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Date:         Thu, 20 Aug 1998 20:40:49 EDT
Reply-To:     kenneth d lewis <kdlewis@JUNO.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <Vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         kenneth d lewis <kdlewis@JUNO.COM>
Subject:      Re: Charging system update
Comments: To: bartnik@HOTMAIL.COM
Comments: cc: Vanagon@VANAGON.COM

Sean; If you are taking your readings at the battery , what voltage do you have right at the alternator? The small wire has no affect on charging, it only illuminates the ignition light when the battery is discharging. Drive Safely & Good Luck Ken Lewis<Kernersville,NC>

On Thu, 20 Aug 1998 16:22:54 PDT Sean Bartnik <bartnik@HOTMAIL.COM> writes: >Hey all, >You may recall my recent post about how my battery was being >undercharged. > >Today I finally had the time to replace the voltage regulator with a >new >spare that came with the van (thanks Rick!). On the Vanagon, the >voltage regulator is screwed onto the front (FIF) of the alternator. >Comparing the old and the new, the brushes on the old were severely >worn >compared to the brushes on the new regulator. I installed the new >regulator and charged the battery (the battery took about 3 hours on >the >charger). > >Now with the engine running and no electrical load I am seeing 13.2 or >so volts across the battery. With a heavy electrical load it goes >down >to around 12.7 or 12.8 volts. Heavy being say headlights and >windshield >wipers on at the same time. It does not go above 13.2 even when >revving >the engine higher than idle. > >So this is better than it was but I feel that it is still not quite as >good as it should be. While I had the battery out I took the >opportunity to clean up the ground strap's connection to the frame. I >did the same with the tranny-to-chassis ground strap. I also noticed >that there is some significant corrosion on the terminals at the >wiring >harness plug to the altnernator and also on the male spade terminals >on >the alternator. Since, however, these terminals are recessed into the >body of the altnerator and the females are inside a plug, I don't know >that there's much I can do about cleaning them. I feel though that >this >corrosion could be causing part of the problem. Any ideas on what I >can >do about it? > >I am planning to try this arrangement out for a while and see if I >have >any further problems. If I do I may opt to swap out the alternator >with >a used spare that I have to see if that makes a difference. > >Any other suggestions? >Thanks! > > >Sean Bartnik >Fairfax, Virginia >============================ >'81 Vanagon L Westfalia >'74 Karmann Ghia convertible >http://www.type2.com/bartnik/tech.htm > > >______________________________________________________ >Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com >

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