I hope this might be helpful to others.
Nothing like the smell of burning wires.
Four years ago updated the
charging system, including a new
alternator from Electromaax. On our annual two week trip to the North Channel of Lake Huron this year I noticed the
batteries were not
charging while motoring. When I opened the
engine room to check the
alternator I was greeted by a face full of smoke. All of the wires connecting to the alternator were burned back about 8 inches.
Change of plans. We sat for three days at a small town marina while they sent the alternator away to be rebuilt. A new
wiring harness was ordered from Electromaax . I kept asking “WHY DID THIS HAPPEN?” but did not get an answer. I learned later that John Stevens at Electromaax had also urged them to find the root cause, which was not likely to be a sudden alternator failure.
After this (expensive)
repair, and five hours motoring into the return trip the same thing happened. We noticed it this time when the
engine alarm went off. The
oil pressor
sensor wire had burned through and shorted out where it contacted the freshly burned wires from the alternator harness.
So, very obviously, something other than the alternator was at fault.
We spoke with John again who arranged for another alternator to be delivered that day, and also repeated his
advice to find the root cause elsewhere in the
electrical system. It took the marina staff at my home port a full day of
head scratching and testing to determine that there was a ground fault in the 30 year old
fuel lift pump. HUH?? I don’t understand how a
fuel pump with a ground fault could continue to
work, but replacing the
pump solved the issue.
Here is the really embarrassing part. An external
regulator can significantly improve charging performance so I also purchased one from Electromaax, intending to install it on our next trip. “Not if there is any chance you’ll wreck it” said my wife. “No chance” said I. I think you know what happened. By the time I was done it would not charge on either the external or the internal
regulator.
Back came the same little town marina staff who, over the course of the day told me the
battery isolator was the problem and installed jumper wires, told me that the
power to the back of the alternator was the problem and installed a jumper wire, and finally told me it was charging perfectly and everything was fine. This was not free. We continued our trip. It was not fine.
We went for the next two weeks with no engine charging capability. I figured I’d have to take both the alternator and the regulator out to have them bench tested. When I disconnected, bundled up, and reconected all the wires to make this
removal easier when we got back to the dock… it started charging!! I still don't know what happened but I assume there was a missing or bad connection that had gone unnoticed by me and the marina staff.
So what I learned through this is:
- Alternators are a pretty simple and robust machine and are not likely to die an early death on their own.
- An apparent alternator problem does NOT mean the alternator is bad. It is more likely the connections or the belts. The cause could be far removed in the electrrical system.
- Beware of technicians who evade yur questions.
For troubleshooting
advice John Stevens at Electromaxx was extremely helpful.