Search the Community

Afternoon all, I have a Beta 43 with what I believe to be a 95 Amp domestic alternator and a Beta controller. A few days ago, I started the engine to allow it to warm through while I de-moored and there was an occasional faint warning bleep and the domestic light on the panel was flickering. Once I unplugged the shoreline, all went back to normal no light flickering, no beeping so off we go with the intention to investigate later. As we were cruising, the faint beeping and flickering light re-appeared occasionally. With nowhere to pull over we continued and I assumed that It was the alternator failing and would need replacing. Once moored up, I investigated to find that the engine loom was burnt out on a couple of wires on the domestic side right back to the panel, the damage being so bad that I have just had to replace the full engine loom right back to the panel! I was not able to 100% establish the cause, presuming that the loom had chaffed against something below the fuel filter as this appeared to be the source. (The new loom does not have the facility to connect to the heater plug relay, Beta say this is fine as we only have a 3 meter harness from the panel and all appears to be fine) Since replacing the loom, all is fine, no warnings and both alternators are charging, however, when I start the engine with the shoreline plugged in (to provide us with hot water) The domestic alternator light is flashing in a consistent manner along with the warning beep. This never happened before the incident with the loom. I have spoken with Beat but they are not able to offer an explanation. Has anyone come across this before? Any thoughts? Is it possible that the damaged loom has damaged something in the domestic alternator? Hopping that all of this makes some kind of sense! TIA Keith.

My Beta 43 domestic alternator has been a bit flakey on occasion recently. I've seen it being slow to excite on start up but eventually kicking in, maybe as much as a few minutes into running. It also gave me a little over 15v the other day, and has a couple of times also shown about half the Amps I'd expect after night in on batteries - I often see a bit above or below 100 amps on start up, but I'm talking about 50 here. She's been fine the last couple of days, but they aren't self healing, are they! The engine is a 2008 Beta 43, and the alternator is, like everything else of course, painted green so I can't see any identifying marks. Beta themselves have been very helpful and tell me its an Iskra 14V 150A alternator IA1058 11.203.124 which they no longer use, but they can source one with a 2 month lead time. I'm suspecting the regulator/brushes, but Googling til my fingers bleed hasn't turned up either the parts or any part numbers I can take further. I suspect the parts might be common to alternators under other manufacturers names, or perhaps there's an alternative alternator which would be compatible. Beta tell me the newer Iskra 175a they use is a different fit and form, and requires changes to the loom, etc, so that's not an economical way forward. It's a pretty common fit - has anyone been down this road before or is able to cast any light? Thanks for reading.

Hi All Looking to install a Cyrix-ct-230A Battery Combiner (VSR) My question is .... :- I have seen many installs using just the one Alternator and Two battery banks, but non with two (I have one 70A Alternator for Starter Battery and another 70A for domestic bank) So is it possible at all. Just thinking of using my spare power from starter alernator to help keep domestics topped up in winter months :-) Thank you Andy

I have a mains fridge setup with a 1600VA inverter and it works fine. As you would expect when the engine is running and the compressor kicks in, the alternator pulls the revs down. This is not really a problem but I do wonder why the alternator voltage regulator has to be set so sensitive given that the inrush required to start the compressor only lasts for <500ms. I was wondering if it was possible to install a remote voltage regulator and then add some sort of passive filter in the voltage sense to effectivly slow the regulator response, thus avoiding the engine rev dip and all the assoociated stress on belts etc.. Ant thoughts?

Hi there, We have recently been having problems with losing power on our batteries, so around 4 weeks ago, we have 4 new leisure batteries fitted. However the problem has continued. Our inverter has started beeping and the fridge is cutting off, so i think the batteries have lost power. -We had the batteries fitted by experts, so I think they were fitted properly. -We charge the batteries from the engine. And have been running the engine for at least an hour a day and sometimes up to 4 hours to attempt to recharge. -We have only been running lights, fridge, tv (sporadically) and water. No charging/laptops etc. -We only turn the inverter on when we need power from the sockets, which is around an hour a day. -We have been reassured that they were top quality batteries If anybody can help with advice as to why we are losing charge/not charging up, any advice would be appreciated, as we have no power at the moment. I am also worried that the £450 we spent on new batteries has gone to waste and that the batteries are now dead. Thanks

Could anyone recommend a replacement 70 Amp / 12W alternator? My existing alternator has a HMI part number of 900021-ALS and charges the starter battery. When I google the alternator the following website has the existing alternator listed: http://www.prestolite.com/pgs_products/specs.php?item_detail_id=13070&item=66021126&product=ALTERNATOR Is it still available? Can you replace just the regulator / brushes? I intend to remove the faulty alternator this weekend so any advice gratefully received.

