BobTom
07-15-2007, 09:32 PM
I have reposted my note with the addition of a link to view the wiring drawings mentioned below. There are other photos there, please ignore them, I hope it works.
On a recent trip my 1991 Dodge Van camper van lost its alternator. Several stops at several shops were to no avail. The last stop, at a Dodge dealer, resulted in a new Nipponsendo 120 amp alternator wired up in a Mickey Mouse fashion just to get me back on the road. The alternator doesn’t have a built in voltage regulator, it is built into the computer module and cannot be replaced unless the whole module is replaced, which was 3 days away.
The tech guy ran a wire from the field ground screw to a switch I could control if the voltage went too high. It did at any speed over idle. I made it home in 2 days of interstate driving stopping every 1.5 hours to let it charge the battery up to 13.3 volts from the 11.9 volts it went down to while driving. If I was in stop and go city driving I would have had to stop just as soon and only go 25 miles and not 75.
The tech guy said the RV battery isolator was installed wrong and the Dodge alternator wiring was all changed. That is why he had to do the Mickey Mouse wiring.
After looking at my non factory manuals and my van’s wiring, I think I have figured out why and how the factory wiring was changed for the isolator, which has worked flawlessly since 1991. My question is, can a voltage regulator be installed in this new field ground wire to regulate the charge rate and bypass the old built in regulator? If so, how? And what kind? I would think that any regulator in this line would act like regulators do by the rapid on and off control of the field ground.
I have made diagrams of how Dodge did it originally, how the RV company did it, and how it is now. If these would help in answering I could send them to anyone via email attachment. I am at dignifyde@aol.com if it is necessary to reach me personally.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dignifyde/
Thank you for taking the time to read this epistle, BobTom.
On a recent trip my 1991 Dodge Van camper van lost its alternator. Several stops at several shops were to no avail. The last stop, at a Dodge dealer, resulted in a new Nipponsendo 120 amp alternator wired up in a Mickey Mouse fashion just to get me back on the road. The alternator doesn’t have a built in voltage regulator, it is built into the computer module and cannot be replaced unless the whole module is replaced, which was 3 days away.
The tech guy ran a wire from the field ground screw to a switch I could control if the voltage went too high. It did at any speed over idle. I made it home in 2 days of interstate driving stopping every 1.5 hours to let it charge the battery up to 13.3 volts from the 11.9 volts it went down to while driving. If I was in stop and go city driving I would have had to stop just as soon and only go 25 miles and not 75.
The tech guy said the RV battery isolator was installed wrong and the Dodge alternator wiring was all changed. That is why he had to do the Mickey Mouse wiring.
After looking at my non factory manuals and my van’s wiring, I think I have figured out why and how the factory wiring was changed for the isolator, which has worked flawlessly since 1991. My question is, can a voltage regulator be installed in this new field ground wire to regulate the charge rate and bypass the old built in regulator? If so, how? And what kind? I would think that any regulator in this line would act like regulators do by the rapid on and off control of the field ground.
I have made diagrams of how Dodge did it originally, how the RV company did it, and how it is now. If these would help in answering I could send them to anyone via email attachment. I am at dignifyde@aol.com if it is necessary to reach me personally.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dignifyde/
Thank you for taking the time to read this epistle, BobTom.