Alternator ailments

[Schaible, David]

My last bout with these alternators yielded a bad brush which was making
intermittent contact where it should not.  It was not a bosch rebuild.
I scavenged a set of brushes from a 10v alternator that were bosch and
the quality difference was amazing....no more Chinese cheapo crap on my
auto.




-----Original Message-----
From: Kneale Brownson [mailto:knealeski at sbcglobal.net] 
Sent: Tuesday, June 26, 2007 6:22 PM
To: Bernie Benz
Cc: 200q20V mailing list
Subject: Re: Alternator ailments

OK, putting the car on the hoist so I could get to the alternator more
easily, the voltmeter starts reading "normally" again, jump post voltage
is 13.8.
   
  So I have an intermittent voltage regulator function?   Could that be
a bad wire (other than the famous "blue") to the alternator or something
internal to the alternator or the regulator?

Bernie Benz <b.benz at charter.net> wrote:
  
On Jun 26, 2007, at 1:59 PM, Kneale Brownson wrote:

> Finally got a chance to test my charging system that started acting 
> up while we were in Columbus, OH, over the weekend but managed to 
> get us home.
>
> With the engine off, the battery reads 12.5 volts. Same reading 
> for the positive terminal post under the hood.
Implies no current flowing between the two points.
>
> With the engine running at idle (voltmeter in car reading ~12), 
> the reading with my multimeter is 12.17 at both the battery and the 
> jump post.
Still no current flowing.
> I presume that means the regulator ain't regulating properly, but 
> the dreaded wiring "weld" in the passenger footwell is passing on 
> its voltage without any resistance.
Resistance only impedes current flow, not voltage.
>
> Is it possible the "exciter" circuit (blue wire) would be the 
> culprit?
No! The blue wire is not an exciter circuit. It provides a ground 
path and a bucking voltage to respectively lite and extinguish the 
alternator warning lite, among other unrelated things.

I'd say that you have a bad regulator or regulator ground path.

Bernie
> _______________________________________________
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