Hi everyone, As discussed in http://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php?s=5dc518cf8a09055355d099b8c954c3c2&showtopic=62621 I bought a replacement alternator and fitted it. Its exactly the same and fitted with a new belt. My problem now is the engine won't start! Initially when I turned the key nothing happened at all but after checking all the wiring is seated properly the engine tried to start. I did the usual heat for 30 seconds and then turned the key. The belt just spins and there is no sound of the engine attempting to start properly. I have checked and the diesel line is open, the battery is hooked up and the charger has been on so it is charged. The only thing I think is different is that the spring in the hole at the top right of here.. ..doesn't glow red when I turn the key to "heat". I am pretty sure it did before (although I may be mistaken). Could this be it or is there something else I should be looking for? I am still learning about engines and electrics so sorry if this is a stupid question

Hello, I've been having a bit of trouble with charging recently. My batteries are quite low, and the alternator doesn't seem to be charging them enough. The alternator kicks out 13v max (even when charging for a few hours). I don't have a generator or battery charger to whizz them up to full so relying on the alternator. I've ordered a clamp-on ammeter to see what sort of power the alternator is kicking out (and see if something is shorting and draining power), and have inquired with a tacho seller to check if his tacho will work with my alternator, to check the RPM. I was wondering if someone could clear up the connections on the back of my alternator. The connections are on page 33... http://www.prestolite.com/literature/alts/PP1184_Buyer_Guide_alt.pdf I currently have 2 spade connectors coming from the two ++ "European Output Connections", and one from the excitation terminal. What are the AUX and B+ connectors for? Also, I don't have a connector for the battery temperature sensing terminal - should I have one? PS. Does anyone know if this tacho should just simply work by connecting to the W connector? Still waiting on a reply from the seller... http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Tachometer-Rev-Counter-0-6000-RPM-Alternator-Driven-Type-With-W-Terminal-/371043881967?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item5663f053ef Thanks a lot, mibix

Hi there Having an issue with our alternator and was wondering if someone knowledgeable could help. Starting up our BMC, it usually takes a small rev to kick in the alternator and send power to our batteries. Lately - no matter how much rev I give, the alternator is simply not kicking in. I've checked the cables, they are all fine; there is plenty of tension in the belt and it appears fine running; I've checked the batteries and the connections from there too. My neighbour is having exactly the same problem unusually. Any ideas? Thanks.

Excuse the idiot question, but: My boat has a single alternator running of a Lister SR2 There is an indication light on the control panel that indicates when the alt is charging. When lit green its not charging, increase the revs, it goes out. I've had the boat six months, when I first got it, it would only charge at high revs and then I'd ease the revs and it would still charge, but stop charging at idle. AT cruising speed my ancient ampmeter would show about 10 amps. Then it stopped charging at any rev speed. I tightened the belt, it started charging again as it was. I thought the belt tension was a bit much, ie only perhaps 5 mm on the longest length. It's now stopped charging at any rev speed, the belt is already as tight as it can get, the belt is not slipping and the alternator is turning with no noise. What I haven't done: Taken a volt reading off the alternator itself. Found out what the alternator type is. Does this sound like the alternator is knackered? Is it worth taking it to a car electrical place or simply get a replacement? Incidentally I have very low electrical requirements, ie no fridge, TV, etc. and an 8o w solar panel that keeps the batteries at about 12.9v (so far) Thanks in advance for any help AF

