Roberto Conigliaro

I see, sorry confusion came from the fact that 'ignition on' and 'engine running' for me occur always at the same time, but I see your point - they are two different things, and I appreciate the clarification

I did try with a 16mm x 4 metres and still overheating - my alternator has a high voltage output, could that be the reason? not sure..

Thanks for the clarification Tony, I am still little confused sorry though - what can't I do?

Thanks! The idea is to have it on only when the engine is on, so I'll connect it to 83, which luckily is also free.

As I mentioned the long wire didn't work for me - as suggested by PaulJ, I will install a temperature switch with alarm, which is very affordable, so in the unlikely case the fan / relay would fail, I should be covered. Thanks so much, very helpful! Would you be able to advice on where I should connect the relay on the ignition switch? I have got an ignition switch like the one below. I'd assume to the connection 75 (radio / cigarette lighter)? or the to 83 (auxiliary)?

Brilliant, thanks so much! I spent lots of hours and money trying different cable size and length configuration - nothing worked with my alternator. I wish I never knew about the 'long cable' method..

Interesting! although yes a relay should be more reliable - do I connect the really to the D+ of the alternator?

You have a good point! I am gonna install an inline blower instead which is 2.5 amps, and take the fresh air near the air vent I have got not far from the batteries. Do you have any advice on how to wire it?

Measuring it with a infrared thermometer, all around the the alternator surface, hottest point didn't get above 80 C. How do you measure it? That should work! but it does rely on its probe, just worried it might fail and the fan wouldn't turn on. Any other suggestions on how to switch it on together with the engine? With a relay I suppose?

Hi all, I finally installed the hybrid system LifeP04 + Lead Acid and all seem to work well apart from the fact that the alternator gets above 95 C with the engine running for 15 minutes or so. However, today I tried to cool the alternator down with a 240v domestic fan (pic 1) just above it and it really does the trick - temperature didn't go above 80 C with the engine running for 30 minutes. I'd like to install a 12v car radiator fan (pic 2), so that when the engine is on, the fan switches on with it - can anybody please recommend on the wiring to that? do I need a relay? Thanks in advance! Roberto

Thanks for the advice, I will try with a new belt firs - for the moment the alternator gives the right voltage, but the belt sounds quite squeaky. If it keeps wearing rapidly I'll try to install the travel power one, although I don't know if still works and how to install a new alternator but in guess I'll find out!

I see, thanks for the clarification! I am gonna get a new belt and have a look at how to replace / tightening it, since I have never done it before. In the meantime, can I just leave them swapped temporarily or the Amps difference between them might cause some problems (one is 90A the other one 60A)? I see, thanks for the clarification! I am gonna get a new belt and have a look at how to replace / tightening it, since I have never done it before. In the meantime, can I just leave them swapped temporarily or the Amps difference might cause some problems (one is 90A the other one 60 Okay, actually managed to tighten the belt (quicker job than I thought), swapped the alternators back to their original and now I get a sound 14.2v coming from both alternators.. it took me 2 full days to figurate it out (thanks to you guys) and it was the easiest of the problem to solve.. God knows for how long the alternator was underperforming and I noticed it only recently after the batteries are pretty much dead.. they are 7 years old anyways I guess - time for the hybrid Lifepo4 / Lead Acid now. Cheers everyone!

Thanks everyone for your comments and advice. I just swapped the alternators and the results are quite unexpected : now the domestic alternator (the one that only gave 12.8v / 13.0v max) is wired to the starter battery and when the engine is running gives me 14.35v. The starter alternator (the one that gave 14.2v) is now wired to the leisure batteries and gives 13.75v If I voltmeter directly the batteries when engine is on I get : Starter 14.25v, leisures 13.30v Basically now both alternators seem to be working fine. Any idea of what might be happening? if the belt was the problem I should still get a low voltage on the starter battery but it's not happening.. or am I missing something?

Hi, yes correct - the 2 alternator (starter and leisure) are run by one belt, the other belt is part of a third alternator which doesn't have any purpose anymore as it was giving to a travel pack not in use anymore. Yes also correct, the belt of the 2 alternators seems quite loose - I guess it's worth tightening it? or just replacing it? It is still an option that this might simply be the problem right?

sure thing, it doesn't seem to have one so gonna order an ammeter right now and do some reading, thanks for the advice - meantime can I run the test I mentioned earlier to check if the alternator is underperforming cause of the battery condition, ie but swapping the alternators : Would be okay if I swap the feeds behind the isolators? (photo below) That should give the feed of the start alternator to the leisure batteries and vice versa, right? Could this cause any problem?