by God if the belt didn't even fit! The only burned wire was about 10 gauge and only the insulation was fried. I tried to shrink-wrap around it, but gave up and taped the solenoid-to-alternator wire.

The battery, when re-installed, had 11 volts. Started tractor. Then came a steady 13 volts, lights or not, though the engine note changes when lights are shut off.

If a nut doesn't come loose and the whole thing collapse into the fan, it's fixed.

 

[hawkeye08]

Back in the day when hay bales had 2 wires around them and farmers had stacks of used wires from feeding the hay, we used to be able to fix anything with some baling wire.

Sounds like you got it taken care of... (as my dad used to say, at least until next time )

 

[Rod in Forfar]

Eleven 5/16" washers and a 5 X 5/16 bolt from the local feed store took care of the lower end. Problem was the adjustable support at the top was way too short to fit. Back to an abandoned yacht in the back field. Years ago I used a support off a Ford Mustang 302 to hang the Chevy alternator on a timber for the fuel tank. (That way I could run 12V neg and 6 volt positive ground on the same boat.)

Cut a section off it, bolted it to the other one, added more washers as shims, and by God if the belt didn't even fit! The only burned wire was about 10 gauge and only the insulation was fried. I tried to shrink-wrap around it, but gave up and taped the solenoid-to-alternator wire.

The battery, when re-installed, had 11 volts. Started tractor. Then came a steady 13 volts, lights or not, though the engine note changes when lights are shut off.

If a nut doesn't come loose and the whole thing collapse into the fan, it's fixed.

Here's a photo. To my surprise the housings still fit. I'll put the grate over the alternator back on after it has run for a while.