Re: [OMC-Boats] I'd like to bail.....

Bill,

Sorry to hear you are continuing to have electrical issues.

Since I'm the one who recommended Baransco to you, I'm sure they will
be reasonable if you point out what's happened.

I have good success using them for spare Prestolite ALK parts like
brushes and diodes and using those parts to do my own Prestolite
rebuilds. I've never used them for rebuilding entire alternators, but
rather just as a reliable source of very hard-to-locate obsolete
Prestolite parts.

Since your boat, as I remember, may have had some prior owner
modifications, I'd urge you to spend the off-season cross checking
every wire, every connector, against an original OMC diagram. I'd even
go so far as to suggest wiring in a direct reading (non-shunting)
ammeter so you'll know for sure what's happening with respect to
charge/discharge status. Voltmeters are useful instruments, but I'd
like to understand better what is "pulling" down a fully charged
battery so quickly?

Only something that's drawing a lot of AMPERAGE (high current) (as in
a short) can do that. The "whiff of hot wiring and a physically hot
alternator case" could be bad wiring/connector in the boat or a
defective alternator or regulator. You need to breakdown your
troubleshooting into logical steps, and get positive verification/
measurement of the COMPLETE electrical system, including ALL wiring.

As an aside, my boat will run all day (several hours) with no
functioning alternator, but I do have the advantage of dual batteries.
Even on one battery, the ignition coil, and gear case shift coil don't
even pull 4-5 amps at most. That takes literally days to pull down a
fully charged, healthy Group 24 battery. So, it's very telling that
you see such a quick dramatic drop in your battery potential.

Keep after it, and don't get discouraged, now's the best time to
methodically track it down!

Lee

On Oct 3, 2009, at 2:03 PM, BLDFW wrote:

> or so I feel like it at the moment....
>
> Still having charging problems. A while ago I was told my old
> prestolite was toast so I put out the word and was directed to
> Barsanco as a source. They offered a good price for a new
> alternator so I ordered a new one from them and installed it. Still
> no charging. I eventually took the alternator and the voltage
> regulator to a local shop and was told the alternator was bad, the
> voltage regulator was good. So, I sent the alternator back to
> Barsacno to be fixed. Supposedly they "fixed" it. I installed it
> the other day and then went out to test it out today.
>
> First thing I encountered was that the alternator would not rotate.
> It was rotating fine when I reinstalled the fins and the pulley. I
> take it off again and found that it would turn in my hand but not
> easily and felt like it was rubbing against something. I got to
> looking at the case and the screws holding it together and it looked
> like one was not straight. I started to remove the screw only to
> find someone at Barsanco had crossed threaded it. Needless to say,
> it broke off. Another screw felt the same way so I didn't press my
> luck. The two remaining screws came out easily. In the process of
> loosening the screws, suddenly the shaft was turning freely again.
> It would appear the casing got wracked in the shoddy repair process.
>
> I reinstalled the screws and sure enough, because it wasn't put
> together the right way, when tightening the screws even mildly, the
> shaft, while it would turn, would encounter some off sided rubbing
> somewhere inside. I backed the screws out just enough for the
> resistance to go away and reinstalled it. Then I found that by
> tightening the upper bolt that the alternator hangs from, it
> apparently also wracks the case because the shaft would no longer
> rotate. I finally had to loosen that bolt enough to not put
> pressure on the casing.
>
> And then finally, I start it up only to detect no charging on the
> volt meter. While the volt meter started at 12+ when I first turned
> the key on, over a short period of time it fell down to about 10v.
> As it was running, after about a minute or so, it was very subtle
> but I detected a shift in the tonal quality of the idling sound. It
> was enough to make me look and wonder if something was going on with
> the alternator. Then I got the barest whiff of hot wiring and shut
> it down. The casing on the alternator was hot. At that point, in
> disgust, I decided to bail on it.
>
> It's debatable as to whether the alternator was or was not good when
> I first got it. It simply did not register charging. It's
> debatable as to whether I did something to cause it to not charge.
> But what's not debatable is that what I got back was LESS than what
> I returned to Barsanco for repairs. I can't prove anything as to
> the condition of the product so I'm out the cost of a new
> alternator. I'm going to take the old one and the new one to the
> local alternator shop and see if they can rebuild the old one with
> whatever is usable off the new one.
>
> And that folks, signifies the end of the season for good this year.
> It's disheartening that something so simple as a boat project could
> be so problematic as to rob you of the fun of it all..... Oh woe is
> me!
>
> -Bill
> Dallas, TX
> 1970 Evinrude Explorer - 155 Buick V6 - OMC Sterndrive
> http://www.photobucket.com/evinrude_explorer
>
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Received on Saturday, 3 October 2009