G.I Ginge
|
| posted on 23/7/14 at 07:16 AM |
|
|
Thanks for the replies everybody. Eddie did say that he built the car for road use, but you are right he might have modified the pulley. How could I
check this? Also, when I had the car sitting at 3000revs, shouldn't my startcheck device have started to register 'alternator
charging' if it was just waiting for higher revs?
I have had electrical issues in the past- part of the loom fell onto the drive shaft and a few wires needed repairing, but that was a while ago and
I'm pretty sure that I did a decent job of fixing it. I shall look again for more issues but everything appears to be working as it should.
Where will I find this big alternator fuse? Is it just with my other fuses?
Why would boost starting my car have fried the alternator? It's not a powerful boost starter. Plus surely the fact that I NEEDED to boost start
the car implies that the issue was already occurring?
If I remove my alternator from the car, could a garage test it for me to see whether it is working? Could they do this test with the alternator still
in the car? At this stage, I just want the car working- the weather's too nice for it to be languishing in the garage! 
|
|
|
|
|
matt5964
|
| posted on 23/7/14 at 06:24 PM |
|
|
Large alternator pulley usually 68mm diameter, I think
Luego velocity XT 2.0ltr 221.3bhp 178.9lbft
|
|
|
G.I Ginge
|
| posted on 24/7/14 at 07:14 AM |
|
|
Thanks, I will get the measuring tape out. 
|
|
|
Macbeast
|
| posted on 24/7/14 at 09:16 AM |
|
|
Any electrical garage will be able to test the alternator but you can check it yourself. Get a voltmeter ( a multimeter on 20V range ) and connect it
across the battery with the engine off. With a good charged battery it should read about 13 V. Start the engine and rev it a bit and you should see
the volts rise, maybe to 15V as the battery charges. If it doesn't rise there is nothing coming out of the alternator. Either the alternator
wiring is faulty or the alternator is.
BTW, an analogue meter ( one with a needle ) is better than a digital to see changes happening
I'm addicted to brake fluid, but I can stop anytime.
|
|
|
G.I Ginge
|
| posted on 25/7/14 at 10:56 AM |
|
|
OK, so I took the car somewhere to test the battery and alternator. Battery was fine, as expected, measuring 12.6 volts engine off. The alternator was
not functioning correctly, again as expected. It's nice to have it confirmed, I suppose. Once I turned the car on and switched on the lights,
the car started pulling juice out of the battery, even at 2-3000 revs. I know the alternator is supposed to need 'higher revs' to charge
properly, but the regulator should surely be kicking in by 3000 revs? If not, how high would I need to be revving the car? It tops out at about
6,700rpm. Also, I checked the pulley size and it is 68mm diameter, which sounds standard, so should this even be an issue? So that leaves me with a
wiring issue (which seems unlikely) or a broken alternator.
I just want to check- other than the two big brown wires that head to the +ve battery terminal and the little blue wire that heads off to parts
currently unknown , there are no other wires that I can spot coming out of the alternator. Does that sound right or have I missed something? The
three wires I can see go into a nice neat connector at the back of the alternator and all connections are good- I've checked. I couldn't
find any massive 80A fuse that Macbeast mentioned, so I'm assuming there isn't one.
So now I've got a few more questions. I currently have this alternator in the car.
Brise Alternator
Is 45 amps actually enough charging power? Would I be better off getting something more powerful, given that I have had this issue? It is also a very
small unit- are the dimensions quoted quite common? I can't spot any room for adjustment in the setup that Eddie has on the car, so any
replacement I purchase will need to be the same size or I'm going to have headaches fitting everything in again.
|
|
|
matt5964
|
| posted on 25/7/14 at 04:58 PM |
|
|
as mentioned before the larger pulleys are 68mm which are for higher revving engines and rotate the alternator slower so you would need more revs for
them to be giving the correct output if you are just road driving and not keeping the revs up.
If the alternator produces the correct numbers at the upper end of your rev range then change the pulley for a smaller one and that should be fine.
45a is more than enough as the car will not have any heaters, windscreen wipers stereo etc to power.
that alternator seems on the big size as most kits use ones that are 2.7KG more like the link below
http://www.brise.co.uk/Denso-5305.html
Luego velocity XT 2.0ltr 221.3bhp 178.9lbft
|
|
|
G.I Ginge
|
| posted on 26/7/14 at 06:22 PM |
|
|
Hey all thanks for all the helpful sage wisdom I really do appreciate your patience with me. I've got a multimeter of my own arriving early
next week, so I can do some conclusive tests on the alternator to see if ANY amount of revs will charge the battery. If hard revs will cause a charge,
I will keep the alternator and just give it a goon hoon now and then. What a shame that would be.  If it won't, I shall simply buy a
replacement alternator- the exact same one again to save on fitting headaches. I don't mind the extra kilogram of weight and I LOVE the cheaper
price of my current unit. I'd like to change the pulley size so it charges well at idle, but I assume Eddie did this for a good reason when
he built the car. He hasn't gotten back to me, so I will just trust that it is for the best and save myself from having to buy a new pulley and
serpentine belt (the alternator positioning is not adjustable so I would need a new length of belt).
It may turn out to be a wiring issue is my only other worry. Is there a way to test whether the power is coming through the wires from the alternator
to the battery? Could I just put my alternator in series to the battery +ve terminal from the alternator? What should it read if the alternator is
working?
Cheers all!
|
|
|
G.I Ginge
|
| posted on 31/7/14 at 05:08 PM |
|
|
Didn't get any answers so had to plough on ahead with my usual foolish, bumbling, 'stare at it 'till it works' style of
mechanics.
Multimeter was still reading <12 volts across the battery with the engine running, no matter how many revs I put through the engine, so I've
yanked the alternator out and ordered an exact replacement. If I put the new one in and it's still not working, I will know it's an
electrical issue or maybe the ECU? If it works then I've solved the problem and can stop bothering you good people!
If it does turn out to be an electrical issue, I will have a brand new alternator for sale. It's part no. 16004 on brise.co.uk. Cost me £82
all-told with delivery and VAT. Would anyone be interested in this part if it turns out I don't need it? £70 and I will cover the delivery.
|
|
|
G.I Ginge
|
| posted on 16/8/14 at 07:52 PM |
|
|
Just a quick update. It was an alternator failure. I've replaced the alternator and all is now well. I'm off to Abingdon on August 29th.
Anyoneelse planning to be there?
|
|
|
James
|
| posted on 17/8/14 at 08:13 AM |
|
|
Great news. Glad to hear you're up and running again.
For any future issues can I suggest you start a new thread as this one is so long now it will put people off reading it and getting to the
'meat' of the issue!
Cheers,
James
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses, behind the lines, in the gym and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights."
- Muhammad Ali
|
|
|
