New alternator with ML-ACR

[jimc99999]

So last summer I started getting suspicious the battery-related electronics weren't working properly. Along with that the chassis batteries failed prematurely while crossing the country. Previously the "Alt Charge" light had been coming on, and while crossing the country the tach started having problems (jumping around, reading double rpm). On a short late fall trip the tach stopped working altogether, and it appeared the alternator wasn't charging either. Since I had no night-time driving, I just ran the generator and hoped the trickle charger would keep the chassis batteries up. 

After that trip I replaced the isolator and trickle charger with the BlueSea ML-ACR. The alternator still didn't provide current. Recently I got back into it and made sure the duvac terminal and ignition terminal had 12V, and they did, so I pulled the alternator to get a replacement. I couldn't find any local shops that rebuild alternators. I had a trip looming for this past weekend, so when the 170A J180 short pivot wouldn't fit, I went with a Leece-Neville 210A ($350). The new alternator is self-exciting, but didn't work every startup. Turns out it needs 1000 rpm to self-excite and the 8.3 doesn't hit that on most starts. 

The tach now works again, the Alt Charge light was actually the alternator and not a bad ground, and a different problem I'd been having with the throttle also seems to have disappeared so it may have been voltage-related.  

I didn't really test the house batteries this weekend but it seemed like they lasted longer than before. Also, last summer the generator had started having trouble running both AC units and this weekend it ran both perfectly. It wasn't really that hot this weekend, so whether the isolator was causing problems or the ACs are just harder to start when it's 95F vs 75F, I'm not sure. 

The only down-side is I still haven't wired up the ML-ACR remote so I have to lift the bed to disconnect the battery banks if I want to run the generator while driving.

And now I have an old alternator that I suppose could be rebuilt. Can a DUVAC alternator be rebuilt as non-DUVAC? Is it even worth rebuilding?

[Just Jim]

Whew, so many things going on here.  I don't really know where to start.  Simple answer is yes, you can get the old one rebuilt and many times it is the best solution, but leave it as it is and just put the rebuilt alternator back in as it was.  Do a search on here.  This topic has been widely discussed in the past as many of us have faced this issue.

[jacwjames]

Which Bluesea ML-ACR did you get??  Did it come with the switch, if so the switch can be used to turn the Bluesea OFF/ON/Automatic.  If you are driving and want to run the generator you can simply turn the Bluesea off and it will isolate the battery banks.

You can also wire the Bluesea to do this automatically. 

 

[jimc99999]

5 hours ago, Jim Bob said:

Whew, so many things going on here.  I don't really know where to start.  Simple answer is yes, you can get the old one rebuilt and many times it is the best solution, but leave it as it is and just put the rebuilt alternator back in as it was.  Do a search on here.  This topic has been widely discussed in the past as many of us have faced this issue.

 

As it was before. The trickle charger was unreliable. The isolator was sucking battery. The battery boost solenoid had failed before I bought the coach a few years ago, for "battery boost" I had to use jumper cables. These 25-year-old components worked for many years but they were done. 

 

And now, all those failing/failed components have been replaced by a single modern device. And it can be wired up for auto generator sense for fully automatic operation like the original setup. Because the isolator is gone, I no longer need a DUVAC alternator. 

 

 

1 hour ago, jacwjames said:

Which Bluesea ML-ACR did you get??  Did it come with the switch, if so the switch can be used to turn the Bluesea OFF/ON/Automatic.  If you are driving and want to run the generator you can simply turn the Bluesea off and it will isolate the battery banks.

You can also wire the Bluesea to do this automatically. 

 

I got the one with the remote switch, I just didn't run another wire to the front yet. I will probably also wire up the generator isolation circuit so it isolates automatically.

[vanwill52]

Once you install the Blue Sea ML-ACR, you no longer need a DUVAC alternator.  Any appropriately sized alternator with sufficient capacity will work.  You only needed the DUVAC because of the Solid State Isolator.