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| gearhead... |
 Posted: Mon Nov 02, 2009 8:16 am |
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Guest
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I took a trip to the boonies of Argentina. On the estancia I visited
they had an ancient tractor with a bad charging system (24 volts). It
had a new Prestolite alternator and a mechanical regulator. I opened
the regulator and found the contacts solidly welded together, so bad
that I had to do considerable damage to separate them -- a total
loss. So I had the ranch owner write down the numbers on the side of
the alternator and on his next trip to town he bought a new electronic
regulator, and I installed it for him.
On this Prestolite alternator, one end of the field is grounded and
the regulator feeds it from the high side. A holdover design from the
days of mechanical regulators. The ranch owner didnīt seem to have
any trouble finding a solid-state 24 volt regulator for an alternator
with high-side field control in a small town in Patagonia. I would
have thought it would be a job to find such a thing even in the
States. |
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| Jamie... |
| Posted: Mon Nov 02, 2009 8:13 pm |
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gearhead wrote:
[quote]I took a trip to the boonies of Argentina. On the estancia I visited
they had an ancient tractor with a bad charging system (24 volts). It
had a new Prestolite alternator and a mechanical regulator. I opened
the regulator and found the contacts solidly welded together, so bad
that I had to do considerable damage to separate them -- a total
loss. So I had the ranch owner write down the numbers on the side of
the alternator and on his next trip to town he bought a new electronic
regulator, and I installed it for him.
On this Prestolite alternator, one end of the field is grounded and
the regulator feeds it from the high side. A holdover design from the
days of mechanical regulators. The ranch owner didnīt seem to have
any trouble finding a solid-state 24 volt regulator for an alternator
with high-side field control in a small town in Patagonia. I would
have thought it would be a job to find such a thing even in the
States.
Not really, since many road tractors (trailers) have 24 volt systems[/quote]
in them.. |
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| Michael A. Terrell... |
| Posted: Tue Nov 03, 2009 12:14 am |
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Guest
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Jamie wrote:
[quote]
gearhead wrote:
I took a trip to the boonies of Argentina. On the estancia I visited
they had an ancient tractor with a bad charging system (24 volts). It
had a new Prestolite alternator and a mechanical regulator. I opened
the regulator and found the contacts solidly welded together, so bad
that I had to do considerable damage to separate them -- a total
loss. So I had the ranch owner write down the numbers on the side of
the alternator and on his next trip to town he bought a new electronic
regulator, and I installed it for him.
On this Prestolite alternator, one end of the field is grounded and
the regulator feeds it from the high side. A holdover design from the
days of mechanical regulators. The ranch owner didnīt seem to have
any trouble finding a solid-state 24 volt regulator for an alternator
with high-side field control in a small town in Patagonia. I would
have thought it would be a job to find such a thing even in the
States.
Not really, since many road tractors (trailers) have 24 volt systems
in them..
[/quote]
Yes, but only while starting. The rest of the time the batteries are
in parallel to supply 12 volts. You sound like a truckstop 'Lot
Lizzard'.
--
The movie 'Deliverance' isn't a documentary! |
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| ChrisQ... |
| Posted: Tue Nov 03, 2009 12:22 pm |
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Guest
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Michael A. Terrell wrote:
[quote]Jamie wrote:
gearhead wrote:
I took a trip to the boonies of Argentina. On the estancia I visited
they had an ancient tractor with a bad charging system (24 volts). It
had a new Prestolite alternator and a mechanical regulator. I opened
the regulator and found the contacts solidly welded together, so bad
that I had to do considerable damage to separate them -- a total
loss. So I had the ranch owner write down the numbers on the side of
the alternator and on his next trip to town he bought a new electronic
regulator, and I installed it for him.
On this Prestolite alternator, one end of the field is grounded and
the regulator feeds it from the high side. A holdover design from the
days of mechanical regulators. The ranch owner didnīt seem to have
any trouble finding a solid-state 24 volt regulator for an alternator
with high-side field control in a small town in Patagonia. I would
have thought it would be a job to find such a thing even in the
States.
Not really, since many road tractors (trailers) have 24 volt systems
in them..
Yes, but only while starting. The rest of the time the batteries are
in parallel to supply 12 volts. You sound like a truckstop 'Lot
Lizzard'.
[/quote]
Err, not in the uk afaik. Here, a 24v truck is just that and even the
bulbs are 24v, as are the alternators...
Think about what's needed to switch two batteries between 12 and 24v...
Regards,
Chris |
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| Michael A. Terrell... |
| Posted: Tue Nov 03, 2009 3:56 pm |
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Guest
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ChrisQ wrote:
[quote]
Michael A. Terrell wrote:
Jamie wrote:
gearhead wrote:
I took a trip to the boonies of Argentina. On the estancia I visited
they had an ancient tractor with a bad charging system (24 volts). It
had a new Prestolite alternator and a mechanical regulator. I opened
the regulator and found the contacts solidly welded together, so bad
that I had to do considerable damage to separate them -- a total
loss. So I had the ranch owner write down the numbers on the side of
the alternator and on his next trip to town he bought a new electronic
regulator, and I installed it for him.
On this Prestolite alternator, one end of the field is grounded and
the regulator feeds it from the high side. A holdover design from the
days of mechanical regulators. The ranch owner didnīt seem to have
any trouble finding a solid-state 24 volt regulator for an alternator
with high-side field control in a small town in Patagonia. I would
have thought it would be a job to find such a thing even in the
States.
Not really, since many road tractors (trailers) have 24 volt systems
in them..
Yes, but only while starting. The rest of the time the batteries are
in parallel to supply 12 volts. You sound like a truckstop 'Lot
Lizzard'.
Err, not in the uk afaik. Here, a 24v truck is just that and even the
bulbs are 24v, as are the alternators...
Think about what's needed to switch two batteries between 12 and 24v...
Regards,
Chris
[/quote]
Not much: A few starter type solenoids. It's been done that way for
generations in the US. To start the diesel engine two sets of contacts
open. One opens the negative connection to the chassis for the battery
that is permanently connected to the vehicle wiring. The second set
opens the positive lead from the permanently grounded battery and the
third connects the two batteries in series to get 24 volts. Release the
key and the system reverts to 12 volts. BTDT when installing
electronics on a lot of rigs for friends who drove 'Over the road' rigs.
--
The movie 'Deliverance' isn't a documentary! |
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