Big alternator test
Our 250 amp alternator from DC Power Engineering finally showed up and I put it in today. Let the van warm up and get to final idle speed of 545rpm and ran a test of the microwave with full batteries and the alternator connected. At full power (750 watt micro) it held 13.7 volts and was actually putting 5 amps INTO the batteries. Perfect, as now we can run the micro off the van and not drain the batteries at all.
The alternator came with a 2.2" diameter pulley, where the factory one is 2.4", so it does spin a touch faster, but very little. The wiring was the same, except they use a pigtail connector off their alternator, so the they can get an extra + wire to it. The original wiring plugs into the pigtail. Had to drill out the original ring terminal from 1/4" to 5/16" due to the bigger stud on the new alternator. Total time less than 1/2 hour.
The new alternator is running a bit high on voltage, which was kind of expected. It was at 14.5/14.6 hot. DC Power had told me they would send a lower rated regulator for me to put in if was too high, so I probably will call them and get one. The lower voltage will be better for the starter battery, and it looks like we will rarely need to do much charging off the engine, except for inverter runs.
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You have a very nice power / power management setup in your van. You really only need your generator for air conditioning now.
Linear Mode
