[DeTomaso] upgrading to high output alternator

David Fisher fisher95020 at gmail.com
Fri Jul 19 19:05:36 EDT 2013


I probably should have been more clear.  I run my fans off a
different point on the battery "backbone" circuit so that I am
not overloading any section of wiring.  When the alt is running, current
doesn't flow through the old stock wiring to the fans, but directly from
the Alt to the fans. The ammeter circuit still does its usual job of
telling if I am charging or discharging the battery.

But, just to be clear, the stock ammeter circuit doesn't tell you how much
current each consumer is drawing in any case, it only tells you the NET of
your  Alternator output and the *sum of all* of your consumers.  In other
words it tells you if you are charging or discharging your battery, but not
how much  the fans are drawing.   That would only be the case if your Alt
was not working at all - then you could read how much each consumer draws
from the battery, but if your alt is working, then what you are reading is
the difference between what the Alt is putting out and what your consumers
are consuming... all of them together.

My setup still does that.  If my Alt cant supply enough for the fans and
all the other consumers, then I will draw current from the battery, through
the ammeter circuit and show as such.

Tomas is technically correct that it's not a great idea to circuit break a
alternator in general, but I found, via testing, that doing so while the
Alt was producing 20A only created a 300 microsecond spike (which is
basically negligible).  Note that the reason my Alt voltage doesn't run
away is because there is still a small load (of the ignition system) on he
Alt even if my ammeter circuit breaker trips.

http://www.poca.com/index.php/gallery/?g2_itemId=38014

This breaker was really just a safety measure against someone jumping
another car from my battery.

While I was at it,  I put all the light switches on relays.



On Fri, Jul 19, 2013 at 2:36 AM, Tomas Gunnarsson <guson at home.se> wrote:

>  Running stuff off the alt output is fine, just like off the correct
> ammeter post. Putting a circuit breaker in line with the ammeter is bad
> practice.
>
> Tomas
>
> <-----Ursprungligt Meddelande----->
>        *From: MikeLDrew at aol.com [MikeLDrew at aol.com]*
> Sent: 19/7/2013 8:18:57 AM
> To: fisher95020 at gmail.com
> Cc: detomaso at poca.com
> Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] upgrading to high output alternator
>
>
> In a message dated 7/18/13 20 52 46, fisher95020 at gmail.com writes:
>
>
> > After I start my car,  the ammeter shows it charging at about 50A for
> > maybe
> > 5 minutes until the battery recovers all the charge it used to spin the
> > starter.  After that, the ammeter stays pretty close to 0.  When I have
> AC
> > on and lights on an am idling, the Alt just barely stays on the charging
> > side, but anything over idle and it easily handles all the loads.
> >
>
> >>>But your indications are next to meaningless because you removed some
> electrical components from the measuring circuit. That's like only
> counting
> half of your money and they determining if you are staying within budget.
> A gauge that is deliberately set up to read inaccurately is perhaps even
> less useful than one that is bypassed completely, I think. Why not un-do
> the
> bypass and (with good, tight connections) let the ammeter do its job?
>
> Mike
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