Not enough alternator on my L4060?

[troverman]

I have a 2019 L4060 cab which I love. I recently installed a 12v heated seat pad that just straps to the standard seat and plugs into the 12v socket next to the seat. However, while plowing with it the other day, full blower, front and rear work lights, headlights, and stereo...I noticed the seat pad wasn't getting very hot. Shut the work lights off and it immediately got hotter.

My tractor does not have the heated rear glass but I wish it did. Fogs up like crazy even after the A/C button on/off debate. That means I have a 60A alternator which I think is inadequate for the cab tractors.

How much does it cost for the 90A alternator? Does it put more of a drag on horsepower?

Thanks

 

[BigG]

Maybe add a 12v fan to blow on the rear window. That is after the upgrade.

https://www.amazon.com/Portable-Sec...68&hvtargid=aud-800703102928:pla-839532758091

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

I have a 2019 L4060 cab which I love. I recently installed a 12v heated seat pad that just straps to the standard seat and plugs into the 12v socket next to the seat. However, while plowing with it the other day, full blower, front and rear work lights, headlights, and stereo...I noticed the seat pad wasn't getting very hot. Shut the work lights off and it immediately got hotter.

My tractor does not have the heated rear glass but I wish it did. Fogs up like crazy even after the A/C button on/off debate. That means I have a 60A alternator which I think is inadequate for the cab tractors.

How much does it cost for the 90A alternator? Does it put more of a drag on horsepower?

Thanks

To me it sound more like a wiring issue than a true alternator issue.
Are the lights becoming significantly dim when you use the seat heater?

 

[rjcorazza]

Kubota considers the 60a alternator to be inadequate with the addition of the rear window defroster, so I suspect you are correct that the seat heater is pushing it over the edge.

I have the 60a stock alternator and rear window defroster. With all stock lighting + defroster + fan the alternator would not keep up with the electrical demand. I thought about the 90a upgrade alternator, but ended up replacing the work lights with LED's, as well as all other bulbs except headlights and corner lights. The reduced demand was enough that I can run everything without issue.


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[troverman]

I don’t notice the lights dimming because the pad is on the moment the tractor starts and supplies 12v to the plug. What I notice is “lights off” means a warmer pad. The 12v plug says 120w on it, and my heater pad says it uses half of that.

 

[troverman]

Kubota considers the 60a alternator to be inadequate with the addition of the rear window defroster, so I suspect you are correct that the seat heater is pushing it over the edge.

I have the 60a stock alternator and rear window defroster. With all stock lighting + defroster + fan the alternator would not keep up with the electrical demand. I thought about the 90a upgrade alternator, but ended up replacing the work lights with LED's, as well as all other bulbs except headlights and corner lights. The reduced demand was enough that I can run everything without issue.


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I am running HID bulbs in my front work lights; these reduce power demand a little bit.

I would imagine on a low horsepower engine like mine, a larger alternator adds noticeable drag on the engine to increase fuel consumption and lower PTO horsepower slightly. It’s probably in Kubota’s best interest to use a minimal alternator on these small tractors.

 

[rjcorazza]

I am running HID bulbs in my front work lights; these reduce power demand a little bit.



I would imagine on a low horsepower engine like mine, a larger alternator adds noticeable drag on the engine to increase fuel consumption and lower PTO horsepower slightly. It’s probably in Kubota’s best interest to use a minimal alternator on these small tractors.

The numerous other bulbs really add up. Like around 13 amps for all of the incandescents, and 2.5 amps for all led.
The stock alternator also doesn't start making amps until the engine rpms are up to around 1200. At least on mine.


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[SidecarFlip]

My cab M9 has a 70, I think. I had an issue running the halogen work lights but switched to 4000 lumen LED high mounts. Much better illumination, much lower amp draw. Halogen, as well as HID are power hogs, especially a cold HID before it heats up to operating temperature.

 

[troverman]

HIDs only have a high draw right at startup...then they use less than halogen.

My goal was to keep the stock work light enclosures because I liked how they looked. Hence the HID conversion because there was no stock LED bulb that had better output than the halogen.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

I'm trying to figure out just how much power you're using ! yeesh my 67 stang had a 37A alternator, lots of heat and blower and lights, my 73 CJ was litup like an Xmas tree for plowing, again 37A alternator.
It'd be interesting to see the current drawn and terminal voltages. if the wires are small(say 20ga)and long(3-4feet), that'll up the current demand. You can get away with 1 light being wrong but 3-4 or more and you'll have problems.

If you had an ammeter wired in you'd KNOW what your current demand is.

