Looks like my alternator might be going out. After 2 weeks worth of rain, it seems like it is failing to generate any power. I am probably going to take it apart just to make sure something didn’t rust up or fill with water. If that doesn’t work, time for a new one. I was curious if anyone has found an alternative to the CAT branded one? Seems like a normal alternator, but CAT wants $1000 now for one, which is ridiculous! Thanks!
You just couldn't share the part number, could you? Not even a serial number prefix? Cat doesn't make the alternator, and there are tons of brand name and not-so brand name units out there. If only you had shared something besides 299D I use a local shop and a specific online vendor. PS, I don't wanna come across like I just did above, but, you already got a Cat price, so didn't they have a part number? I shouldn't have to dig thru 4 299D parts manuals (not counting the other 11 D* machines), when ...
Not the right forum. This forum is for full size trackloaders. Moved to CTL forum.
As far as I'm aware there is no aftermarket exact replacement for some of the Cat/Kubota alternators. That being said that is a common Denso unit, and there some very nearly alike substitutions we have used successfully. Local rebuild shop should be able to rebuild yours easily.
377-3966 1J431-64012 A002TC1877
I am sorry, I posted that, then went out to my machine and took the alternator out, then disassembled it. When I came back here to report back the forums were down for maintenance/upgrade. Then the next day I left for a work trip. You are right. I should have posed a part number. My Part number is 377-6966. After the tear-down it appears the diodes are bad. It is a Mitsubishi Alternator Part Number 1J431-64012 or A2TC1877A. I ended up finding this aftermarket one on Amazon for $169: Amazon.com I also found a rebuild kit for $50 but opted not to go this way since the Amazon one was not that expensive. I bought the one on amazon and I must say, everything looks identical to the Mitsubishi one. Even the castings have the same tooling marks. Feels like it came out of the same factory or it is a rebuild. I installed it and it seems to be working as expected so far. The only thing that lightly bothers me is that it also fails the simple diode test that everyone on YouTube says you should check first. Not sure how critical that is, but it is generating power again, so that is a good sign!
Thank you, sorry about that!
Thank you for the info!
So your diodes are slightly leaky on the new alternator? install a battery disconnect switch or remove the ground cable if you're not going to use it regularly. Batteries get expensive when you have to replace them every year.
Ya, they seem slightly leaky in the direction they shouldn’t. I do have a solar cell on the roof, which helped when the previous alternator was leaking. I thought it was a bad battery, but clearly it was the alternator.