Re: Rebuild Alt VS Buy New ?
Reply #3 –
Rebuilt is fine, in most cases. And won't be cheap. If you rebuild one that is correct for your coach it will at least alleviate the stress wondering if the one you bought is the problem or is it just the way it's hooked up.
Big truck alternators simply jumper the sense connection to the +12vdc because they do not have an isolator. Surprisingly enough, few alternator people understand this. If you get it rebuilt then there is at least a 50/50 chance that the people who rebuild it will put that jumper on.
If you get one from FOT they will, at least, understand how it works.
Just remember that you must connect a wire from the hot side of fhe isolator directly to the sense connection on the alternator. It cannot be jumpered.
If you don't have a wire (sometimes the techs actually cut and tape off (or not) the sense wire believing it's a useless wire. I ran a wire from my remote start switch to the sense connection. Then, later, the wire that *should* have been there (and that someone simply stuffed back into the wire loom when they removed the alternator) fell out, landed on the exhaust manifold, shorted and got so hot that it burned up 15 wires in the engine room. DW and I spent most of April on our tummies over the rear bed tracing and replacing burned wires.
If you do replace that sense wire, fuse it.
Craig
Topic: Rebuild Alt VS Buy New ?