Oooh, I like that answer.  I'll test at the alt. before I spend 300 mi
worth of gas money on do-nothing parts substitutions.
On Jan 21, 2014 6:19 PM, "Dennis Haynes" <d23haynes57@hotmail.com> wrote:

> With discharged batteries and a heavy load 13.2 volts may be all you get at
> idle! What do you get above idle? If you can get 13.8 volts at the
> alternator even if you have to rev the engine the alternator is doing its
> job. It takes about 1800 to 2000 engine rpm for the alternator to reach
> full
> output. With charged batteries and little load you will see the full
> voltage
> at idle but with additional batteries, added loads, and the old undersized
> wiring things will be different. In general these alternators work or they
> don't. Rare for them to get weak although a slipping belt can drastically
> reduce performance.
>
> Dennis
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
> Don Hanson
> Sent: Tuesday, January 21, 2014 7:55 PM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Alternator questions
>
> Inline Vw motor, digifant electronics.  Same alternator as Vanagon, etc.
> This alternator is about 4 yrs old now, sourced from Van Cafe. It has been
> worked hard keeping 2 batteries charged through extensive prolonged
> off-grid
> camping. I've gone through 3 standard starting batteries, often draining
> the
> auxiliary battery charging electronics, etc.
>
> Today my aux battery was low so I plugged my 12v power source for my lap
> top
> into a power point that's wired to the engine battery.  The laptop's
> battery
> was dead, but I figured the bigger engine battery would have the juice to
> charge the computer and still fire up the van. Wrong, the laptop's battery
> took most of the charge from the van.  Tried jumping.from the coach battery
> but that one was dead, too.  Did a one-man push start and drove around for
> half hour.  Starts right up again, but I put my multimeter across the
> vehicle main and it reads just 13.2v engine idling with no accessories on.
> Pretty low, according to Bentley.  Would that be Reg/brushes ? in that time
> span and the use cycle?
>
> Is the test just to get some new brushes and stick em in, then check the
> battery input again?
>
> Thanks, Don H.
>