With the alternator installed, reconnect the battery, crack the key to ignition, make sure the alternator warning light comes on, start the car, and make sure the light goes out. Turn on additional electrical loads, like the headlights and electric fans, rev the engine up to about rpm, and make sure the voltage is still at about I recently did this on my and traced what I initially thought was a bad rebuilt alternator to a bad ground.
With the installation complete, open your hood and appreciate the fact that your alternator wiring is even simpler than it was before. Now, enjoy the extra amperage, reliability, and peace of mind that comes from upgrading to an internally-regulated alternator.
You can also order a personally inscribed copy here. Maintenance and Tech. Improve your classic by upgrading your alternator Rob Siegel. Hagerty covers all kinds of collector cars, trucks and modified vehicles.
Get an insurance quote. More on this topic. Sajeev Mehta. This prevents the battery from overcharging, and possibly exploding or burning out. James Clark began his career in He has written about electronics, appliance repair and outdoor topics for a variety of publications and websites.
He has more than four years of experience in appliance and electrical repairs. Clark holds a bachelor's degree in political science. Rotor The rotor is the spinning mass inside the alternator that rotates via the pulley and drive belt system. Slip Rings The Slip rings are used as a means of providing direct current and power to the rotor.
Slip Ring End Bearing The bearings are designed to support the rotation of the rotor shaft. Stator The stator consists of several coils of wire wound through an iron ring. Drive End Bearing The bearings are designed to support the rotation of the rotor shaft. Pulley The pulley is connected to the rotor shaft and the drive belt system. Drive End Bracket. Slip Ring End Bracket.
Show More. Find Your Vehicle. Engine Code. And in the compressed air system, the pressure switch will turn on the compressor when system pressure gets low. Lights, ignition, and accessories use power from the electrical system.
Every time we switch an accessory ON, more power is drawn from the system. Voltage electrical pressure drops as power is drawn from the system, and then the voltage regulator causes the alternator to make more current. And in the compressed air system an impact wrench, blowgun, paint gun, or the fitting for filling a tire, can all use power compressed air from the system.
When we use compressed air from the system, PSI air pressure drops, and the regulator turns the compressor ON. And in the air compressor system the pressure regulator stops and starts the compressor as needed to maintain the proper level of pressure.
The useful electrical system will require an alternator that can produce an average of more output than we use, and the regulator will limit system voltage to the safe level we need. Like most machinery, the alternator cannot stand to work at maximum output for extended periods of time. Short bursts at maximum output are okay, but normal operation will require alternator operation at only a part of full output potential, most of the time.
Alternators make heat as a by-product of making electrical power, and the more power they supply the more heat they make.
Some models of alternators can stand to put out a much higher percentage of their gross output rating than others, during extended periods of operation.
The compressor also produces heat as a by-product, and if it was called upon to run continuously while maintaining high pressure, the compressor will burn out.
Some models of air compressors will have a greater duty cycle than others. Expect that a hobby shop model will not be intended to run for the long time periods that a professional workshop compressor is built for. When the electrical system needs more power than the alternator can produce, for a short time, then the battery is already connected to the system and the battery will contribute the needed power.
Entering into this picture is that the alternator must spin at sufficient RPM to produce power. There is also a minimum and maximum for practical alternator RPM operating range. Alternator RPM is somewhat adjustable by changing the ratio of the drive pulley at the crankshaft and alternator pulley diameters. An alternator can be damaged with excessive RPM. At low RPM, expect that early models of alternators often produced much less available output than more modern designs.
And with many models of old alternators, electrical output at engine idle speed was not sufficient to support electrical demands. But when sitting at a stoplight, the battery could assist the alternator with support of the electrical system.
And then when the light turned green we drove away with the engine spinning the alternator fast once again. The alternator soon replaced power used from the battery while sitting at the stop light, no harm done.
System voltage will be low, when the alternator is not keeping up. Voltage will be above 14 when the alternator is working, and about twelve and falling when supported by the battery. Drivers of old cars were accustomed to the lights dimming at idle, or the turn signals blinking slower—it was simply the result of low voltage when the alternator did not keep up.
The older cars could get by with less than perfect performance. And with fewer electrical items to support, then the voltage did not drop off so quickly.
The old cars also did not have electronics that would cease to operate at low voltage. With the duration of city traffic jams in modern times, the many accessories on a modern car, and electronics that are sensitive to low voltage, of course alternator output at engine idle speed had to get better.
The newer designs of alternators can produce a lot more current at low RPM, even when the gross output rating is nearly the same with the old model. In parallel to the electrical system, with the air compressor at marginal capacity, there will be times when system pressure gets low.
As when friends come over to help with a project on the weekend, all armed with air tools to operate from the small compressor in the garage. The small compressor cannot support an air ratchet, an impact wrench, a blowgun, and a grinder with a cut-off wheel all at once. During those times the reservoir tank would have to supply power compressed air.
When average use is more than the amount produced by the compressor, then system pressure falls low. The electrical system behaves about the same. If the average output from the alternator does not keep up with electrical system power use, then the battery falls to discharged condition, and system voltage falls below acceptable level. The table below shows about what to expect with differences in alternators that are only one generation apart.
About the same test results have been observed on many occasions, when doing alternator up-grades. Available output. Engine idle. Engine RPM required. Externally regulated. Delco alternator. Internally regulated. In the electrical system long lengths of wire will have resistance, amounting to a restriction of electrical power flow. And the farther down the wire we check voltage, the lower the voltage electrical pressure will be.
Also, with increased current flow, the voltage drop pressure drop will increase. In example, if we attempt to operate a really powerful electrical device such as a starter, through a long, small diameter wire, then starter performance will be poor. The starter motor will attempt to draw a large amount of current through the long, small gauge wire, and voltage will be weak at the starter end of the wire.
In another example, if wires from a headlight switch all the way out to the front of the car are thin in gauge size diameter, then voltage to the lights will be low resulting with dim lights. The same can happen with compressed air systems. In younger years, there were occasions where working with air tools at low pressure was a constant irritation.
Imagine an old building, with a large compressor at the far end of a long building.
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