John Deere 4010

I just bought a hesston baler with an automatic string tie. will i be able to wire it up to my 4010? also i also had my generator rebuilt and the batteries are still going dead, any suggestions on what problem may be? and how hard would it be to convert it to an alternator?

If it is a diesel with the 24 volt system hooking a baler to it is PIA. If it is a 12 volt system then no issues. The generator issue is the same way. 24 volt system is a pain to keep working correctly an a 12 volt is usually no problem.

Just fixing the generator does not "fix" the system if it draining the batteries. The generator would usually not drain the batteries. The voltage regulator can. A bad switch can. Bad wiring can. So you see we need more information to really help you much.

it is a diesel and how can i check and see if it is 12 or 24 set up? and also how hard is it to convert to alternator?

Super easy conversion, do NOT buy a kit.

If the generator has three wire terminals on it you have a 24 volt system.

(quoted from post at 04:20:12 07/18/13) it is a diesel and how can i check and see if it is 12 or 24 set up? and also how hard is it to convert to alternator?

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If it is 24 volt the starter will have two battery cables running to it. One hooks to the solenoid just like normal and the other goes on a separate terminal on the side of the starter. There also will be a small 10-12 gauge wire on the negative terminal on the left battery. MAKE sure this wire does not get broken if you leave it 24 volt. If it breaks you will send 24 volts through the lights and anything else you have hooked to the tractor electrics.

The starter is usually the only thing that sees 24 volts. You have one battery 12 volt negative grounded and one battery 12 volt positive grounded. The lights are split in half so they draw current from both batteries at about the same rate. The voltage regulator brings the batteries up to full charge. If you hook something to the one battery and draw more AMPs off it your one battery may go dead while the other one is full charged. The regulator quits charging when ever one battery gets up to full charge.

The 24 volt system takes some one that is familiar with them to keep them working. I have a JD 4101 and it is still 24 volt. It works fine but I had to go through the harness and repair some bad spots and clean up a bunch of connections to get it to work right.

As far as switching it to an alternator. Why??? If it is 24 volt you need to be switching it to 12 volt. The cost of switching one to 12 volt is around $1000. There are some after market kits that used a gear reduction starter and they are cheaper. I do not like them as the starter will not crank them fast enough in cold weather. You need to change the starter, battery cables, switch some wiring around, and install a alternator.

The generator is not the main issue/problem you have. The batteries draining are being caused by something else. More than likely the voltage regulator.

u say super easy and no kit than how do i convert?

i see a conversion kit listed on this website for 500.00 or how can i convert it cheaper?

The kit they list on here is not the greatest. It is just a cheap gear reduction starter, Delco Alternator, and some light duty battery cables. They state Clearly in the description that it only uses ONE 12 volt battery. This means they are sending you a couple of short battery cables just for the left side.

To convert it you need to get a GOOD starter not a reduction gear one. Then you can use a Delco alternator with an internal regulator. You then have to move the wires on the circuit breakers on the back of the kick panel under the steering wheel. You need to make both "HOT/+) supplies be Positive ground. You also have to disconnect the short jumper wire on the left battery. If I remember correctly that gets moved to the starter battery connection for one of the supplies to the circuit breakers under the kick panel.

Then you need to use BOTH batteries. You can buy the cables from several sources. You basically need to hook the two positive terminals together and ground the Negative ones. That positive cable needs to be a good one not a car battery cable.

Then you need to wire the alternator to supply charge back to the batteries. I usually remove the old regulator and extend the battery wire to the alternator. You have less harness modifying to do this way. You may have to change the fuel sender or gauge. It depends on which one you have whether it can be used with negative ground. The original ones where on the positive grounded battery.

So for someone that is REAL familiar with a JD 24 wiring system it is not hard but for someone else lets just say they need a good set of instructions and a wiring diagram. Then be able to understand the two. I switch several over each year. JD used several different wiring setups on the 24 volt tractors. The JD 4010 and JD 4020 are different. The JD 4020 has 2 or thee different diagrams for the 24 volt system. So I have to look at the actual tractor to remember which is which and what to do.

The guy that said it was easy is either "real" familiar with JD 24 volt systems or naive. To switch them over and have everything work correct takes some thinking to get it all to work right without the harness being butchered all up.

(quoted from post at 00:58:29 07/18/13) i see a conversion kit listed on this website for 500.00 or how can i convert it cheaper?

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To convert your 4010 to 12 volts from 24 volts can be successfully accomplished without changing the wiring harness or key switch as long both above mentioned items are good when using 24 V's. As far as gear reduction starters go and not starting engine in the winter I can't answer but the gear reduction starter spins my 4255 just fine in the Texas winter.

I agree changing to 12 V will save you a lot of grieve as you would need too alternate the baler tying wires frequently to keep batteries with enough electricity to tie bales.

The 24 V starter on your tractor is the most likely source of the electrical drain as it probably contains brush dust.

This won't help your batterys going dead problem,so the 24 to 12 is up to you.52 yrs ago we fixed the high external load demand by putting a second system(gen.-battery)separate from tractor elec that only supplied the non tractor demand.lasted 40 yrs.that way with no problems.Wouldn't know it was on there if you didn't look close and would cost under $100.

On my 3010 with 24 volt system, I hooked a baler electric tie system to the left battery pos & neg. Did I luck out by dumb luck or ??? It works.

Either battery will accomplish the task when 12 volt load is attached to 24 V system by attaching load + to + & - to - BUT where problem lies is if the 12 volt load is very large amp draw the batteries will get unbalanced in their voltage then low voltage battery can't be recharged by gen back to 12+ volts.