Woodmizer alternator issues

[woodrat]

I have an old 96 Woodmizer that uses the Delco CS alternator. Every time this machine sits around for a while, or the tarp blows off and it gets rained on a little bit, the alternator dies. Out of the past seven jobs I've done, I've put three rebuilt alternators on it. The last time was in November, and now it's dead again, because the tarp blew off in a storm one night and it got rained on.

I don't understand why this thing is so fragile, but I am just sick of buying a new alternator every other time I need to use the mill. I assume that there is a way to rebuild this, rather than buying another one, but my NAPA store sounded shocked that I would want to do that, and only begrudgingly looked up the parts. He said that the diode set was $120, and I should just buy another $120 alternator instead.

Has anyone rebuilt these? Has anyone had this kind of problem on their mill? Where can I get the parts? It makes no sense that the diodes would be $120 and the rebuilt alternator would also be $120.

Help?

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

I no nothing about rebuilding alternators…….but I think I wood order an engine cover to keep my engine and alternator dry. 

[woodrat]

! fair enough, but here in western WA, I do sometimes do milling in the rain, too, and that's hard to do with a cover on it...   

The long range plan is to empty out my barn, and remove some old horse stalls so I can park the mill inside from now on, but in the meantime, I'm having a hard time with the idea that a rebuilt alternator that I put on in November needs to be replaced again already. There has to be a way to fix what ails it short of buying a new one.

[StimW]

They should not be failing just from moisture.
I would buy one of the lifetime warranty ones!

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

They should not be failing just from moisture.
I would buy one of the lifetime warranty ones!

Good point StimW……REAL GOOD POINT! 

[Magicman]

Sawing while it is raining is much different than it sitting idle during the rain.  The proper cover will be a bargain.

That being said, I do not understand your failure rate.   

[Ohio_Bill]

I don’t have a good track record with rebuilt alternators on anything. Maybe you would be money ahead to get a new one. 

[julio]

where are you getting your alt from. And do you ever have a low battery as in like something is pulling a draw on it.

[pineywoods]

There's more than just a diode pack involved. there's an ELECTRONIC voltage regulator also. Electronics generally don't like water, especially if they have power applied. $120 rebuilt or $120 parts, not exactly the same. With the rebuild, he also gets your old unit, which he can likely fix for $50 or so..
Here's a possible... On most of those single wire alternators, the wire that goes from the alternator to the nearest terminal block is actually a fuse. It looks exactly like piece of wire, but it's not, it's called a fusible link. Check your parts book..If some time in the past that link blew, it probably got replaced with a piece of #12 wire. If that has happened, any short circuit anywhere on the mill will likely take out the alternator.

[dgdrls]

https://www.google.com/#q=delco+cs+alternator
  find this one Delco (Delphi) CS family alternators www.chalnet.net/Fiero/Delco.doc‎
There are two CS series alternators according to the above
I don't think its the rain alone causing you grief, I think you have another issue.
Have you performed any testing with the machine running?

Are you jump starting the mill after it sits?

Check amperage draw right when you start, check again 5 or so minutes later
it should be much less as the alternator has recharged the battery.
If not you have an open circuit taking amps or the batt is sucking the load
and killing the alternator.

someplace to start

Best
DGDrls

[woodrat]

Good advice, guys. I will do some more looking through this and see if there is something else going on. Yes, it always seems to have a dead battery, since it often sits for months between uses. I buy batteries frequently, too...    I've always assumed that it was just a cost of having the machine sitting and not being used, but this time, I just did a big job last November, and then did a little milling for myself right after I got home from that job. Recently I had another job come up, so the night before, went and fired up the machine to make sure it would start the night before, and it did, but the next morning when I tried to run the hydraulics to get it ready for the road, and it killed the battery. I jumped the battery, got it running, put the voltmeter on it, and it was clearly not charging.

Sometimes, if I'm just milling for myself and not in a hurry to get moving, I'll pull the battery, take it down to the shop and put it on the charger for a day. If I'm in a hurry, I'll jump it with the truck or the tractor and get moving.

Does Woodmizer warranty the alternator you get from them? I've usually been getting these from NAPA, and I can never find the receipt from the last one so I have never tried to warranty one.

[Ohio_Bill]

On my 2001 LT40 it would stop charging and it was from losing ground from where the alternator mounted to the frame.  I would clean it up and would work for awhile.  After cleaning it up and treating with aluminum wire treatment   nolox. Did not have any more trouble.

[MartyParsons]

Hello,
The plug on the alternator may be the issue also. WM Part # 015969. Might be a good idea to get the alternator tested. ( maybe done that already) ?
The green wire on the alternator should have 12V power when the switch is turned to # 2 . I have seen the plug wobble and not make connection. The ground is important also.
Wood Mizer parts are warrantied for 30 days.

The original alternator was a 61 amp there is a kit to change to 105 do you have this already? You will need to do some modification when you go to the larger alternator. You will need a metal grinder to make the area a little larger.
I am assuming you have a standard hyd mill. 

Hope this helps.
Marty

[Chuck White]

I take my alternator to the local Auto Electric shop about every two or maybe three years and the tech will go through it end to end and I've never paid over $35.00- $40.00!

Also, I have been on the road with my mill (no covers on) and had it start raining and turn into a downpour and have Never had trouble after the mill getting soaked.

I'd suggest checking for the fuseable link that PineyWoods referred to!

[ladylake]

 If your running the 61 amp one most likely working the snot out of it and over heating.  steve

[Magic Smoke]

If I'm not mistaken I believe a 96 mill still had an incandescent light for the alternator. Have you bypassed this light? If so, you should either replace the lamp (recommended) or move the small wire on the alternator to the "I" terminal (sometimes marked as "F").
The lamp has a certain amount of resistance to it and running direct without it to the "L" terminal (factory location) can be detrimental to the alternator.

[Jim H]

I had an alternator fail on a '97 hyd. I took it to an alternator shop, they rebuilt it, and I reinstalled it and continued with the job. Later that day battery died again, checked the alternator, not working. So I go back to the alternator shop and tell him what happened. He told me that the newer model alternators are more sensitive and not designed to bring a completely discharged battery back to full charge on their own. He was very understanding and fixed it again either cheap or at no charge. I charged the battery overnight this time and had no more issues. All this to say your alternator problems may be caused by a very low battery. I would check for a parasitic draw on the battery when the switch is off. Disconnecting the battery when it is going to sit for a long period of time might be a good idea also. Hope this helps.   Jim

[Delawhere Jack]

A motorcycle cover works well to cover the saw head on LT40 mills. Look for the large size, made for "dressers". About $50 new and worth every penny. There are a lot of other parts besides the alternator that need protection from the rain.

[Red Good]

I think of the amount of water thrown up by the wheels on my chevy truck in a deluge and how much water must be under the hood and where the alternator is and really  think they don't do to bad in the wet . 297,000 and still the factory alternator . 2 nd battery . My Massey has a 1 wire chevy alternator on it , replacing either a genny or a massey alternator and have not had a problem . I would start looking for a draw when everything is shut off . Red

[backwoods sawyer]

The altinator on my mill is a 200 amp chevy truck style I have had it in the shop on several occations over the years, seems like they were all related to a ground issue of one type or another, other then when the fan wore out on it, I alway have the starter shop rebuild with the heaviest duty parts avalible, I also keep the new battery in the mill and use the spares for other equipment.
But that don't mean don't cover the mill as weather is hard on everything, I use the heavy duty cover that woodmizer sells as it fits.