Battery Drain

I have an Allis D17 that the battery is being drained. I checked and I have power to the alternator with the key off. What is hooked up wrong
Bruce

(quoted from post at 18:14:56 06/14/15) I have an Allis D17 that the battery is being drained. I checked and I have power to the alternator with the key off. What is hooked up wrong
Bruce

Click to expand...

n what alternator & which wire to alternator?

If it has a Delco 10si alternator on it the #1 wire from the 2 wire plug is hooked to the wrong side of the ignition switch. That wire should be a switch wire so it is not got power on it with the ignition turned off

That's what I thought

Looks like in the picture you have both the #1 and #2 wire hooked to the charge stud which will in fact run down the battery plus let the smoke out of the alternator due to over heating. The #1 wire needs to go to the ignition switch the side that is only hot when turned on. You will also need a diode or ballast resister or light bulb in line with it or you will only be able to shut the engine down by shutting off the gas

Old, why not run both small wires to the switch. I know one wire is connected directly to the +12v on alternator. I bought a new alternator, did a bench test and that terminal showed a small drain. So I ran both through switch. Works fine, no drain. The tractor does have a mag.

It looks like YOU ONLY HAVE ONE WIRE (White) NOT BOTH (black goes elsewhere) wired to the rear main output stud and that's how it should be HOWEVER I CANT SEE IF ITS THE CORRECT ONE???????????????????

The small 1 or R (excitation) is the one that wires to the coil or ignition switch via a 10 ohm resistor or diode.
The small 2 or F (voltage sense) is the one that's supposed to jump down to the main output stud so it sees battery voltage.

There are several other problems, however, besides mis wiring the alternator, that can cause a battery drain

John T

Guess it could be done that way. The #1 is the excite wire the the #2 is the sensing wire which tells the V.R. when to turn on and off so yes you can hook either way and in theory work I guess. I always just hook it up so that the #2 goes to the charge stud to save wire and all. All my tractor are wired that way and have been for decades

Does it look like that to you Old??????

The picture looks to me like its ONLY the White wire connected to the main output stud, while the Black wire is NOT and goes elsewhere.

Are you looking at the same picture I am???

John T

As far as I know I am looking at the same picture but hard to say if the #1 or #2 or both are hooked up. If it is the #1 there is his problem. If both again it is a problem. If only the #2 then it should not charge at all. To me it looks like both are hook togeather

Thanks Rich, the picture looks like ONLY the White wire is connected down to the output stud but the Black IS NOT???

Maybe some other gents can post if that's how they see it or not????? I have my glasses on lol

Take care my friend,

John T

You are seeing it correctly. The black wire goes elsewhere.

Check the voltage with the plug removed from the alternator. With the ignition off, the blue? wire should not have voltage.

Plug it back in, check it again. If there is voltage feeding out of the #1 terminal, the diode trio is bad. Easy fix!

White wire goes to switch, black wire goes to switch. With ignition off white wire is hot, black wire is not. With ignition in accessory white is hot and black is hot.

The white wire should go to the battery or the amp gauge (if equipped), not to the ignition switch.

The black wire should go to the ignition switch BUT there is a resistor or diode between the switch and the alternator.

Search "10SI alternator wiring diagram".

The alternator may not be the source of the drain. Do you know how to check for drain with a test light?

I have a test light. ground it and touch white wire at post and it lit up

I guess not.

I think my system is hooked up right after reading this

Tape or otherwise insulate the exposed “BAT” stud on the back of the alternator. This terminal is connected directly to the battery - it is “hot” even with the ignition turned off. Should you accidentally bump this stud with a grounded metal tool (like when changing the #1 spark plug) you’ll get an impressive spark and possibly a fire.

2 - The new 12 volt battery will probably be smaller than the old 6 volt unit. Use wood scraps, stiff foam packaging or similar to fill the extra space between the sides of the battery and the box. This will keep the battery from rattling around and shortening it’s life.

3 - Given a choice, use the smallest diameter pulley on the alternator you can find. Reason: The Farmall engine turns slowly relative to what the engines the alternator was originally designed for. And the alternator must be spun up to 2,000 RPM or so to “turn it on” at start up. The smaller the alternator pulley, the faster it gets spun by the engine. So in this case smaller is better.

4 - On 12 volts, the engine will crank (and should start) much faster. However if the engine does not start immediately, limit cranking to about 10 seconds at a time then let the starter “rest” (to cool off) for a minute. Otherwise you could overheat and ruin the starter.

5 - Should you use jumper cables to start the tractor - or use the tractor to jump another vehicle - remember the tractor is now negatively grounded, same as modern cars/trucks. Be sure to connect jumper cables accordingly. (If you hook the jumper wrong, you could ruin the alternators on both vehicles, and toast the computer in fuel injected vehicles)

6 - Save the old 6 volt generator and voltage regulator. You may be able sell these items to a collector, or at a tractor show flea market - even if the generator doesn’t work.

7 - If you get an alternator at a junkyard, take it to a NAPA, Auto Zone, etc. and have them test it to be sure it works before you install it. Most larger parts stores will do this free of charge.

12 Volt Conversion Diagram

To use a test light to check for drain:

Disconnect one battery cable, connect the test light between the battery post and the cable you just disconnected.

With the ignition and all accessories off, the light SHOULD NOT glow. If the light glows full bright, there is a major drain. Start checking accessories like lights, radios, anything that could be drawing power. May have to disconnect wires until you find the circuit that makes the light go off.

If the light shows a very faint glow, it may be picking up a slight drain from the alternator. This is normal and would take weeks or months to drain the battery.

Another source of mystery drain is corroded connections, especially if the tractor is stored outside. Look around the starter solenoid, under the dash, back side of the anp meter and ignition switch

Thing is the color of the wire does not matter it is where the wire hooks tha tdoes. The #1 wire can be any color under the sun but with out going and looking I do not know for sure which is which and that does matter

I agree Rich, the color doesn't matter, it still looks to me like the wire that just happens to be "White" connects down to the output stud, while the wire that just happens to be "Black" DOES NOT. COLOR OF THE WIRE ISNT THE ISSUE its if only ONE (what I see) or BOTH (your initial comment) are connected to the output stud....

Take care now, as always fun chattin with you

John T

Thanks Bob, glad I'm not the only one who sees the picture that way, my old eyes may be okay I hope lol

John T

Thanks

And if only one hooked up and it is the #1 wire that is why he has a battery drain problem. I have one machine that to start the charge circuit you have to turn on the head lights.