Recently someone posted that you could run your diesel engine without the belts being connected simply by starting the generator.
I am curious. Is this really possible? Would there be any negative aspects of doing this?
George, go to your engine bay and look in. If you have an ISM you will see two belts. One to the alternator and the other to the AC compressor. That is all they run as the rest is all internal.
John,
Got it. Recently had a leak in the seal on the oil pump in back of one of the pulleys. So I take it that the oil pump is not driven by the belt.
As John suggested, you need to look at your engine to determine exactly is belt driven on your coach.
There is no "one answer fits all".
Example, on our coach (Cat 3116) there are three belts: Water pump belt (mandatory), hydraulic fan pump (mandatory) and serpentine belt which drives the alternator and A/C compressor (NOT mandatory).
Brett Wolfe
I am just trying to learn more about my engine and diesel in general. If I knew what I was looking at, I would not be asking these dumb questions. So, dumb questions #2: I am still wondering if there are any deleterious effects from running an M11 without the belts attached? Not that I am planning on doing so, but it would be good to know in the unlikely event that I ever find myself in that situation.
George,
Please post a picture of your engine's belts. That will allow a specific answer to your engine to be made.
My 1995 M-11 is Plane Jane. It has a belt for the alternator and a belt for the A/C compressor. With boost switch ON, generator running, inverter/charger ON, you can drive all day just fine.
You wont have dash air (Belt #1)
You can run generator to charge batteries as belt number 2 is the charging alternator.
So knowing that it is not a problem running the engine.
There are no dumb questions. There may be dim people, but I haven't found any that belong to this group...
George,
With the M-11 you don't even need to run the generator if you don't need A/C. Just turn the boost switch on and go. The electrical demands of the engine and trans computers are very low.
I agree with Brett (the other Brett) just as long as battery voltage stays above 12.2 VDC.
Things like driving with lights on, dash fan, etc all take their toll.
If voltage (dash gauge) falls below about 12.2, start the generator and let the inverter/charger (with boost switch ON on some models) keep both house and chassis battery banks charged.
Better to err on the side of insuring adequate battery voltage by running the generator, than to find out you have run the batteries down to the point where you can't start the engine or generator!
Brett Wolfe