Jinma 284 Charging Problem

[MadMopar]

OK, my first post here.

Can anyone tell me or send a picture of where the voltage regulator is on this 2008 Jinma 284.

I have a charging problem with it. I have a battery idiot light on it and it stays on all the time. When the battery gets weak it won't start or is slow and I charge the battery and it is good for a while. I am at the point that I need to fix this charging issue (if for no other reason than that I don't like my equipment not working right).

I have seen where everyone has different opinions on changing out the alternator to Delco. I did see that Affordable now has an alternator that puts out 350 watts now. I'm not sure what that equates to, but I'm assuming that it puts out my charging amps that the original 200 watt.

Of course the 170.00 price tag to use the OEM is a little steep, but then I am in a dirty climate and like the idea of the sealed alternator.

I want to make sure I cover all my bases (checking connections and the voltage regulator) before I buy the alternator.

May sound stupid, but I want to make sure I got this right.

 

[mrmikey]

On my 204 it's on the fuse panel on the fire wall, it plugs in so first thing I'd do is check for a bad connection. Just an FYI, both my alternator and regular were bad from day one and ended up replacing both. I still get an occasional flicker from the light but it'll go out if I turn something on.....Mike

 

[MadMopar]

Thanks Mike.

I'll check that with the alternator connections tomorrow. Maybe I'll get lucky and it'll just have a bad connection.

I don't think I'll hold my breath on that though.

 

[MadMopar]

I found and pulled the Voltage regulator and reseated it.

I get the following with a voltmeter across the battery terminals:

Off: 12.90
Running: 12.48
All Lights On and Running: 12.10

I have cleaned the terminals/posts on the battery cable connectors and sprayed them with terminal protectant. I also noticed that the negative screw (wing nut) connection on the battery looks like it had melted/corroded away a little and the cables weren't all that tight so needless to say I tightened everything during the cleaning process.

Does anyone know if the above sound normal? At least everything is above 12 volts. I don't know what the voltages were before I did the battery clean up.

I'm also considering putting a battery cut out switch on just in case.

Anyone with any ideas on this?

Thanks

 

[mrmikey]

It's definitely not charging. With no draw you should have 14VDC +, it's dropping because you have no input either because the alt is bad, regulator is bad or even both or a bad connection. On a fully charged battery with the surface charge drained off you should have 13.8VDC±.
Without the 'exchange with known good part' (I hate that phrase) I don't know of any way to test it.
Battery master switch in my books is a given, put one on mine within a month of owning it. Especially when I read the story on another forum of one burning up....Mike

 

[MadMopar]

Hi Mike.

Thanks for the input. I figured that the voltage was low because I do do cars and this is low. I'm learning 'the hard way" about tractors. Hopefully, once I get through this full maintenance cycle that I'm trying to do I'll have a decent handle on it. This is also my first diesel.

I'm going to pull the battery and the alternator tomorrow and take them into a auto place and have them tested.

If the alternator is bad, I'll go ahead and get an upgraded one and a voltage regulator from Affordable Tractor in TX. It seems that they are just about the only ones that do Jinma parts and I've heard that they are very helpful (I talked to Thomas ther yesterday and he gave me the idea for testing the voltage on the alternator.

I'm pretty sure that the alternator is the weak spot and I never replace an alternator without replacing the regulator.

Again, thanks for your help/info.

 

[erj]

Am I correct in assuming that you have checked the belt for tightness?

 

[MadMopar]

Yeah, I did and it was a little sloppier thank I liked and so I tightened it.

Unfortunately, I think the bole is stripped in the alternator so I'm probably going to have to drill it and either retap it or bolt and double nut it.

 

[mrmikey]

It seems that they are just about the only ones that do Jinma parts and I've heard that they are very helpful

That is the truth, a very good bunch to deal with.
Maybe consider a GM alternator for an upgrade? I was going to replace mine with one when it bites the dust but it's still going.....Mike

 

[MadMopar]

I have heard that some people do that.

Some have stated that they don't recommend it because the GM alternators are open and the OEM are closed units. It gets really dusty and dirty here.

The other thing is that I have seen a little info and some not very clear photos on how to do it, but nothing that's very clear. Do you have any clear instructions on how to do this and bypass the voltage regulator?

Also, are either on of the GM alternators closed?