More Alternator Questions

[Indulgence]

Hello,

I currently have an older Balmar 91-100 alternator (1″ single foot) with a single 1/2″ belt with an external ARS-5 regulator. I’ve been looking at providing back up incase something goes wrong.  My question is this: which would recommend?

a) Getting a cheaper, motorola type alternator that is internally regulated as a spare and rebuilding the Balmar, but still using it as my primary.  This would cover me in the event the regulator goes bad or the alternator gives up (btw….I did have a ARS-4 go bad two years ago and couldn’t charge the batteries even though the alternator was good)

b) Get Battery Shack or Balmar 6 series, 100 Amp replacement and keep the 91-100 as a spare (not rebuilding it as it already works).

Thanks.

John Sommer
Indulgence #179

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[RichCarter]

John
I send my alternator out to the shop every two or three years to have them service it. They inspect and test it. I don’t remember what it costs, but its cheaper and easier to take care of it than to wait for it to fail. I recommend this as your first line of defense.

I recommend a backup anyway. The choice regarding what type of alternator to keep as a backup depends on where you expect to be when it finally fails. If you expect to be weeks from replacement parts and service, then I suggest having an exact replacement including regulator. If you’ll probably be within a couple of days for sending it out to a shop and getting it repaired, then you just need something to work for a few days. A small alternator with internal regulator that has the same mounting hardware would be suggested in the second case.

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Rich Carter

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[quent]

John-
I agree with Rich. It also depends on how dependent you are on 12 volt power. We have a refrig/freezer that needs serious battery power. If this is your situation, then it make sense to carry a similar and plug in replacement for both alternator and regulator. If not, look around for a gently used OEM alternator. So many people upgrade that they are not that hard to find.
Speaking of alternators, I discovered last week that a blown fuse in the battery voltage sense wire will shut off field current fron a Balmar MC 612 regulator without generating any error codes.
Quent
Clairebuoyant #132

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