 

[troverman]

Your 67 Mustang had a blower, so does the Kubota. It has two front headlights with likely less low and high beam wattage than this Kubota. It has two tail lights; so does the Kubota. Turn signals...the Kubota has 6 vs 4 on the Mustang, plus the Mustang uses a shared bulb on the back. License plate light on the Mustang...but the Kubota has two more side flood lights in the front. Finally, the Kubota has 4x 35w work lights, plus a front and rear wiper / washer, plus a modern stereo system.

Then there is the diesel lift pump; I doubt your Mustang has an electric fuel pump. Plus there are 4 electronically operated fuel injectors you didn’t have, an ECU to power all this and a battery of sensors, plus a message center, and the said 120w 12v outlet. I’d say the Kubota has a fair amount more draw than your old Mustang.

 

[rjcorazza]

Here are the bulb types I wrote down when I replaced mine with leds if you're interested :

Front ambers top (flasher) 1156 x2 (3.3a) (0.66a led)
Front ambers bottom (running) 1156 x2 (3.3a) (0.66a. led)
Rear running (red) 1157 x2 (0.8a) (0.16a led)
Rear flasher (amber) 1156 x2 (3.3a) (0.66a led)
Rear flasher, high (amber) 1156 x2 (3.3a) (0.66a led)

And the 90a upgraded alternator kit : (confirm)
90a upgrade alternator kit P/N T0350-99550


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[200mph]

Could reduce the light draw portion significantly using led light versus halogens.
A pair of headlight consumes 110 watts, so in rough numbers that is 9 amps. So front and back would be 18 amps. Using 4 27 watt leds would pull an actual 5-6 amps. The light output will be at least 2x compared to the halogen cab lights. Even the 36 watt lamps that have a form factor similar to the stock light won’t pull but 9 amps for 4 units.

Don’t even waste the energy with the stock headlights. 4 cab mounted less will be plenty of light. Plus it will be more economical than buying a new alternator.

 

[SidecarFlip]

I will say that I've changed over all my filament lights on both my M9's to 100% LED except the headlamps and I'm waiting for those to come in (per Wolfman's suggestion). At that point, everything on both tractors will be LED. I did have to change the flasher unit ti an electronic one to get the hazards to flash though.

...and I don't have any issue with radio interference either. I think (not sure) but I think my cab model has a 70 amp alternator and my open station is 50 amp. Both have Group 31 batteries with 1100 CCA.

The cab unit has many more electrical draws than the open station unit does.

 

[bucktail]

I doubt that you'll notice the loss in engine power if you went from 60 to 90 but as everyone else is saying your money will be better spent on LEDS.

 

[troverman]

So here we are, one year later. Tractor performed well all year. I added a set of LED cube lights and retained all the stock lights. Operating at night in the summer while mowing was fine...probably because the engine was being run at PTO speed the whole time. But two days ago we got 3 feet of snow, and I used the Kubota for hours at night, with the heater on high, stereo running, and all lights on. Tractor did great, parked it...the next day it didn’t have enough battery to start. I’m annoyed the alternator can’t keep up. Can anyone get pricing on part number T0350-99550?

 

[GreensvilleJay]

Should check the battery condition ,the alternator and what the ACTUAL current draw is for all them loads.
possible issues....
A weak battery will never fully recharge. Might need bigger battery,if original.
A weak alternator won't put out 60Amps...
A loose belt won't let alt charge..
Incorrect wire size draws more power...
Before you order an alternator, you need to know what power you actually are using.
Say you buy the 90A alt...then find out you're using 93A...it'll just take longer to have the 'no start' problem occour..

 

[troverman]

The only thing not stock are the two LED cube lights, each drawing 26w. I wired them to the battery via a fused link, with a relay off the factory “side lamps” switch, so I didn’t need to add an extra switch. I don’t think it’s reasonable to have to run at high RPM all the time just to maintain a battery charge. This tractor is 14 months old.

 

[GeoHorn]

I bought a cheap ammeter and installed on the lower left inst. panel and it is surprising how it can educate you on what draws how-much. The OEM lights on my M4700 (which is missing it’s rearmost tail-lights so I converted the round turn-signal fixtures on top of the fenders to combination fixtures which have incandescent 1157 lamps ($7 from TSC)... the OEMs draw 10 Amps and the headlights are horrible unless all you want to do is blind yourself looking at the back of the bucket.
I installed LED lightbars, one on top of the grill-guard and one pointed aft under the top of the ROPS. They pull 10 Amps each, so if I run the OEM lights (so the tail lights will illuminate) with the LEDs I’m at 30 amp draw on a 40 A alternator. I plan to find some replacement LED headlamp bulbs or I’ll find some way to modify the sockets to accept some common LED lamps for them.

BTW, HF sells a 3-gauge set of automotive gauges for $19. I didn’t use the oil pressure and temp gauges.... so my ammeter install was pretty cheap.

 

[troverman]

My headlights are 55w/60w just like a car. With the bucket lowered they are pretty effective.