Quote:
Originally Posted by Blakenstein The reason why they changed over from GENERATORS to ALTERNATORS in the old days,is because alternators will charge at LOW rpms. ATTN;This is common knowledge.A car engine that is idling is NOT high r.p.m. If your alternator in your car is not charging while the engine is idling,then IT IS BROKEN!! the FAULTY DIODE inside the alt.must be removed and replaced with a new one.If the voltage regulator is faulty,then your battery goes dead, and your car does not start. |
while it's true that your car engine is only spinning 600-700rpms when at idle the alternator is spinning much faster. since the pulley on the alternator is smaller than the pulley on the crank.
they actually sell bigger pulleys for the alternator, power steering pump, air conditioner to reduce drag on the motor. the problem with those pulleys is they make the alternator and others spin slower making them work harder.
if i didn't lose my no contact tachometer i'd run out side and see how many rpms my alternator spins at idle. i don't feel like doing the math involved to figure it out on my own. maybe while i'm out changing my oil today i'll measure the pulleys and do the math.
either way all you gotta do is get a smaller pulley for your alternator or even remove the pulley and run it off the shaft that comes out of the alternator.
also there was a post about turning off the alternator while racing, we've done dyno tests with and without alternators and found that cars make more power with the alternator.
when i say we, i mean friends and friends of friends.