Was chatting to wife when I heard a distinct ripple in the sound of the engine. Not so much an up and a down, a bit like we had the washing machine on and the engine altering the load only, nothing was on. Then a return to a quiet too quiet smooth engine sound and upon inspection I noticed the red light was on and the battery monitor was reading negative amps. We had of course decided we weren't moving on .... how times change. Late in the afternoon we moored up at Braunston ready to hit the locks tomorrow. I might add, like all good scenarios, the batteries were sort of charged to 90% give or take a bit of innaccurate resetting Anyway, point is, we had sufficient power for tonight. Spoke with Adrian at Beta Marine and a new 100amp alternator for £135+vat seems not too unreasonable but first we will have to get ot our winter mooring, Yelvertoft, ASAP so we can get an electrical hook up. What really is truly amazing, we have a Honda 2kW suitcase generator but sadly no petrol! Enquired at Braunston to see if any petrol going and quite indifferently informed that the local petrol station at Daventry, was 5 miles away. Fair enough, won't bother to ask how much for an overnight stay, and no I don't want a hook-up ty v much .... I have checked out all the connections, so I don't expect any real surprises when I start up the engine tomorrow but who knows ... Christmas might come 2 days early .... we shall see :)

I have a Beta 38 with twin alternators (65 and 45 Amp), a 330AH domestic set and a separate starter battery. Everyone (Calder included) seems to advise some kind of alternator regulator to reduce charging time/increase battery life etc. Should I: just get a regulator for the 65 Amp connected to the domestics, and leave the starter alterator/starter battery out of the equation completely? get a more sophisticated regulator/splitter/management unit (e.g. the Sterling Alternator-to-Battery Charger) which would allow me to run both alternators in and then have the unit split the charge etc? I'm not keen to just increase the 65 Amp alternator BTW which some have advised, as it would involve putting extra brackets etc on the engine. Any thoughts - integrated system or keep it simple? That said, the ease of wiring in the more pricey unit has its appeal ... Patrick

Hello, and it is customery to apologise for ones daftness in these situations, so uhh, sorry about that! But as the darkness and coldness approaches...I could do with some advice Here is the rub 1. Batteries no longer receive charge when engine runs. 2. Batteries do not hold charge adequately.(drops to 10v at night) About my set up. I have 3 80 watt solar panels and mppt controller I have 40 amp alternator I have sterling 4 step alternator regulator I have 2 little black boxes one of them has relay written on it The battery light no longer dims when engine runs Need to fix, spending as little money as pos. What do ya reckon? Cheers Martin

My Travel Power 220 v AV 17A alternator keeps failing. If started from cold it will run (i.e. produce an indicated 220 v) for about 15-20 minutes, this regardless of whether it is totally without load or with a moderate (1 to 2 kW) load. Then the voltage fluctuates for a minute or so before dropping to zero. The green light is (usually, but not always) on when the voltage is at 220, off when not; the red light is never seen. If it is switched on when the engine is hot (so the alternator has been turning but not generating power for several hours) it lasts considerably less time - only 2 to 3 minutes. It until is almost 12 years old, and has been used mostly on a very light load, with very occasional brief periods of moderate or high load. The engine has recorded a little over 8,000 hours. The fan within the power box runs while it is producing voltage, but is stopped when it is not. The alternator drive belt is in good condition and correctly tensioned and the alternator definitely continues to turn when it has failed to produce power. Can anyone give me a clue of where to go from here? Many thanks all. Rob H

We have a Beta 43 engine with twin alternators. The domestic 150A alternator charges four domestic AGM batteries which are now just over 2 years old. The boat and the alternator are nearly 9 years old. Normally the domestic alternator charges at a voltage ranging from 13.8 to 14.5 volts. On a recent trip it was charging at 14.8 to 15.2 volts. The batteries were not hot after several hours at this charging rate. I have no way of measuring the current at which it was charging. Should I be worried about this and what might be the reason? We have no separate regulator between the alternator and the batteries. We do have a solar panel (100W) charging the same four batteries through a regulator. The solar installation is also about 2 years old. Any ideas?

