Alternator not working

[Philip]

i have a 22SI alternator that is not working (voltage not increasing above resting battery voltage 12.6-12.8 when running in response to loads). It’s a three wires setup (I believe) as it has a positive, negative, and a jumper from the positive to the #2 lead.

 

question is I just saw a YouTube video that says I may have lost the self exciting feature due to lack of use from previous owner and I can excite the unit by jumping the positive momentarily to the #1 terminal while it’s running.

 

is this true and safe? Anyone have any luck doing this?

 

otherwise I think it’s coming off and going to the alternator shop for test/rebiuld. Anyone know of a good shop in either the LA (Long Beach) or SF areas??

 

phil

Topic

[Clark Leighs]

I got my 22si , 150A unit,   from a truck parts and repair shop.    Any good alternator shop should be able to check it.      In reality from 130A to 150A you will not truly gain much by swapping up unless the current unit needs serious repairs approaching the  new cost.

[Philip]

I won’t be at the boat till next weekend but I will do the following:

1. I will clean and resecure all connections. 

2. Supply a momentary +12v to the #1 terminal (the jumper from +12v to the #2 terminal is present and in good shape).

 

i am looking for 13.8v or more… hopefully I just lost the residual magnetism. Else I will remove the alternator for either rebuild or replacement. According to QSOL they are 160amp 22SI’s. But I can’t find 22SI’s higher than 130amp online. Hopefully I can find a good rebuild shop in either Long Beach or San Francisco if needed.

 

i will report back my progress.

 

thanks for the help!!

 

[Tony Athens]

#1————–Undo all connections, clean a grease and put it back together

#2———-Yes, you can supply a 12VDC source to #1 (that’s the field) to see if that will turn it on.. #2 has to stay hooked up to the battery bank it is “sensing” ( usually just a short jumper to the alternator output that is connected to the main POS terminal on the starter and then to the starting bank) .

Let us know how it goes.

Tony

[Rob Schepis]

Did you sort this out?  If nothing has changed as to your DC setup and it went from working to not working my recommendation would be to get it on the bench at a test shop.  Maybe a call into Seaboard for a recommendation or you can trying calling this shop that Tony recommends from time to time:  Vaughan Catlett, AAA Marine 805.300.9591 for a recommendation 

[Author]

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