Hagen Brothers farms,Goodrich ND | That old Delco 10-12 SI alternator is about the most service friendly unit ever built. I stock my own parts from off shore jobbers and do my own rebuild work. Has to be real seriously burned down to require $25 worth of parts, and that's replacing everything that is less than 90% perfect.
Barring something stupid like clogging up the cooling air holes and burning it down, I usually get 5 years + out of my rebuilts.
Having 3 alternators go down in 200 hrs kind of pops up a red flag, check your batteries for a shorted cell that keeps the alternator on high charge all the time.
Very low batteries combined with a heavy AC or lighting load will overheat an alternator, especially if run at less than full rpm.
One thing I dislike about the "automotive" Delco regulators is that they are set for 14.8 volts, this is for a quick recharge in cold weather in a car or pickup, but this overloads the alternator a bit more and cooks the batteries during long days in the field.
I see one of my online alternator parts suppliers now offers a Delco 10-12SI regulator set at 14.2 volts, ideal for long days on an ag or industrial machine.
Edited by Jon Hagen 7/31/2008 20:05
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Rebuilt alternator running hot question...
