I took our 74 1800cc bay for it's first long trip for ages the other week, down to Sussex. About 20 miles into the trip we smelt burning so looked for somewhere safe to pull over, the smell wasn't getting any worse so we travelled about a mile before pulling into a lay by. By this point the smell had almost gone but there was still a hint in the engine bay, nothing else seemed the matter so we continued on our journey. The weather was fairly poor so the lights and wipers were on most of the way down, 150 or so miles later we stopped by a shop to get lunch and accidentally left the lights on for about 10 minutes, got back in and she wouldn't start which we thought was odd. A helpful passer by helped us bump start it and we were on our way again though by now a bit worried, the voltmeter was only showing 12v so we assumed that the alternator had gone (with the burning smell). Anyhow a couple more bumpstarts and several more normal ones with crossed fingers we made it home. Multimeter says 13.2v with the engine running with no real change at different engine speeds. Would you fine chaps say I need to replace the alternator or could it be the voltage regulator or something else? Thanks for reading Rich
Ignore that! Don't think it's regulator cos the voltage would change as you revved. Someone more helpful is probably at camper jam. It's very quiet here tonight.
do your basics mate, check all the conn"s for tightness, check your earth straps , check your starter is secure, when you rev (or someone does)the bus are headlamps getting noticably brighter? how is the coil (age) could try pulling all fuses and holding batt earth strap close to frame >if spark ,summit is bypassing fuse box and is shorting , could try starting it and watching N.B. have fitted a batt quick release term , well worth the money ! saved my bus 6 years ago ! elec faults /fires >powered by batt >batt must be disconnected ,quickly!like other fella said , most at camperjam , basics plus steady inspection , bit by bit is how i deal with my elecs , hope this in some way helps .
Thanks guys, I'll have a crack on with those suggestions tommorrow if we're not all underwater by then.
Is the belt slightly loose? This would become a problem when under load, ie lights, wipers etc. It could account for a flatening battery and the smell (pulley fiction on the belt)
make sure the alternator backet hasnt snapped causing a slack belt at 200rpm your meter should read 13.8-14.4v; 14.2 is a good healthy reading so i would suggest yours is too low
