Another possibility, which is one I suspect on my boat, is that the alternator is not getting enough current through the rotor (field) which is around five amps. Try a stout jumper from a heavy 12 volt source, as at the starter, to the field connection with the engine at cruising rpm and check the output of the alternator.
Norm S/V Bandersnatch Lying Norfolk VA > [Original Message] > From: Jim <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <[email protected]> > Date: 11/3/2007 6:20:49 AM > Subject: Re: [Liveaboard] Sun Chaser made it past the jetties. > > Hi Gene, > > Glad you're back on the water. I so enjoyed reading of your previous > exploits. > > With respect to your power problem. I don't recall your battery > complement but that will have a lot to do with your max current from the > alternator. The battery size/type/number regulates the amount of > current as much as the max from the charging source. A battery will > only accept a certain amount of current, depending on the state of the > battery. If you try to force it to accept more by increasing the > voltage, the battery tends to boil. > > Another possibility, the wiring may be too small or have a high > resistance connection somewhere between the output of the alternator and > the batteries. At 50 amps 0.1 ohms resistance will drop 5 volts which > will pretty much limit the current a bunch. Be sure you check the > voltage at the battery at the start of the charging cycle with low > batteries and make sure it is somewhere greater than 14 volts. If this > is a 3 stage charging system, it should be 14.5 or greater. > > A third possibility is a bad battery bank. > > Just some possibilities. > _______________________________________________ Liveaboard mailing list [email protected] To adjust your membership settings over the web http://www.liveaboardnow.org/mailman/listinfo/liveaboard To subscribe send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] The archives are at http://www.liveaboardnow.org/pipermail/liveaboard/ To search the archives http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] The Mailman Users Guide can be found here http://www.gnu.org/software/mailman/mailman-member/index.html
