Home » Public Forums » GMCnet » Alternator woes!
| Alternator woes! [message #257783] |
Mon, 04 August 2014 15:00  |
Bruce Hart
Messages: 1501
Registered: October 2011
Location: La Grange, Wyoming
Karma: 5
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Senior Member |
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Last week I stated that my alternator over charged causing my battery to boil over, and created a hole below negative battery post. It was stated that my connection to the battery was loose which created a lot of heat. Also noted that possible two cells were shorted out.
I took a meter to that same battery this morning and it had 13.3 volts registering on my meter. That is 5 days after removing it from the coach. I reinstalled it in my generator compartment and the generator started right up. Took voltage reading after the gen wormed up and it was at 13.12 volts.
The alternator eventually failed and was only producing 9 volts before I removed it.
I had to replace my electric fuel pump prior to finding out the battery had boiled over. My gut feeling was the alternator overcharged and took out the fuel pump. I haven't driven the motor home except for two miles to put it in storage. Don't know if anything else has been effected from over charging.
Bruce Hart
1976 Palm Beach
1977 28' Kingsley
La Grange, Wyoming
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| Re: Alternator woes! [message #257794 is a reply to message #257783] |
Mon, 04 August 2014 16:21  |
Bob de Kruyff
Messages: 4260
Registered: January 2004
Location: Chandler, AZ
Karma: 1
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Senior Member |
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Bruce Hart wrote on Mon, 04 August 2014 14:00Last week I stated that my alternator over charged causing my battery to boil over, and created a hole below negative battery post. It was stated that my connection to the battery was loose which created a lot of heat. Also noted that possible two cells were shorted out.
I took a meter to that same battery this morning and it had 13.3 volts registering on my meter. That is 5 days after removing it from the coach. I reinstalled it in my generator compartment and the generator started right up. Took voltage reading after the gen wormed up and it was at 13.12 volts.
The alternator eventually failed and was only producing 9 volts before I removed it.
I had to replace my electric fuel pump prior to finding out the battery had boiled over. My gut feeling was the alternator overcharged and took out the fuel pump. I haven't driven the motor home except for two miles to put it in storage. Don't know if anything else has been effected from over charging.
Normally a sitting battery will show 12.6 V fully charged. Your meter may be off a bit or the battery was way overcharged. I suppose any number of electrical items could be damaged depending on how high the voltage got. Most stuff should be OK up to 15V for a short period of time.
Bob de Kruyff
78 Eleganza
Chandler, AZ
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| Re: [GMCnet] Alternator woes! [message #257808 is a reply to message #257790] |
Mon, 04 August 2014 19:09 |
Bruce Hart
Messages: 1501
Registered: October 2011
Location: La Grange, Wyoming
Karma: 5
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Senior Member |
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Mac,
I didn't choose my words very well, you are right that you had suggested
that a loose cable connect could have caused the hole in the battery. If
my battery did over charge say 16 to 18 volts could the battery casing melt
like that under the extended post? I just want to find out the right cause
of my situation not to offend anyone. With the battery showing 13.3 volts
and not connected to anything would that indicate an overcharge?
Gene, yes I have the APC, it was one of the first things I bought for the
motorhome.
On Mon, Aug 4, 2014 at 2:50 PM, D C _Mac_ Macdonald
wrote:
> My recollection is that I had SUGGESTED that a loose connection was a
> POSSIBLE cause of the problem. I do not remember having seen anybody's
> statement that this was anything but a possible cause.
>
> ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
> ~~ ~ D C "Mac" Macdonald ~ ~~
> ~ ~ Amateur Radio - K2GKK ~ ~
> ~~ k2gkk + hotmail dot com ~~
> ~ ~ USAF and FAA, Retired ~ ~
> ~ ~ ~ Oklahoma City, OK ~ ~ ~
> ~~ ~ ~ "The Money Pit" ~ ~ ~~
> ~ ~ ~ ~ TZE166V101966 ~ ~ ~ ~
> ~ ~ ~ '76 ex-Palm Beach ~ ~ ~
> ~ www.gmcmhphotos.com/okclb ~
> ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
> ______________
> *[ ]~~~[][ ][|\
> *--OO--[]---O-*
>
>
>
>> Date: Mon, 4 Aug 2014 14:01:13 -0600
>> To: gmclist@temp.gmcnet.org
>> From: hartsgmc@gmail.com
>> Subject: [GMCnet] Alternator woes!
>>
>> Last week I stated that my alternator over charged causing my battery to
> boil over, and created a hole below negative battery post. It was stated
> that
>> my connection to the battery was loose which created a lot of heat. Also
> noted that possible two cells were shorted out.
>> I took a meter to that same battery this morning and it had 13.3 volts
> registering on my meter. That is 5 days after removing it from the coach.
> I
>> reinstalled it in my generator compartment and the generator started
> right up. Took voltage reading after the gen wormed up and it was at 13.12
>> volts.
>>
>> The alternator eventually failed and was only producing 9 volts before I
> removed it.
>> I had to replace my electric fuel pump prior to finding out the battery
> had boiled over. My gut feeling was the alternator overcharged and took out
>> the fuel pump. I haven't driven the motor home except for two miles to
> put it in storage. Don't know if anything else has been effected from over
>> charging.
