To dweitzel about deere 24 volt generator light

Dear Sir, I saw in a 2013 post that you had a deere 24 volt generator light that stayed on with the key off. How did you resolve this problem? A gentleman with the same problem asked about this.

Unfortunately, I have not resolved the problem, only the symptoms. The Oil light and generator light glow very faintly after the tractor is turned off. I am disconnecting the "A" wire at the generator after parking the 4020 for the night. I have something going to ground, possibly windings in the generator, maybe a faulty regulator, perhaps a faulty light switch? I did purchase a used generator to start and trouble shoot the symptoms, but have not had time to fix this. Please post a fix if you find one and I'll do the same.

Often dirt in starter causes slow drain.

More accurately it's copper dust from worn off starter brushes that combine with oil and make a conducting slurry that drain batteries and perhaps make lights glow strangely when they shouldn't? Agreed on often, a very common problem, the inside of the starter must be kept clean. So when you have dead batteries you should clean the starter first just to see if that was the problem or not, because it often is the only problem.

What happens if you lift the bond wire to chassis from between the batteries instead of lifting wires at the generator .

My suggestion would be if tractor isn't a ""restored collector model"" then change electrical system over to 12 volt system and be done with the 24 volt nightmare system.

dw, when you posted

" I have something going to ground, possibly windings in the generator,"

INDEED that's (something going to ground) possible, when I was a used tractor dealer in those days I often found excessive conductive dust/powder in the starter caused a slow battery discharge. Even if that's NOT your immediate problem its good to keep those starters cleaned out inside.

If when running you temporarily FULL FIELD the genny by jumping from F to A2 that should (if all else is okay?) cause full genny output, so if it still doesn't charge Id suspect a genny more then a VR problem. STILL other wiring and functions have to be correct and working. The 24 volt gennys output is across the armature, A1 & A2, and it has to be producing at least 26+ volts and more so the cutout relay closes and it gets connected to and charges the 24 volt (25.2 volts if full charged)battery bank. If there's low voltage there (especially when full fielded) she cant charge the battery.

I once attended an excellent 24 volt seminar at a Two Cylinder Expo given by the good Buick man, he likely has some good insight.

Hope this helps

Best wishes and God Bless

John T

Jim, Theres MANY out there that have been converted successfully. The old wire and any remaining color codes have faded and corroded and its like a "rats nest" to troubleshoot much of that system.

Best wishes

John T

Thanks for the info John. The generator charges fine when the tractor is running at about 900-1000 RPM the charge light goes out and I get the proper voltage. The drain happens overnight and the oil and generator light glow very dim unless I disconnect the "A" wire from the Generator. Sounds like I'll be pulling the starter and give it a good cleaning before I mess with anything else.

Thanks!

Debris, especially damp debris in the generator can have the same effect.

Good luck, worth a try

John T