[AT] 3020 generator -> alternator

[Dean Vinson]

Well, after several months of on-and-off tinkering with the charging system
on my recently-acquired JD 3020, with occasional brief periods of apparent
success followed by intervals of "Okay, now what?", I decided to replace the
generator with an alternator.   For a while I'd been content with just
hooking up a battery tender trickle charger now and then, but the typically
short duty cycles of how I use the tractor (lots of startups and brief
trips, few periods of sustained use) made for a lot of charging.   And the
red "GEN" light kept glaring disapprovingly at me.



So the alternator route appealed to me for its high likelihood of success as
well as the higher-amp charging rate.   Cost ended up being fairly
significant, probably $250 between the alternator, a new mounting bracket,
wire, various heat-shrink terminals, and miscellaneous bolts and nuts.   And
of course getting everything aligned just right took some fiddling and a bit
of head-scratching and foul language application.  But the finished product
looks pretty good and seems to work as it should:   GEN light comes on when
I turn the key but goes off when the engine starts, and a voltmeter shows
about 13.8V at the battery when the engine is at idle and about 14.7V at
higher RPMs.   I'll be curious to see whether the battery keeps up now or
still needs the charger now and then.    While I had the cowling and hood
off I noticed the back of the 3020's dashboard is already prepped with space
and mounting brackets for two additional gauges, so I could theoretically
add an ammeter and voltmeter if I feel the need to tinker further.



One particularly fun moment happened when I was trying to get the mounting
bracket sorted out.   It's a heavy-duty thing from All States Ag Parts,
specifically for 3010-4020 tractors, but according to their website the
slots for the mounting bolts are "Bored for early models with 3/8" bolts"
and "Will work for late models with 7/16" bolts but will need to be drilled
out to fit."   I needed them reamed out but quickly realized my little
hand-held drill and twist bits weren't up to the task, so I went to the
local mom-and-pop hardware store to see what they had that might help-and by
chance had picked the exact moment when the high school shop teacher was
also in line at the cashier.   Turns out the shop class likes to do little
real-world projects now and then so the kids get the practical experience,
so he took the bracket and got the slots reamed out a little for me in just
a couple of days.    Small-town life for the win.  :)



I also talked with him about another potential project, boring out and
installing a bushing in the clutch pedal of my Super M to tighten it up
where the pedal rotates around the shaft.  He thought that'd be a
particularly good one since the students are always interested in tractors
and trucks and such, and because it'd be a good exercise for them to look at
the tractor, talk with me about the problem, brainstorm solutions, figure
out materials and processes, etc.   One of his focus areas, in addition to
the shop curriculum, is helping students learn to interact constructively
face-to-face with customers-which he says is usually hard for them, since
they're so used to everything being sent to them via text or on their
laptops or whatever.   I'll get back in touch with him about that early next
spring.



Meanwhile, the 3020 seems happy and I'm hoping this task is no-kidding
finished.



Dean Vinson

Saint Paris, Ohio











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