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Stinky acrid smell, battery overcharging
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tencentlife
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 03, 2020 7:51 pm    Post subject: Re: Stinky acrid smell, battery overcharging Reply with quote

charleslabri wrote:
That one didn’t work either, but I noticed posts were really short on the old one.

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There was a change in the slip ring diameter, I think it was from 28 to 32mm and in the mid-80's. They use regulator modules with different brush lengths. The short brush one might not have made contact with the slip rings. Try to fit it again and see if you can feel the brushes compress against the rings as you settle it into position.
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nocreditnodebt
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 03, 2020 8:18 pm    Post subject: Re: Stinky acrid smell, battery overcharging Reply with quote

One brush is grounded one is fed field current.

On external regulators, which are usually grounded through their bodies to the firewall, when this ground path is lost, it overcharges upto those 17 fully fielded volts.

Not really sure how the two are related in your alternator, but perhaps check for continuity between alternator casing and engine block and battery -.
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charleslabri
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 03, 2020 8:57 pm    Post subject: Re: Stinky acrid smell, battery overcharging Reply with quote

Ok, I’ve got some success here.


I merged the two and got 13.5v out of it.

So this will get me back to my place where I got a replacement shipped.


Is the behavior of these to output 14.5~ always?
Is 13.5 normal behavior, or it low?
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charleslabri
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 03, 2020 9:16 pm    Post subject: Re: Stinky acrid smell, battery overcharging Reply with quote

For posterity

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tjet Premium Member
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PostPosted: Sat Apr 04, 2020 7:05 am    Post subject: Re: Stinky acrid smell, battery overcharging Reply with quote

It's good to keep a spare in your van. BTW, the regulator diode part of the alternator is generally the part that fails. I've hotwired around a bad regulator to get the alt to charge the battery. Also, if it sticks "on" as in this case, you can disconnect it to avoid over-charging if you are in a jamb. You would need to have a voltage indicator and keep your eye on it.

Last edited by tjet on Sat Apr 04, 2020 7:09 am; edited 1 time in total
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charleslabri
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PostPosted: Sat Apr 04, 2020 7:08 am    Post subject: Re: Stinky acrid smell, battery overcharging Reply with quote

What is the expected output of the alternator if things are working properly?
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tjet Premium Member
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PostPosted: Sat Apr 04, 2020 7:11 am    Post subject: Re: Stinky acrid smell, battery overcharging Reply with quote

Wow, you got your money's worth out of that regulator. I've never seen brushes that far gone

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crazyvwvanman
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PostPosted: Sat Apr 04, 2020 7:17 am    Post subject: Re: Stinky acrid smell, battery overcharging Reply with quote

With the 2 test meter probes at the alternator output stud and the alternator metal case, I expect between 13.7 and 14.2 volts.
That is for a stock Vanagon alternator with it's stock regulator.

This should stay the same even when you turn on the high beams and dash fan.

If you measure somewhere else then expect less.
If you measure at the dash then you are making a big mistake.

The
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charleslabri
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PostPosted: Sat Apr 04, 2020 8:22 am    Post subject: Re: Stinky acrid smell, battery overcharging Reply with quote

I had disconnected the battery and measured the leads there. I’ll check back on the alternator itself.
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