help an idoit-alternators

[ralph roddam]

Imade the decision to take out my old alternator on my 1992 Yanmar diesel.Decided to use an external smart regulator from Ample Power co along with A new high amperage Alternator.Upon instaliation I made the stupid mistake of leaving a live wire,it shorted through the new alternator !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.
seems I got it chargingthe engine at first but now it will not, the alternator also got hot eveen when not turning,I think I have blown the diodes,also the next step regulator in my opinion has a poor design with respect to attaching all the wires,they are too close together.Anyone any experience with these systems got good advice? I have ran the field wire bypass operation and still no chaarge so It looks like the alternator?

 

[tenders]

Most likely it is not too difficult, or too expensive, to have the alternator repaired at an alternator shop. But to preserve the marine rating you need to find a real alternator shop - don't drop it off at AutoZone.

There are some great discussions on this topic at the Atomic Four website, moyermarine.com, that are applicable well beyond the Atomic Four.

 

[Glyn Judson]

All alternators are not the same or are they?

All, I had the 30 amp alternator for my Yanmar 3GMF go south and took it to a local repair shop here in Santa Monica. After explaining to the tech that it was from my the Yanmar in our boat, he took one look at it and declared that it looked exactly like a Mitsubishi or Fuji Heavy Industries automotive alternator or some such brand. I wanted the 30 amp output so as not to detract from the output of the engine, thus the reasoning behind having that very unit rebuilt. Other than that he said it looked identical to an automotive one of the 90 or 150 amps variety or whatever they are. I asked him to examine the guts and tell me if he saw any marinizing inside it. He called the next day to say it was ready and when I asked, he responded by telling me that it was identical on the inside too. No spark baffles, no nothing. Granted, it is on a diesel engine so that must be the explanation as to why no difference inside or out form an automotive alternator. Glyn Judson E31 hull #55, Marina del Rey, CA

 

[Stu Jackson]

Uhm, alternators are not "marinized." They are "ignition protected" so they don't spark. Since most alternators are used in gasoline engined automobiles, most alternators are "safe" for use in both gasoline and diesel powered boats. That's why there aren't any differences.

Take your questionable alternator into a reputable alternator shop and have it fixed.

To avoid the wiring issue, buy a small bus bar or two and minimize the number of wires to the alternator from the regulator. Wire the regulator to the bus bar, and then run less wires to the back of the alternator. IIRC, there are a few positive wires and a few negative ones from the regulator, right? Run those to the individual + and - bus bars, then one positive and one negative to the alternator. Saves having to gang all those wires up on the back of the alternator, especially the small negative post with that small nut on it.