Alternator light on.

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Jivermo
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Alternator light on.

Post by Jivermo » Mon Mar 07, 2016 4:36 am

My alternator light came on, and I'm not getting a charge. It may be related to my charging of the battery without first removing the ground. Is that a likely cause?
Does anyone know if the Bus Depot 70 amp unit is a drop in replacement for my 70 amp?
Any other options? Will the more readily available 55 amp fit my '78 Westy?
I looked on the Samba for a rebuilder, but could not find one. I'd like to have mine rebuilt, but want a reliable service that does not use Chinese bearings.
I appreciate any feedback or recommendations.

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Bleyseng
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Re: Alternator light on.

Post by Bleyseng » Mon Mar 07, 2016 9:44 am

I am sick of these crappy "rebuilt" stuff with "Lifetime" warranties...Five years ago .I found a 70amp unit via O'Reilly's and died on my first trip. Took it back and they lost it.....took a year to get a new unit. I took that one to NAPA where they really rebuilt it with all new USA bearings, diodes etc plus it tested at 75amps and that one I put in as it a bitch to change em.
My 914 55amp unit died so that one also went to NAPA for a rebuild and it came back testing to deliver 65amps.

Take it to a real auto parts place that can have it rebuilt completely. They list all the parts they will use too.
Yes, the Bus Depot unit is a drop in but just have yours rebuilt is the answer to all your questions.
Geoff
77 Sage Green Westy- CS 2.0L-160,000 miles
70 Ghia vert, black, stock 1600SP,- 139,000 miles,
76 914 2.1L-Nepal Orange- 160,000+ miles
http://bleysengaway.blogspot.com/

Jivermo
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Re: Alternator light on.

Post by Jivermo » Mon Mar 07, 2016 11:25 am

Thank you. I think I have located a good rebuilder here in Miami. We'll see how this goes. Just when I get past the great tire saga-I got the Maxxi's from a guy in California, Online Tires-thanks to a tip from aircooledchris. Now the 70 amp alternator Saga. Keeping these aircooled vehicles on the road is not for the faint of heart, nor the easily discouraged.

Another point is that within my recent memory, I had about three companies within a couple miles of my office that rebuilt starters, alternators and generators. One guy rebuilt the starter for a 1948 Dodge sedan I had, and when I got it back, it looked brand new, and it worked very well. In Miami, there were probably 20 companies that did this type of work in the '60's and '70's. Same thing with radiator shops, not that we are concerned with them here. Most of these businesses were started by guys like my dad, returning vets from WW2-the big one. As they retired and died off, that skill set went with them, along with the quality repair parts that used to be manufactured here. It's just a real drag, what has occured...my rant could go on and on, but I'll lay off now.

Psucamper
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Re: Alternator light on.

Post by Psucamper » Mon Mar 07, 2016 3:23 pm

Before condemning the alternator itself, have you done a voltmeter test to see what the alternator is putting out? If your charging system/alternator is of the older type and has an external voltage regulator, that could be the problem. They do go bad. New external regulators are currently (Beru) available. Alternators with internal regulators, if faulty, can be repaired with new parts. But, accessing parts for these old units is challenging. I just went through this exercise and found my auxiliary diodes were weak but not shot. When the system is working properly you should see about 14v at fast idle and not much less at lighting loads.

Jivermo
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Re: Alternator light on.

Post by Jivermo » Mon Mar 07, 2016 3:31 pm

Consistently at 12.81 volts. Put a new Beru (made in China) regulator on an hour ago-no change. Has anyone figured out a cross reference to find diodes that are in current production as replacements?

Jivermo
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Re: Alternator light on.

Post by Jivermo » Wed Mar 09, 2016 1:20 pm

Got the alternator out, after wrestling a bit with it. Fortunately all the bolts were fresh, and I did not run into any real stinkers.

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Warning: Depressing Story Follows: my alternator had a nice sticker on it from Precision Parts and Rebuilding Company. I went on their website, and found a listing of available alternators for Volkswagen models. Type 2 bus listed! I called them, and got a nice guy named John on the line.
"Oh, gosh, Ian, we got out of the auto supply part of this about a year ago. We had a bunch of that old VW/Porsche stuff that we pretty much sold for scrap...sorry we can't help with that anymore."

Major bummer!

Jivermo
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Re: Alternator light on.

