It took some grinding and filing and adjusting but the second alternator is in place and generating electricity.
The short version of the problem, as short as I can make it, is that we basically dinged our second alternator to death on the roads we drove to the Guyanas.
That left us relying on the Brazilian alternator installed in Brasilia. Bear in mind it’s the alternator that powers our house batteries and is an aftermarket installation that has nothing to do with the Promaster.
To put it bluntly the installation in Brasilia was half assed and the alternator was slightly misaligned which caused screeching and overheating and so forth as the misalignment slipped and got worse. Chris had the alternator cleaned and checked and when it came time to install it he found he had to cut back some material to get it to fit.
It was obvious they had tried to cut the casing back to get it to fit but it took Chris’ persistence with the grinder to work the problem and line up the alternator pulleys and give the belt a clean silent run.
His wife Astrid came by, ignored me as usual and handed him tools and nuts with her back to me. No idea why she is so stand offish but when Layne ordered a loaf of bread she brought it by, handed it silently to me and scurried off without so much as a “how’s it going?” I must remind her of a serial killer she knew as a kid maybe or possibly she despises Americans on principle. There are such people.
5 comments:
Just out of curiosity, why not simply add a DC-DC charger when the second alternator failed. Then just use the primary alternator to charge both the chassis and house batteries until you find the correct alternator. It’ll take longer to charge but it doesn’t seem like you use a lot of power from your battery. We’ll see if this comment works. It fails ~60% of the time.
Sorry for the same comment. I noticed that it did post a from a few days back.
1) buying a dc to dc charger is not easy. Or possible in many areas. RV technology is available but not in most parts of South America.
2) I’m not an electrician. Bearing in mind the first point the second point follows on. Who to install it? Anyone you trust?
3) the main alternator has given no trouble. Why interfere with it?
4) we live with electricity. We have no gas. A second alternator charging at 100 amps is very useful but it sits low on the engine and roads through the Guyanas are rough enough to have caused the skid plate difficulties protecting it.
Our Swiss friends have a very strong and negative view of the current US administration, feeling betrayed and humiliated as a long time business partner. And, yes, on an individual level, they will avoid, as much as possible, interactions with US citizens. Business will continue, but the rest is up to you, I am afraid.
The funny thing about that attitude is the lack of perspective. Switzerland is voting on limiting its population such that settled migrants would be thrown out if the population exceeds 10 million. AfD in Germany is poised to win influence, Poland is what it is and Hungary has moved off the democratic scale altogether. If I meet an Israeli ( and we have) we don’t hold them responsible for Netanyahu because we are travelers and use our brains not our prejudices.
Resurgent fascism is everywhere and it’s only startling in the US because everyone -no exceptions- thought it couldn’t happen there.
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