ground loop semi-solved; alternator suppressor

[Brett Dikeman]

I managed to seriously cut down on alternator noise this evening by
running a test ground.

One end was a crimped blade connector going to the radio's chassis;
the second end was just a stripped bare end which I test-grounded on
a few metal surfaces.

Interestingly enough, merely pressing it(hard) against the shell of
the cigarette lighter plug was enough to knock down alternator noise
by a substantial margin(enough that I couldn't pick it out over the
engine noise itself, so thats probably good enough, though no
electrical consumers were on, which increases the noise
dramatically.)  I was too cold and impatient to see if it also cut
down on noise from the player itself, which was quite low.

So, my plan at the moment is to link the radio chassis to the factory
harness ground(which is how the radio and soundgate both ground
themselves) and then link that to a ground point, probably one of the
screws that holds the wood trim on(two hex bolts that go directly
into the aluminium support for the whole dash; if that's not well
grounded, well then, I don't know what is :-)

I'm also going to see about the mystery noise filter that's missing.
When I had the alternator replaced once, the mechanic noted that not
only had the previous installers(Pep Boys) totally jury-rigged the
old unit into place, but the noise filter was missing.  He said he
could order it, but it would be a few days; I said I couldn't wait,
and have promptly shelved it for two years or so as something to "get
around to."

Sure enough, catalog.exist.ru shows item #15 on the exploded parts
diagram for the alternator "Suppression condenser", PN 056 903 291.

It's hard to tell, but from the diagram, it looks like hookup would
be possible without it, so maybe it really is missing.  Anyone happen
to have a good shot of an alternator, on or off car, showing this
little guy so I can take a peek for it tomorrow?

Brett
--
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"They that give up essential liberty to obtain temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - Ben Franklin
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