Date: Mon, 12 Sep 2011 14:50:49 -0600
Reply-To: Steve Williams <steve@WILLIAMSITCONSULTING.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Steve Williams <steve@WILLIAMSITCONSULTING.COM>
Subject: Charging circuit wiring upgrade/maintenance report/questions
(longish)
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
Hi,
Unfortunately, I never did any "before" measurements so I cannot see the
improvement in my upgrades. Regardless of what the values were before,
I am quite happy with the current <pun> situation unless someone pipes
in to say otherwise.
This was motivated by my adding a "house" battery (deep cycle under the
back bench).
1. Installed new alternator
2. Added additional #6 wire from the alternator to the solenoid (left
old wire in place)
3. Ran #6 wire from the solenoid my house battery (Go-Westy relay in
place to isolate)
4. Replaced engine block -> chasis ground cable and cleaned contact
points (ground paint off fender)
5. Cleaned transmission -> chassis ground cable contact points
6. Cleaned starting battery -> chassis ground cable contact points
(ground paint off chasis bolt in point)
7. Cleaned starting battery posts & clamps
Any of the associated "small" ground connectors also got an appropriate
cleaning to remove oxidation, as did the bolts (as best as one can).
Results...
14.01 volts between the alternator and the engine ground strap with the
engine idling.
13.96 volts at both my starting battery and the house battery with the
engine idling.
Yes, I just went out and checked the readings again because it almost
seems too good to be true. But then again, I don't have any draw on the
alternator, would that make a difference? Headlights on? But then I
wouldn't want to run at idle...
What's a good test?
I THINK a .05 vdc (.36%) voltage drop is totally acceptable. Does that
sound reasonable to others "in the know".
Todo still:
Tie into the fuse panel and run a control wire from the fridge relay.
Clean ECU Ground (how to do that on a Westy??? what a STUPID place to
put a ground point)
Clean the fuse panel grounds... will do when I run the wire up from my
house panel to the fuse panel.
Have I missed anything that anyone would recommend to do?
[rambling starts]
I happen to live in a part of the world where we can (and do) get cold
snaps to -40C (-40F). I do a lot of back country skiing in the winter
and while I never plan to be outside when it's that cold, at the end of
a week long trip with the vehicle parked in the mountains, I like to
have a high likely hood of it starting.
As such, I've always been real anal about a well maintained
charging/starting system and have always owned vehicles that "just
start", even when it's that cold. Granted, with my 72 Dodge Dart (225
slant 6), you needed to hold your head in at a certain angle, pump the
gas pedal exactly the right number of times for the temperature it was
outside and hold your breath. That vehicle never let ME down, but if I
ever lent it to someone, they invariably flooded it when it was that
cold. People used to laugh at my rusted out old vehicles, but I
usually had the last laugh when my vehicle started right up and I was
the one boosting the fancy new cars! Occasionally I even shocked people
by boosting dead vehicles with my old Austin Mini, though that was more
of a "battery charge" than a boost. The poor alternator was so tiny,
I'd hook up with my (super heavy gauge) booster cables, let the dead
battery charge for 15 minutes and typically things were good.
Oh yeah, my 1991 Westy isn't that vehicle, I have a 2nd vehicle that's
my winter driver... but just the same, I like to keep things in good shape.
Thanks for all the pointers from people over the weekend.
Cheers,
Steve
1991 Westfalia