>> --
>> Bruce Hart
>> 1976 Palm Beach
>> Milliken, Co
>
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
> http://temp.gmcnet.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/gmclist
>
--
Bruce Hart
1976 Palm Beach
Milliken, Co
GMC=Got More Class
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Bruce Hart
1976 Palm Beach
1977 28' Kingsley
La Grange, Wyoming
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| Re: [GMCnet] Alternator woes! [message #257818 is a reply to message #257808] |
Mon, 04 August 2014 20:16 |
Ken Henderson
Messages: 8726
Registered: March 2004
Location: Americus, GA
Karma: 9
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Senior Member |
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Bruce,
It is certainly possible that your alternator produced excessive voltage
before failing. That voltage SHOULD have been limited by the internal
regulator to less than 18 VDC -- but who knows with a failing device?
While the APC would have protected the Nichrome wire from seeing the
excess voltage, and consequently possibly causing collateral damage, it
could do nothing to protect the other circuits to which the voltage was
applied -- such as your electrical fuel pump. Hopefully no, or few, other
devices were connected.
In any case, regardless of the action of the alternator, a battery terminal
should not have been the weak point in the over-stressed electrical system.
More likely, the excess voltage would have caused internal damage -- which
may have then resulted in a short sufficient to cause the terminal to burn.
In that case, I certainly would not expect the battery to continue to hold
a charge.
If the battery was overcharged and has set for a few hours, there's no way
it would still show 13.3 VDC; it would have bled off to near 12.6 VDC. You
really should take the battery to someone who can test it with a load
applied, using a known accurate meter.
I'm still concerned about the remote sensing circuit for your alternator.
If that circuit is open, your new alternator will also produce 18 VDC (or
even more if the internal limiter is not working). You may have driven the
two miles with 18 VDC applied everywhere. Use a good multimeter to check
the voltage at the output of the alternator before any more damage is done.
HTH,
Ken H.
On Mon, Aug 4, 2014 at 8:09 PM, Bruce Hart wrote:
> Mac,
> I didn't choose my words very well, you are right that you had suggested
> that a loose cable connect could have caused the hole in the battery. If
> my battery did over charge say 16 to 18 volts could the battery casing
> melt
> like that under the extended post? I just want to find out the right
> cause
> of my situation not to offend anyone. With the battery showing 13.3 volts
> and not connected to anything would that indicate an overcharge?
>
> Gene, yes I have the APC, it was one of the first things I bought for the
> motorhome.
>
>
>
> On Mon, Aug 4, 2014 at 2:50 PM, D C _Mac_ Macdonald
> wrote:
>
>> My recollection is that I had SUGGESTED that a loose connection was a
>> POSSIBLE cause of the problem. I do not remember having seen anybody's
>> statement that this was anything but a possible cause.
>>
>> ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
>> ~~ ~ D C "Mac" Macdonald ~ ~~
>> ~ ~ Amateur Radio - K2GKK ~ ~
>> ~~ k2gkk + hotmail dot com ~~
>> ~ ~ USAF and FAA, Retired ~ ~
>> ~ ~ ~ Oklahoma City, OK ~ ~ ~
>> ~~ ~ ~ "The Money Pit" ~ ~ ~~
>> ~ ~ ~ ~ TZE166V101966 ~ ~ ~ ~
>> ~ ~ ~ '76 ex-Palm Beach ~ ~ ~
>> ~ www.gmcmhphotos.com/okclb ~
>> ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
>> ______________
>> *[ ]~~~[][ ][|\
>> *--OO--[]---O-*
>>
>>
>>
>>> Date: Mon, 4 Aug 2014 14:01:13 -0600
>>> To: gmclist@temp.gmcnet.org
>>> From: hartsgmc@gmail.com
>>> Subject: [GMCnet] Alternator woes!
>>>
>>> Last week I stated that my alternator over charged causing my battery
> to
>> boil over, and created a hole below negative battery post. It was stated
>> that
>>> my connection to the battery was loose which created a lot of heat.
> Also
>> noted that possible two cells were shorted out.
>>> I took a meter to that same battery this morning and it had 13.3 volts
>> registering on my meter. That is 5 days after removing it from the
> coach.
>> I
>>> reinstalled it in my generator compartment and the generator started
>> right up. Took voltage reading after the gen wormed up and it was at
> 13.12
>>> volts.
>>>
>>> The alternator eventually failed and was only producing 9 volts before
> I
>> removed it.
>>> I had to replace my electric fuel pump prior to finding out the battery
>> had boiled over. My gut feeling was the alternator overcharged and
> took out
>>> the fuel pump. I haven't driven the motor home except for two miles to
>> put it in storage. Don't know if anything else has been effected from
> over
>>> charging.
>>> --
>>> Bruce Hart
>>> 1976 Palm Beach
>>> Milliken, Co
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> GMCnet mailing list
>> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
>> http://temp.gmcnet.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/gmclist
>>
>
>
>
> --
> Bruce Hart
> 1976 Palm Beach
> Milliken, Co
> GMC=Got More Class
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
> http://temp.gmcnet.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/gmclist
>
_______________________________________________
GMCnet mailing list
Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
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Ken Henderson
Americus, GA
www.gmcwipersetc.com
Large Wiring Diagrams
76 X-Birchaven
76 X-Palm Beach
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