Melaleuca has an electronic tachometer, driven from the W terminal on the alternator. The tacho is made by VDO and the alternator is a bog-standard A127. The tacho has started to misbehave when the batteries are charged and the charge-current reduces to a low level. The reading becomes erratic and then falls to zero. I can see why, in theory, this might happen, but it never used to. The alternator was stripped, cleaned and checked over the winter, and this behaviour is since that was done, but that may be coincidence. There's an ammeter on the alternator output, so I can be sure it's working as usual. There's an Adverc controller attached; taking that out of circuit doesn't help. Any suggestions for things to check/fix or ways to overcome the problem. MP.

Hideehi wondrous canal-skaters! Our engine room is a mess! The floor above the engine is held up by bits of wood, nailed into other bits of wood, which are glued to the paint on the hull..... several rust patches attest to the silliness of this plan! The glued bits of wood seem to be for guiding things like fuel lines ... not for load-bearing! Eventually, I want to build a new platform above the engine, with a steel frame. It should be much quieter, boxed in. Even so, when walking between the engine room and the boat, we have to step over this great big alternator, which is often moving! One should not wear flowing cotton dresses when crossing this point, which is a shame. We have two alts, one at 110Amps for the 450AH leisure (above) and a smaller one (90ish Amps) for cranking. The engine is an Isuzu 42. My plan of the moment, is to either move the larger alternator to the opposite side of the engine, or to just swap it with the smaller one. If I move it, it'd have to be mounted not on the engine, but on a piece of steel I'd have fabricated, mounted on the same girder that the engine is mounted on. If I swap it, the now lone alternator would have to charge both batteries. I don't think that this would be a problem..... both are charged by a fairly large solar panel; we stopped for two weeks without running the engine, and had no problems. That said, split relay charging systems have their own issues. The 110A alternator is on the left here. I think it could be mounted on the girder on the right, if I invert it 180 degrees, keeping the wheels lined up. Not sure if the direction of travel matters, or if it can't be mounted on the not-engine. (I figure that the fanbelt with absorb any movement?) Any ideas/input/abuse enthusiastically received!) PS, it's nearly 3am, and I'm sat in the fields, in a canal drinking good scotch, using my laptop with wireless broadband, powered by solar energy*! Life is good. . *and a little bit of diesel

We have a Victron Phoenix Multiplus 12v/3000 inverter charger, connected to 5 AGM batteries (675ah) monitored by the BMV 602. For the last five years it has worked very well. Normally whilst cruising the domestic bank of batteries is charged up by the large DC alternator (we have a smaller DC alternator for the starter batteries and an AC alternator with a Dometic travelpower). We normaly lose about 18% charge overnight and the DC alternator begins putting in about 80 ah's dropping to about 16 after 4 or 5 hours cruising. It drops lower slowly and if it remains constant for about 15 mins it is considered full (although i know this is not strictly true). I occasionally sync the BMV, once I now the batteries are as charged as they can be, usually when on shorepower and no real load. Occasionaly whilst running AC appliances (washing machine, or carpet sweeper) the Amp/hour rate goes up by 10 to 15 % the multiplus taking the extra energy from the AC alternator. This becomes negligble fairly quickly. Our problem now appears to be that the BMV does not read the output from the alternator. In winter we normally fully charge the batteries and leave some greenhouse heaters in the boat connected to the shorepower. The battery bank has very little load so we visit once a month to run the engine and charge up the batteries amongst other maintenance tasks. On our recent visit the BMV state of charge showed 74% initially but as soon as I started the engine the display changed to 100% in seconds. The rate of charge/discharge showed +3 ah dropping quickly to +1ah not the +80 plus ah as expected and normal. I considered that the alternator wasnt working but it appeared to be doing so, I started up the travelpower and put a load on the AC system and that should have had an impact on the BMV but didnt. I dont think either alternator has failed so my thoughts are that the BMV must have reset itself or shorted out somehow. It later showed a minus value as some of the lights were on in the boat. All indicators show that the BMV is not reading any input. The values held in the memory of the BMV show the same as previously I.E. the total AMP Hours of the battery bank. It seems like the BMV is not reading the input from the alternators. A blown fuse or similar is what we are hoping is the solution but where to look is our problem before we call in a Victron trained engineer This year the boat has seemed colder but we have used the same regime in other marinas. Any thoughts gratefully accepted regards Malcolm & Anne

