Taka's "counterpoint" about the Ultranator

[urq]

C'mon folks ... so what if they were called the wrong name ... we all know
what was meant ... the rotating contacts that energize the field coil.
Personally, I've never heard them called "collector rings" either.  And the
comment about grooved rings providing more contact area ... is that needed
for energizing the field?  Seems to me the increased surface area would also
create increased wear on the new brushes ... so you might likely need to
have the thing worked on sooner ... but now I'm nit picking too ...

Machining the slip rings is common practice for rebuilding alternators ...
does Bosch replace them?  Quite frankly I doubt it, but it may be true.  I
just put a Bosch rebuilt alternator in the V8 and I must say I was pretty
underwhelmed with it ... especially given what I paid for it.  Yes, I
checked the slip rings to make sure they were in good shape ... couldn't
tell if they were machined or replaced ... I assumed the former.  I could
tell that the condenser was not replaced ... but it did seem that the
bearings were new.  The thing that bugged me the most was the TO-3 package
on the regulator module had a finish that looked like was spray painted on
by a kid in shop class.  Even before I got the thing the finish was coming
off and the metal surface underneath was showing signs of rust.  The
hexagonal hole in the center of the shaft was badly corroded, so I had to
use the old belt to hold the pulley so I could transfer it to the new part.
Perhaps my expectations were too high ... Didi told me that she was pretty
sure it was going to be a new unit (no "X" in the part number).

I think we need to be careful here about getting on people who report their
experiences ... one of the benefits of the list is that we should be a
source of somewhat unbiased information.  I appreciated Taka's taking the
time to report his experience ... overall he seemed to be OK with the
transaction and was just reporting what happened.  I know if I got this sort
of response I would be hesitant to do the same thing in the future ... and I
wouldn't be surprised if others would be a bit more hesitant to post
experiences with vendors because of this thread.  To me this is not a good
thing for the list ...

I do know Avi, and I believe that he is doing his best to provide a good
service for the list members, and while I've never met Taka in person we
have traded e-mails off line and I'm sure that his motivation is in the
interest of the list too ... perhaps the thing to do is to note the report
and leave it at that ...

Steve Buchholz
San Jose, CA (USA)
>
> Why should he?  No commutator in an alternator.  Now you might find
> a commutator in a starter motor or a generator, but not an alternator.
> Bosch alternators have 'collector rings'.  There is a difference.
>
> Now, lets assume you really meant collector rings, and that they were
> grooved.  If you machine them to remove the grooves, that will
> _remove material_; there will be less available to wear.  In fact,
> wear will start at a point on the ring that is _lower_ than if you
> hadn't machined them.   Just to be a little more contrary, once the
> brushes wear to conform, there is more contact area between the
> brush and collector ring.  So, is it advantageous to machine the
> collector rings?  I don't think so.  Of course, if a Bosch rebuild
> involves _replacement_ of the collector rings, that's a different
matter...