The Lifetime warrantied Alternator

[sternwake]

   

[sternwake]

[attachment=2346]

I used a 15 amp router speed controller, upto half speed, powering a 4.5 inch  angle grinder with cotton polishing wheel  riding on exterior alternator fan to spin it at a high rpm consistently, and leave 2 hands free for working the copper slip rings true to round, and then to a near mirror finish.




Not perfect, but it does not need to be.

   

The alternator fan's output is pretty pathetic, especially  considering the rpm i had it going while I honed the slip rings.

[sternwake]

The brush holder, relies on the steel  bolts holding the brush holders in place, to pass field current.  The design also meant if the bolt was not tight enough, it would exert less spring pressure on the brush. i found the upper one was backed out, where the lower brush was the failure point.

I despise steel as a conductor.  I took some extra copper and madesome extra brush retainer clips, it so None of the electrons will have to flow through steel if they don't want to.  The brush springs will not be able to back the brush retainers out from the brush holder either.

This is not yet trued up, the mating surfaces will be tighter when I am done, and excess copper removed.

   

There are thin copper straps between diode pairs on the rectifier, I plan on thickening these with some pure copper flat stock.

I expect it higher field current can reach the rotor and when hot more output can be expected than before.

The New ND alternator is coming closer to reaching that 50 amps when hot at idle rating.   I suspect there are lots of areas for improvement within it too.  Nice having time to work on the alternator at my leisure instead of having to get it back in place and therefor 'good enough'

[Blacktank]

makes me wonder if there is a quality difference between standard,aftermarket and spendy boat alts,also purity of the metals

have you looked for a needle bearing set close enough to get them to work?

[sternwake]

The bearings in my used alternator are fine. The only failure point was the brushes riding too high on the slip collars.


Good enough for a daily driver vehicle can be well short of good enough when tasked with a lot of depleted battery capacity in a boat or RV.

Having no experience with spendy Marine alternators, i will make due with what i already own, improving it/them where I can.

[B and C]

You are doing one helluva good rebuild.

[sternwake]

Thanks, but My efforts will fall well short of a full rebuild.

With the bearings still good, I do not see a reason to split the case open, but can probably convince myself of one. There is no rush. Where i'm at currently and my immediate planned outings, I could get away without a functional alternator all together, but I do need a pulley there to spin the water pump.

I did loosely place some finned aluminum heatsinks on top of the rectifier plates to see where they might fit under endcap and be viable and effective, but the adhesion of arctic silver thermal epoxy used in the past, has not impressed me greatly and using both epoxy and drilling/tapping for fasteners is not a line I am willing to cross.

The rectifier plates did have a bunch of Zinc oxide to act as a thermal grease between them and the back of the alternator casing. Zinc oxide is the cheapest grease for thermal transfer, but in comparison to actual grease designed for maximum thermal transfer falls a bit short, but perhaps not so much so as to make any measurable difference. The surface I wiped free of the zinc oxide is very rough/ porous leading to little direct metal to metal contact for best thermal transfer. I could likely flatten it increasing that direct surface area between heat producer and heat sucker making the grease's efficacy, less important..

I do have a fair amount of arctic silver thermal grease which should be much better in transferring rectifier heat to the alternator casing, than basic zinc oxide sunscreen, but am having difficulty finding actual data comparing the two.

I do not know definitively, how much heat affects actual output at idle, When the engine is still cold it idles at 850 rpm or more, and the bosch /chrysler can make ~70 amps, but once hot it idles at 525 to 550 rpm, and 850 rpm then it seems to make about 62 amps max @ 550 rpm, can fall to below 50.
This still seems to be better than the new ND when it is hot but I've not actually maxed it out when I know it was as hot as it gets from proximity to a hot engine for several hours.

I am looking forward to opening the ND, warranty be damned, and see the obvious design and workmanship flaws I might be able to remedy with spit and polish and attention to detail.

Really , I need a well depleted battery to really load the alternator for best comparison for data capture and part of me, while interested, the other part does not care that much as I do so little idling to recharge that sitting at redlights stressing that my battery is able to receive 5 amps or 15 is not something I will lose sleep over. Compared to not having manual voltage control, that concern is laughable.

It kind of like, I wanted the sports car than can do 200MPH, not the one which maxes out at only 170, yet never being able to drive those speeds anyway.



'Seems ' and ~approximately and memory and opinion are basically useless, when Actual data can be obtained.
It's all about minimizing the variables, and having a before and after to compare.

With a lack of definitive 'before' data set, I will have a hard time selling any improvements I might notice in hot idle speed output. after. But my ministrations should make for a more long term reliable alternator, and perhaps work better when hot and maxed out, maybe.

Warm and fuzzies.... full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

But it's better than full ignorance of unknown unknowns, in my opinion, yet no where near as soothing, as ignorance is so obviously soothing.

[GotSmart]

What really sucks is that you can out engineer someone that gets paid huge bucks to do it for a living.

[B and C]

I think the big buck paid engineer has to design to a price point, hence cheaper materials. Implementation leaves a lot to be desired also.

[sternwake]

Bean counters and engineers will always be at odds, and the bean counters will win, as the world revolves around maximum profit, and planned obsolescence, and job security, all else be damned.

Also there are countless examples we all are guilty of, of buying as cheap as possible, and somehow expecting, wishing, praying, it is just as good as known higher quality  more expensive products.  Even though it is doomed to soon be in a landfill and something of perhaps somewhat higher quality will inevitably replace it for a total higher expenditure than had one bought quality initially with more resources burned in the endgame.

Nowadays there might not be any higher quality available, just different levels of marketed products all built to lowest possible standards for maximum profit for those atop the pyramid and screw everything else and anybody else in that quest.

Heck I bought the  near cheapest possible 'new' alternator before even inspecting the non operational one.  Guilty.  I certainly will not be buying another just to have higher hot idle speed amperage.  I'll employ two in parallel instead.

I'm sick of things I own that are destined to rot in a landfill sooner or later, and 99% of the population never considers that in their futile quest to suppress all their insecurities,  and self hate, with the acquisition and display of shiny baubles, status symbols, and bragging rights.