Could somebody tell me what this alternator is please? I know the output is a staggering 30 A or so but it only charges the start battery which is rarely used as I prefer to hand start. Thanks N

we have 2x 230ahc 12v Haze gel maintence free batteries, and a NASA BM-1 battery/charging monitor (which i love!). Before i start the engine, the BM1 reads: 13.5V Charging 2.4a (from Solar - inverter off, no 12v load) 88%C Time to Charge 25hr. 731 Int Ahr. I start the engine and.... Between 15.2 and 15.4V Charging between 1.2 and 4.2a Time to Charge between 9.3hr and 77hr. 732 Int Ahr Is this voltage too high?? ALSO the D Battery warning light is flashing about once per second with an accompanying chirrup and a "hunting" of the engine revs - this at about 1200 rpm. Nothing above changes at 1400 rpm and a good engine rev makes no odds. At tickover the warning light is solidly on. The engine is a Beta38 with a 100A alternator.. The Label says : LSKRA 14V 100A. (AAK5535) We both have a week off next week so i'm thinking of getting someone to look at it, BUT.. Am i likely to "fry" the batts at 15.4v if i take a few hours to chug from the bottom-ish of the Ashby to (say) Springwood Haven? (EEK! ) Any one else know any marine sparks up this way ? Currently @ Trinity Marina but supposed to be moving to our new mooring between bridges 4-5 on the Ashby on Saturday (soooooooo happy about this!! )

I'm sure everyone remembers my poor charging regime and the lengthy thread that ensued. I'm still using my set of somewhat reduced capacity 4x110ah batteries - a couple hours engine running in the morning, a couple in the evening, and then switch off the 240v (including fridge) at night. This gives me enough laptop time in the evening, led lights and various pumps etc. So, for now carrying on quite happily - but I have noticed a new phenomenon creeping in lately. Today for example: I ran the engine for an hour or so when I got up (with 240v back on as normal). I then cruised for 3 1/2 hrs. A couple hours later, and my batteries are already back down to 12.3v so I have fired up the engine again. What I am saying is this - it would appear that the leisure batteries are not getting much (or any?) charge when I'm cruising. I can't think what this could be but I'm sure someone will enlighten me - be gentle! Just to re iterate - I know the batteries have reduced capacity, but a couple hours charging off the engine normally sees them up to say 12.8v which lasts all day or all evening. Even on longer cruises, they don't seem to get as much charge as when the engine is just running in neutral. I have two alternators, 50a for engine, 175 for leisure.

The regulator on my alternator is set to 13.8V. When I end a cruise and go on shore power it takes hours before the battery is fully charged. Would it be a good idea to use the 14.5V setting or would this cause damage to the batteries when cruising for eight hours a day? Would a battery controller be worth fitting? Is Adverc still the best choice?

I'm after a twin 2 1/2 inch O/D pulley to fit a CAV taper shaft alternator. I've searched the interweb without success. I think I know the answer but anyone know where or if pulleys can be purchased for CAV alternators.

Here is a copy of what I sent to Adverc yesterday. They are enjoying their weekend, I suppose, so I thought that I would ask the opinions of the forum What do the cognoscenti reckon? Nick

Hi there, I've got one of these (see pic below), but want to change it for something that can take more solar panels and is a bit more modern. We use it with a 60A alternator, and 1x 100w solar panel (although I think this regulator can only take up to 60w solar. We don't have a wind turbine. It only seems to produce a max of 14.1v when the engine's on (even after hours of cruising) and recently has been hitting 15.1v through the solar panel - which seems a bit high?! I'd like to replace it with a charger suitable for the alternator, and maybe solar as well. Do I need to get a separate charger for the alternator, then an MPPT charger for the solar panel (I also want to add either one or two 175w solar panel to make 275w or 375w in total). We have 3x 110ah leisure batteries and a starter battery, and a Sterling 1600W pure sine wave inverter that is yet to be hooked up.. Any advice, brands, models to watch out for etc, most welcome! Cheers, Alistair