<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"></head><body dir="auto">This message is only 2 weeks old.<div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">Brian </div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div><br></div><div align="left" dir="auto" style="font-size:100%;color:#000000"><div>-------- Original message --------</div><div>From: Mogrits <mogrits@gmail.com> </div><div>Date: 12/25/24 10:53 PM (GMT-05:00) </div><div>To: Antique Tractor Email Discussion Group <at@lists.antique-tractor.com> </div><div>Subject: Re: [AT] 3020 generator -> alternator </div><div><br></div></div><div dir="ltr">For some reason, after about 4 years this message showed up in my gmail. Not by my choice mind you. So I'm going to reply in hopes gmail will fix its problem between the antique tractor list and my account.<div><br></div><div>Merry Christmas to All</div><div><br></div><div>Warren</div></div><br><div class="gmail_quote gmail_quote_container"><div class="gmail_attr" dir="ltr">On Mon, Dec 9, 2024 at 7:31 PM Stuart Harner <<a href="mailto:stuart@harnerfarm.net">stuart@harnerfarm.net</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex" class="gmail_quote"><u></u>
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<p>Good work Dean,</p>
<p>That sounds like the best solution all the way around, except for
the cash outlay, which really didn't sound that out of line.</p>
<p>Extra kudos for 1: knowing the local shop teacher. 2: He sounds
like a good instructor. 3: Your willingness to help in the
education of the students.</p>
<p>This is the kind of thing we did when I was in high school more
than 50 years ago. Glad to see it still going on in at least some
places.</p>
<p>You won't regret the alternator upgrade.</p>
<p>Thanks for posting.</p>
<p>Stuart<br>
</p>
<div>On 12/9/24 16:21, Dean Vinson wrote:<br>
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<p>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.<u></u><u></u></p>
<p><u></u> <u></u></p>
<p>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.<u></u><u></u></p>
<p><u></u> <u></u></p>
<p>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. :)<u></u><u></u></p>
<p><u></u> <u></u></p>
<p>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.<u></u><u></u></p>
<p><u></u> <u></u></p>
<p>Meanwhile, the 3020 seems happy and I’m
hoping this task is no-kidding finished.<u></u><u></u></p>
<p><u></u> <u></u></p>
<p>Dean Vinson<u></u><u></u></p>
<p>Saint Paris, Ohio<u></u><u></u></p>
<p><u></u> <u></u></p>
<p><img height="800" width="1067" src="cid:com_samsung_android_email_attachmentprovider_2_8170_RAW_1735185431077" id="m_-512011415538264795Picture_x0020_1" style="width: 11.1145in; height: 8.3333in;" onmouseover="imageMousePointerUpdate(true)" onmouseout="imageMousePointerUpdate(false)" name="com_samsung_android_email_attachmentprovider_2_8170_RAW_1735185431077"><u></u><u></u></p>
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<p> <u></u><u></u></p>
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