Car Alternator

Pitbull said:
At the side of the carb once you removed the airfilter. you will see a pretty big protruding screw with a spring on it. (The screw is spring loaded) it's that one.
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Thanks, I'll have a look later. It's seriously low.
Maybe the old man lowered it to save fuel.
 
Probably all the load from the new alternator, charging up the battery....
 
Trust|Nobody said:
I don't know. I don't have a rpm counter.
But the car is close to stalling at standstill. Lots of vibration on the steering to.
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O ok. Could be that the alternator is putting a bit more strain on the Camshaft now being refurbished. Just increase it a dash and it should be fine.
 
Trust|Nobody said:
Is that possible?
When the alternator was faulty the idle was much higher.
Obviously trying to compensate for no power from the alternator.
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No, not compensate. To generate electricity you need to provide energy in the form of turning one magnetic field through another. An alternator at full load can rob your engine of 2 to 5% of it's horsepower. Hence the fat belt needed to drive it.
 
Trust|Nobody said:
Ok so the drama is over, my alternator is back in action.

Turns out the Bosch regulator was toast and the bearings were gone. The electrician refurbished the Bosch and installed it.

The Midas alternator was not installed correctly, it needed the correct wiring. He was willing to wire it correctly but recommended that repairing the Bosch and reinstalling it was a better option.

So I opted for the Bosch. Cost me R1450. Only took 3 hrs to complete.

Thanks guys for all the help.

Next time it fails I'm gonna refurbish it myself, with your help ofcourse and the help of YouTube.
Now I know better.
Click to expand...

Hope you checked to see how he removed the rivet.
 
You need to find out why the idle speed dropped, adjusting the screw is only compensating for the problem.

Edit: I see what looks like a loose vacuum pipe dangling off the air cleaner box, probably pulled off that valve on the air intake.
 
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chromedome said:
You need to find out why the idle speed dropped, adjusting the screw is only compensating for the problem.

Edit: I see what looks like a loose vacuum pipe dangling off the air cleaner box, probably pulled off that valve on the air intake.
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Yeah. N00b mechanics tend to not check for loose vacuum pipes when in haste.
 
For R450 + call out fee I had the original alternator repaired with new bearings and brushes about 2 years ago. I used it for 5 years with worn-out bearings. The cost of a new Bosch alternator back then was R950 from Bosch service centre.

If you suspect it's the alternator in the future, take it to your nearest Battery Centre and they'll test your alternator and battery for free.
 
Pitbull said:
O ok. Could be that the alternator is putting a bit more strain on the Camshaft now being refurbished. Just increase it a dash and it should be fine.
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What if the bearing is on too tight and creating alot of friction?
Could this be why there is a low idle?

It also does feel like the car has lost some power when driving.
 
chromedome said:
You need to find out why the idle speed dropped, adjusting the screw is only compensating for the problem.

Edit: I see what looks like a loose vacuum pipe dangling off the air cleaner box, probably pulled off that valve on the air intake.
Click to expand...

That picture was an old one from before they repaired the alternator.
 
chromedome said:
Hope you checked to see how he removed the rivet.
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No, I think I figured that out myself yesterday.
I think you first separate the housing by removing the 4 large screws on the sides. Then you have access to remove the riveted thread from underneath.
 
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