[alrmel]

I had my alternator off the other day when I removed the radiator, and when I tried to spin it, it turned over in steps like it was magnetized or something. It felt like spinning over a small engine. It says it's charging so that seems ok. Is this normal or are my bearings going bad? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks

 

[freeman]

That is normal. I assume they feel rough when the bearings are bad but not frozen up. That is what happened to mine one of the bearings froze up fortunately the belt started slipping before any additional damage was done.
Faron

 

[alrmel]

Thanks. I've changed a lot of alternators, but none that felt like that when you try to spin them.

 

[steveh]

These alternators are a brushless design and the field winding is stationary. The rotor is equipped with four very strong permanent magnets. What you feel is normal. That said, if you have $20 and 15minutes I would recommend that you change the bearings in it. These alternators have a tendency to just lock up when the bearings go bad.

 

[avallk]

You can all shoot me if this has already been discussed.
I have a 425 with a Original Tractor Cab and 47" blower that I use to clear my and a couple neighbors driveways. Sometimes it is done later in the day and want to make sure that I have enough light and visibility when on the road. I am going to be putting on a few LED lights which hopefully will not be drawing too much power. That being said, I am also hoping that I can get an 12v electric heater in the cab to take the chill off.
The problem I see is that the additional draw of said accessories is going to tax the 20amp stator. I have seen the John Deere High Capacity Alternator Kit - BM23195 that is available for the Gators which I believe have the FD620D engine as well. I have seen drawings of the parts of this kit, but no manual to see how it would mount up on the engine. Has anyone installed this or any alternator on one of these tractors?

Thanks
Ken

 

[woodpecker41]

The 12 volt heater will probably exceed your 20 amps. Why not use a hot water small tractor universal heater. You have a water cooled engine with an unlimited supply of free heat. The fan on one of those will work well with the current alternator. There have been several posts on using electric heaters in the Hydrostatic section of our forums. A couple of guys have had some success with them using them with a portable gas powered generator hooked to the back of their tractor. Welcome to WFM. Roger