2008 Kioti CK20 Start Issues - "Signal Flasher Black Box" Making Noises

[CitizenOfThePlanet]

Voltage before starting was 12.4. During warming it dropped a little bit, but after starting it crept back up to 12.3. It never rose to 13.5 or 14 and after a few minutes ut's staying at 12.3. Battery light is still on also.

 

[murphy1244]

You are not charging. Take alternator to have it checked or rebuilt but make sure your belt is tight first.

 

[CitizenOfThePlanet]

What is the best way to test for belt tightness?

 

[murphy1244]

What is the best way to test for belt tightness?

I just grab it and try to see how much flex there is. Check your owners manual on this. my book say's about .280 to .350 deflection.

 

[oldpilgrim]

yup, what he said .

 

[CitizenOfThePlanet]

It feels pretty darn tight to me! It may just be the alternator. Do any of you know if there are instructions online about how to remove it? Never done this before!

 

[oldpilgrim]

I'm not familiar with the kioti, but this applies to about every vehicle I've ever seen:

disconnect the battery terminal from the battery

disconnect or unplug any wires on the alternator

there should be a bolt that is either mounted thru a quadrant and to the alt or a long one that tightens/loosens the alt. loosen whichever you have.

Then there is a bolt that holds the alt to the engine. Loosen it, swivel the alt in to loosen the belt, finish removing the bolts and lift it out.

Simple.

 

[Coyote machine]

I wouldn't consider trading it, they're good machines, and once you fix this charging issue you are good to go for a very long time. Alternator failure on these is rare, and once corrected should give you many hours of trouble free service. I would look into getting the hour meter working so you can do periodic maintenance as scheduled.
Here's something else to consider: the dash cluster could have a short that caused a problem with the alternator, so once the alternator is fixed and you're getting the correct readings at the battery showing the charging system is working, if the dash battery light is still on the dash cluster may need replacing. I doubt it's a problem , but better to know to look for it in case.

 

[ritcheyvs]

Citizen,
Don't leave that new battery connected for long periods or the (suspected) bad alternator may kill it too. You can disconnect either battery cable but it's safer to disconnect the negative terminal (that way you don't get fireworks id the wrench touches the chassis). Also, I advise recharging the new battery. It is bad to let a partially-discharged battery sit for long. So if you partially discharged the new battery in your testing, charge it.

 

[CitizenOfThePlanet]

Thanks so much for all the advice! It's supposed to be a crappy week with weather here so I may take out the alt on Wednesday when it's raining outside. I really love the tractor and don't want to trade it so I will focus on fixing the alt, and then I will worry about fixing the dash so it shows the correct hours and keeps track of them. I am hoping it's just the alternator, but I did notice this morning that one of the red wires going from the positive terminal, to the alternator is semi melted. Could this cause my issues or do you think it's still the alternator? Either way I know I should fix the issue with the melted wire.