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Sounds like you may have more going on than a regulator/alternator issue.
Things that come to mind are bad switch, bad wiring, bad connections, bad ground (same thing really).
I would start by checking the fuses and the battery. Remove and test it. Clean connections.
Start testing with a test light to see where there is power.
Make some jumper wires so you can by-pass questionable items like switches.
A wiring diagram is going to be a big help. Start tracing circuits. What works and what doesn’t? What do they have in common?
Yeah, the biggest worry is the undersized wiring. The Delco puts out way more amps than the original alternator and can easily burn up the wires. However, the battery can put out more than the alternator, so…
In my case I have a new aftermarket fuse block on hand and I can rewire the tractor all at once if I have to, or more likely, a bit at a time as things fail. So far, no problems and the Delco is not overcharging.
The other weak point of the 285 series was the ignition switch. Going on 10 years and 500 hours with lots of cold (below 0) starts and all is well after I replaced the glow plug fuse and got it out of the cheap fuse block that melted.
Not familiar with the key on light. The 284 had an idiot light that was wired through the regulator that turned on when the battery was discharging and it also had an ammeter. When I removed the original regulator the idiot light stays on all the time. I just ignore it because I can see the ammeter working. Some day I may either figure out a way to make the idiot light work, or maybe a way to replace it with a digital voltmeter.
BTW, I had heard about the regulators with the indicator LED. Mine did not have that feature so it was down to troubleshooting with a multi-meter.
In my case the regulator shipped to me was $30. The reman alternator from NAPA was $60 with a new regulator and more output. My old alternator (14A)is just fine and laying on a shelf as a spare. I got lucky on the bracket as all I had to do was flip it over and add a 2″ bolt on extension made from some flat iron. Easily reversible if needed.
YMMV
Best of luck and let us know what you do to fix it.
Oh, one last thing, on the 284 the connections to the back of the regulator had a habit of coming loose. I would have to pull them out of the block and squeeze the tabs down a little to get a good connection. After a few hours they would shake loose again. Another reason for me to eliminate the regulator in the fuse block.
If you can get 18v out of the alternator by shorting battery to field, the alternator is good. Sounds like you have a bad regulator.
With the key on, check the battery voltage and field output at the regulator.
If you don’t see battery voltage at the regulator, you have a problem in the wiring/ignition switch.
If you don’t see field output voltage, the regulator is bad. The engine may need to be running for this to work, so check that too. If still no voltage on the field connection, bad regulator.
If you have field output voltage at the regulator but not at the alternator there is a wiring problem.
Without seeing a wiring diagram I don’t know if there are any fuses or other switches in the circuits.
I just went through this kind of thing with my Jinma 284. Regulator was bad. For a little more $ I was able to install a reman Delco 10si with only a slight modification to the mounting bracket. This is a “one wire” alternator so I sacrificed the charging system “idiot” light, which is now always on. The amp meter still works and now I can run all the lights and charge the battery at the same time!
Could Teflon tape or pipe sealant on the treads of the sending unit be messing with the connectivity of the ground?
Try an ohmmeter between the case of the sender and a good clean ground on the engine. There should be next to no resistance.
On my 284 (2006) tractor the oil sender had two connections. I got them reversed one time and boy did that cause goofy readings on the dash! I thought the two were power and ground, turns out one was for the oil light and one was for the gauge. (one was a switch and the other was a variable resistor) Swapped them back and all was well. They both ground through the body of the sender to the engine block.
Did you get a manual with the machine?
Is there a number on the current filter? If so, post it and we may be able to come up with something for you.
Milky appearance usually indicates water in the oil. For tractors parked outside water usually gets into the transmission because the shift lever boot has cracked. It could also be a bad gasket or just condensation. In any case the fluid should be changed and if you can get a look at the insides, especially near the bottom to see if there has been any rust damage.
Does your transmission share fluid with the hydraulic system? If so, that is another source of contaminants.
Do you know for sure that the current oil is the proper product for your application? If not, that is another good reason to change it out.
Hey thanks for posting the photos. I never would have guessed that there was only a lowly “O” ring between the lube oil and the fuel. Mine has been overflowing the lube oil for a couple of years but I figured it was the injector pump, not the lift pump. I just changed it often and lived with it.
Because of your post, I took mine apart and even though the “O” ring made contact with the plunger shaft, it felt like it was none too tight. I found a replacement in my assortment. It was a little thicker cross section which made it a bugger to get pushed into the groove. There is now a much better seal between the lift pump body and the plunger shaft.
Like you, only time will tell if this is the fix or not.
Another option would be to install an electric lift pump and remove this one all together. It should be easy enough to manufacture a cover plate shaped like the gasket.
Thanks again.
Here is a picture from my Operation Manual. It definitely shows the lower seal with the spring down and the upper seal with the spring up. Note that they show the same arrangement for the double seal on the hub spindle.
I probably followed this setup when I put it back together, I simply don’t remember.
My previous comment about the backlash was from memory and was in error (CRS strikes again). Actually it is a shim number 2 in this image. Now that the memory is jogged, I remember laughing at the gasket mentioned above as it does not seal anything. At least on my tractor the holes did not go all the way through into the housing, thus no exposure to oil. :unsure:
In any case, if the seals are running in a groove they won’t seal. Aftermarket seals of the same dimensions but of different design (double lip, thicker or thinner, etc.) may be helpful in finding a solution. If there is a groove and it can not be avoided speedi sleeve or new housing are about your only choices. 🙁
It has been a couple of years since I did mine and and I don’t specifically remember which way the seals went.
Looking at the parts diagram and thinking about the direction the oil is flowing it would seem to me that you would want the springs down. The spring side is usually considered to be the “inside” of the seal.
The lower seal (thick one) would be doing the work of holding the oil in the axle and the upper seal (thin one) is acting as a dust seal with the added protection of the felt washer.
In my case the felt washer got torn while I was doing a lot of dirt work and the grit got in and destroyed the top seal but that did not cause it to leak until it worked its way down to the bottom seal. by the time it started leaking the damage to the shaft housing (where the lips of the seal ride) had been done. I don’t think this surface has any kind of hardening done to it. I had to special order a speedi sleeve from a bearing house. Expensive but less than a new shaft housing. I also ordered seals from them to have extras on hand and to see if they had the lip in a slightly different location. They did but not far enough different to get far enough from the groove for my liking so I went with the speedi sleeve.
Also don’t forget that the “Gasket” (#7 in the diagram) under the steering arm is used to set the backlash of the gears inside. So if you replace it, be sure to look closely at the old one to see how many were used originally.
The right side on my tractor is now starting to leak a little. Guess I am going to have to get back into this again.
