Man, good for you, James. That is a fiddlef**ky repair job.
Colin
Man, good for you, James. That is a fiddlef**ky repair job.
I used 800 wet or dry sandpaper on a tongue depressor stick stuck in the generator of an idling engine. Worked very very well very very quickly. That's a warning.appetite wrote: ↑Sun Sep 24, 2017 2:54 pmWell, my celebration might have been premature. The alternator is up to its old tricks after a week or so of good behavior. It was really a joy to have a full charge pulsing through the system. The lights were brighter than I recall them being in a long time.
Maybe there's more gunk down there than i thought, or maybe the rings are rutted and are holding onto contaminates. I'm going to give the rings another cleaning before taking more drastic measures (replacing the alternator).
Question: can i use something more abrasive to clean the rings than a pencil eraser? How about some sandpaper?
Thanks,
James
Did you disconnect the negative battery cable over the winter? That is a mandatory step.appetite wrote: ↑Wed Apr 04, 2018 1:36 pmReviving this thread, since I put the bus away for the winter without a resolution and Spring will soon be sprung (although winter is never ending here in NJ, apparently...)
The battery was dead when I tried to start the bus over the weekend. I wonder if, over the winter, there was a slow drain on the battery somewhere?
Jumped it, got it started, and it was charging at juuuuust 12 volts. So the alternator is behaving as described last Autumn. Bummer.
I'm going to try the sandpaper method, but I also wonder if I could use a product like Gumout on a paper towel to wipe away any residue on the slip rings.
Is that a possibility or will Gumout damage the alternator?
Thanks.
Remove battery cable, fan belt, thermostat, carburetor, and coil/spark plug wires from fan housing. Take a break.
Refresh me, the alternator warning light does work, yes? On with ignition, out with revving the engine?appetite wrote: ↑Tue Apr 24, 2018 11:00 amOofa.
If swapping the alternator is my fate, I shall succumb. But first, a few more tests.
I trickle charged the battery overnight. Bought a multimeter. Got a reading of 12.6 at the battery with the engine off.
With the engine running, battery reads 12.14. And with + post on the B+ terminal on the alternator and - post on the neg battery terminal, I'm getting the same 12.14.
So I assume the alternator is putting out some charge, just not enough to reach the preferred range of 13.5 to 14, yes?
Maybe there's still hope that something is amiss with the brushes or the rings or some connection. I'll take it apart again...