Post by Jivermo » Wed Mar 09, 2016 4:42 pm

After the above grim news, I set about trying to find a local rebuilder. Bus Depot is out of stock on the 70 amp rebuilts. I found a place called "Pal Alternators" over in a run down section of town off I-95, but noticed some very positive reviews about the owner, Peter. I called him up.
A heavy Jamaican accent greeted me.
"78 VW bus? Sure, I can rebuild that. Bring it up, mon!" I took it in to Peter, and he looked at me as I walked it, alternator in hand. He glanced at it..."you dat VW man, right?". Good sign, I thought, and he took the alternator back and ran a test on it.
"Yeah, mon..,she dead. It be ready for you later today, be 'bout 70.00." I asked him how about the diodes.
"Don' you worry none, I check dem out, too. I have good bearings for dis, too. You'll see."
I'll pick it up tomorrow, so I guess we'll see. I loved the shop...reminded me of my barn (feel Colin shudder here).

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The drop off counter at Pal's.

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What the customer sees. Gonna try and get a pic of Peter, a big gregarious Jamaican.

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dingo
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Re: Alternator light on.

Post by dingo » Wed Mar 09, 2016 8:31 pm

thats some classic banter ! nice find
'71 Kombi, 1600 dp

';78 Tranzporter 2L

" Fill what's empty, empty what's full, and scratch where it itches."

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Bleyseng
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Re: Alternator light on.

Post by Bleyseng » Thu Mar 10, 2016 7:14 am

Nice shop! better than going to O'Reilly's and buying a pos for the same price.....
Geoff
77 Sage Green Westy- CS 2.0L-160,000 miles
70 Ghia vert, black, stock 1600SP,- 139,000 miles,
76 914 2.1L-Nepal Orange- 160,000+ miles
http://bleysengaway.blogspot.com/

Jivermo
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Re: Alternator light on.

Post by Jivermo » Thu Mar 10, 2016 3:23 pm

I went back to Pal's today, and Sefton greeted me, alternator in hand. Could this be the same unit I brought in yesterday?

Image

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asiab3
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Re: Alternator light on.

Post by asiab3 » Thu Mar 10, 2016 6:54 pm

If it function as well as it looks… =D>
1969 bus, "Buddy."
145k miles with me.
322k miles on Earth.

Jivermo
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Re: Alternator light on.

Post by Jivermo » Thu Mar 10, 2016 7:03 pm

That is the question, isn't it? I have followed many leads on where to get things for my bus, where to have services performed (Adrian at Headflow comes to mind) and have come to the conclusion that it is all a matter of dumb luck. A highly rated place might provide you with a costly horror story, and a hole in the wall might just be that diamond in the rough, renewing your faith in the activities of your fellow man. We shall see what dish Pal's Alternators serves up.

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Bleyseng
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Re: Alternator light on.

Post by Bleyseng » Fri Mar 11, 2016 5:42 am

Looks like they do nice work! My distant Jamaican relatives are hard working fun loving people and hope these guys did you right.
Geoff
77 Sage Green Westy- CS 2.0L-160,000 miles
70 Ghia vert, black, stock 1600SP,- 139,000 miles,
76 914 2.1L-Nepal Orange- 160,000+ miles
http://bleysengaway.blogspot.com/

Jivermo
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Re: Alternator light on.

Post by Jivermo » Fri Mar 11, 2016 2:56 pm

Bleyseng, looks like they do nice work. Yep, the Jamaican folks are good people. My next door neighbor is from there. Says of my wife, "She likkle but she talawah!" Look it up.
Type 4 alternator replacement is always so much fun. Got her back in, and went for a spin...no dash light! Hooray!

Image

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the miz
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Re: Alternator light on.

Post by the miz » Mon Mar 14, 2016 12:21 pm

Jivermo wrote:That is the question, isn't it? I have followed many leads on where to get things for my bus, where to have services performed (Adrian at Headflow comes to mind) and have come to the conclusion that it is all a matter of dumb luck. A highly rated place might provide you with a costly horror story, and a hole in the wall might just be that diamond in the rough, renewing your faith in the activities of your fellow man. We shall see what dish Pal's Alternators serves up.
Nice story Ian! I hope the alternator works out well. This thread and the idea of dumb luck in finding ACVW parts and services reminded me of Mauricio, whom I met last week when he installed a granite counter top in my bathroom. Mauricio needed some power so he could run a saw to trim the back and side splash...so I opened up my garage to give him access to electricity. He saw Vana up on her ramps, engineless. He commented: "...hey, man, nice Kombi!...what year is it?" I told him "an '82"...and he knew guessed the engine type correctly. "What's up with the engine?" he asked; I gave him a sanitized synopsis of my Adrian saga...to which he responded: "oh man, I can rebuild those engines...we have all types of those old VWs in Mexico...I can rebuild your transmission too...I can also do old BMWs and Mercedes...but I like the VWs best... you should call me if this doesn't work out again...or if you need your transmission rebuilt".
So for what it's worth, here's a shot of his card, in case anyone might require his services, or want to check him out further:
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...area code looks to be Houston...but I know he's installing counter tops in MN right now...

miz
1982 Westy- Vana White

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