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Date:         Sun, 18 Jul 2010 14:04:39 -0700
Reply-To:     Alistair Bell <albell@SHAW.CA>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Alistair Bell <albell@SHAW.CA>
Subject:      Re: Alternator output
Comments: To: Tom Hargrave <thargrav@hiwaay.net>
In-Reply-To:  <01cf01cb26bb$872108a0$956319e0$@net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; delsp=yes; format=flowed

Tom,

I just looked at old volt. reg. form my van, and it has 14 V written on it, not 14.1 V that I wrote before.

where the heck did I get the 0.1 from :)

We discussed this a month or so ago, David B. talking about adjusting alt. output. I mentioned at that time that I had tried an adjustable reg some years ago. Worked fine for a while (could "dial up" voltage output, I chose something like 14.4) then stopped working...

I may try one again. They can be bought online from a volvo parts guy, http://www.davebarton.com/AdjustableVoltage.html

scroll down and you will see a reg. that has a teeny tiny screw on it...

cheers

alistair

On 18-Jul-10, at 1:55 PM, Tom Hargrave wrote:

Understood - I've owned over 40 cars and worked on at least twice as many more and could have my voltages crossed. But over half had Bosch alternators installed and I remember consistent voltages of around 14.5 over the years. But again many of these were Bosch alternators from the early 70s.

Thanks, Tom

-----Original Message----- From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM] On Behalf Of Alistair Bell Sent: Sunday, July 18, 2010 10:35 AM To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM Subject: Re: Alternator output

whoa there Tom!

The bosch alternator in the vanagon never did put out 14.5 V.

I bet if you look closely at the voltage reg you will see 14.1 V written on it. And even when new, seemed to struggle to get to 14.1

Alfred, make sure all your connections from alternator to battery are squeaky clean - shiny!- and tight.

PS disconnect battery before working on this problem - red wire at alternator is "hot" all the time.

If you feel up to it, remove the voltage reg from alternator and check brush length. Specs and procedure in Bentley. (pmail me if you dont have procedure).

Then when all is cleaned up and back together, try measuring voltage again, both at battery and at alternator. If all is well you should not see more than a 0.1 V diff. between the 2 measurements.

The previous low voltage condition was probably chronically undercharging your battery, so if you can, put the battery on a charger.

alistair

On 17-Jul-10, at 11:18 PM, Tom Hargrave wrote:

Alfred,

13.8 volts is considered minimum and the fact that you see 13.8 at the alternator and 13 at the battery tells you have a very, very low battery or the alternator is in trouble.

I'd suggest you do a good job of cleaning & then re-attaching your battery terminals, charge the battery and test again.

Most charging systems will float up to 14.5+ or so, at least the Bosch alternators on all the Mercedes I've owned would. I don't own a Vanagon yet but a charging system is a charging system. If you don't reach at least 14.5 volts with a fully charged battery then I suggest you have a alternator issue.

Tom www.towercooler.com


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