Hot engine won't start?

Just got off phone with Powermaster tech support. Long story short, belts as now configured are good to go.

As per those guys, they don't have a 1/2" groove pulley for this alternator. Running high on those grooves at low speed not going to hurt anything. Pulley has OD of 2.65", so is faster than what I can replace it with, which BTW, the pulley is held on by some strange screw setup......maybe along the lines of a tamper proof setup. Not the nut and torque wrench change over some show to use. Best leave it alone. 

Alternator kicks in at around 1,800 RPM alternator shaft speed, and comes up to rated speed at around 2,400 RPM, which at my fast idle speed ** will be around 2,400 RPM. Most transit and field work way above that, so should be OK. 

** - Fast idle needed when unloading at the barn. Needed to turn the hydraulic pump to get drag chains moving, and is also needed to keep the radiator fan (runs on hydraulic motor) spinning fast to keep cooling system working. Those all speed up and slow down with engine speed. 1,000 RPM is about right. 

Good call.....it may be sitting 1/8" or so proud, so maybe 2 3/4" plus effective diameter of pulley.  The one from Brillman better than that, and 1/2" to boot.  If I can figure out what "special tools" are needed to make the swap. 

No.....do not have a shaft RPM. Just tach on the engine. 

But do have an electric meter, so may be able to measure voltages and amps when running to see what I got. 

And make things simple?? I have done repair work on late 1970s to late 1980s vehicles that are mish-mash of metric and SAE bolts/nuts. There was one manufacture (Chevy?) that 2 out of the 3 starter bolts were metric and the other SAE. Then the Ford 5.4 oil filter, supposedly the engines built in Windsor Canada has SAE threads on the filter and the engine built in Romeo MI (USA) has metric threads.

Sound like you are making much progress on this project, might as well go all the way and restore it to its original, as sold when new, glory.

When this thing showed up on my doorstep, don't think any gauges were working (along with a lot of other stuff). One of first things I did to start rehab was to install full set of new gauges. Could not stand operating blind. Might work OK for a lawnmower, but not a big piece of equipment like this. Hardest part was to find a tachometer.....with hour meter. Those are not cheap!! All gauges are Auto Meter.......which offers good quality gauges for automotive and marine use. 

Watching the volt meter work was how I concluded changes had to be made. 

Will do. 

It also appears on these self regulated alternators, there are two types. The old AC Delco had the hot charge wire to the battery (I also found it was putting out less amps than thought.......maybe only 30 to 40 or so.......kid who sold it to me said they always had trouble keeping battery charged when running at night with lights on........but also had to have an exciter wire to get it charging. This newer, larger Power Master does not need the exciter wire.......apparently it is self exciting, but am told if allowed to sit around for months on end may lose what magnetism it normally holds and may have to rev the engine up to 2,500 rpm or so to get it charging.....but once you do, it will love you long time. 

Anyway, as it stands now, it is in best shape it has been in since I've been steward for it. More improvements coming, but not until season is over. 

In my experience, most of the alternator problems people run into nowdays are either caused by corroded wiring and connections, or (when replaced) a mismatch of alternator to the application.

When people run into electrical problems, one of the first things they do, is change to a 'higher output' alternator... which in the circumstance of a machine with a corroded spot in the wiring somewhere, results in no improvement.

Now, many times, when going to a 'high output' alternator, that additional output comes from the alternator either getting different windings, or being wired in delta, rather than wye configuration, and while this opens up capacity to flow more CURRENT, the alternator field needs more excitation, and the rotor needs to be spinning FASTER, in order for the output VOLTAGE to be high enough to take advantage of the delta connection scheme.

In short, if the engine you're running, spends most of it's time at 1200rpm, but the 'high output' alternator's output curve doesn't come up until your engine is spinning at 1800, you'll be discharging the battery.

The opposite scenario can also happen-  you're in an application that runs at a higher constant speed (like an industrial or marine application) where the alternator is always spinning fast, so you might have a ton of output, but the battery is perpetually overcharging.

The simple numbers don't mean anything... it's the curve, and the belt drive ratio, and the operating profile of the power unit, as a system.  When everything matches, it works right.

Do check those power cables.  Stranded wire is very susceptible to 'deep rot' - capillary action wicks moisture from ends, or little cuts, a LONG way down a piece of wire, and corrodes it where you simply wouldn't think to look.  It starts turning copper brown, then green, and then you've got a 1/0 cable that has effectively the same current-carrying cross section as a piece of 20ga... it'll be sufficent for a short shot of high current when cool, but when hot, it'll be worthless, and the longer you TRY to crank it, the hotter that spot will get.  If you flex a battery cable and it feels a little 'crunchy', it's shot...