Electrical system on GE #20

That part is also a little confusing for me. Originally #20 was 32 volts. When we purchased her form Arkansas limestone they told us to run it with 24 volts. We have been running with 24 for the past 2½ years. It has been working fine with the exception of one thing. The main contact switch needs to be manually pushed in after running for a period of about an hour. Not sure if that has anything to do with the battery set up. I do not know what Arkansas limestone did as far as converting it to 24. I’ve contemplated getting 4 8-volt batteries and going back to 32 volts but then I would need a new starter, and the batteries then selves are not cheap.

As far as the PA system goes, it is a regular 12-volt system. I tried hooking up a regular 12-volt alternator but the frame would not ground it and I could not get any power off the alternator. I have been told to isolate the alternator from the frame and ground it off the battery, what do you think about that? Is there a way to draw 12 volts off the 24-volt configuration? If so how will the regular 12-volt react to the positive ground on the GE?
Why is it positively grounded and how does that work?

Aloha Nick