Posted by Mike Haas (204.17.103.194) on May 17, 2004 at 10:20:42:
In Reply to: oy posted by Mike Haas on 13:36:57 05/14/04:
Generator:
The old-timer at the autoelectric shop came out of retirement for an afternoon when he heard that there was a generator that needed attention. He rebuilt it for me, telling me that I'd burned it up by trying to charge both batteries at once. Lesson: don't use the "both" selection on the battery switch.
He also said that I probably should only hold it as a backup, as he expects cancer to take him in less than a year, and no one else around knows how to work on the things. On the shelf it goes.
Alternator:
The alternator was fine. I just wasn't spinning it fast enough for the regulator to engage. Once I revved the engine to an ALARMINGLY high idle, it engaged and charged like a champ. I don't have a tach, so I can't put hard numbers to this.
My new problem is that I think I need to be able to spin the alternator faster. 90% of my engine use is just getting down the river, which is a no-wake zone, which means I'm barely above idle, which means I'm only charging at 13volts or so. I rarely run at mid-throttle or above (14v+)for more than 5 minutes at a time, which doesn't seem like enough to get a good charge going.
Can I (should I) replace the alternator pulley with a smaller one to get it to spin faster?
Thanks all.