• Hello Guest, welcome to the initial stages of our new platform!
    You can find some additional information about where we are in the process of migrating the board and setting up our new software here

    Thank you for being a part of our community!

Helping alternator

professor245

New member
Joined
Jul 6, 2009
Location
Serbia Belgrade
So I decided that I add some cooling to my freshly rebuilt alternator, since of it's position on 240:lol: like the heat produced by alt isn't enough there's exhaust manifold to keep it warm:-P
Voltmeter shows better voltage after long drives... and regulator get's only luke warm not scorching hot like before. Maybe I get a shroud for alt to hook up the hose and collector to put behind the grill, from BMW J/Y :roll:...
so here it is:

DSCN1637.jpg


2012-04-12143928.jpg


DSCN1638.jpg


Zip-tie haven:zeeall:
 
that looks kinda bad ass dude. :nod: I think i might do that. haha
 
FINALLY!!!! Someone who has done something I have always wanted to do, but have been too lazy to carry out.

I think, from memory, the Volvo Bosch Altnernators actually pump air from the front to the back of the unit. Your design might be more efficient routing the piping to the front fins on the pulley. That being said, Bosch alternators spit out regulators all the time when over heated. So any help to them is going to prolong it's death. Looks good!

Also, it may be more efficient to cut a hole in the undertray (or route it behind the subframe) and use a short 'C' shaped pipe, instead of what you have that has lots of length and bends and not in direct air flow. Which would reduce the flow though the piping
 
Because racecar?

No, because :

-Heat=less charging (volt. regulator drops it's charging cause of heat)
-High summer temps (40C)
-badly positioned alt stock
-Driving always with headlights on (by law) and fog lamps (cause I want to)
-It DOES work, Voltmeter isn't lying
-it will prolong alternator life cause it will take some of the massive heat produced by
alt+engine+exhaust manifold
-It will prolong life of the battery cause the charging will be more stable (and I run Bosch battery so I don't wont to kill it prematurely)


:cool:
 
FINALLY!!!! Someone who has done something I have always wanted to do, but have been too lazy to carry out.

I think, from memory, the Volvo Bosch Altnernators actually pump air from the front to the back of the unit. Your design might be more efficient routing the piping to the front fins on the pulley. That being said, Bosch alternators spit out regulators all the time when over heated. So any help to them is going to prolong it's death. Looks good!

Also, it may be more efficient to cut a hole in the undertray (or route it behind the subframe) and use a short 'C' shaped pipe, instead of what you have that has lots of length and bends and not in direct air flow. Which would reduce the flow though the piping

You made some good points there,:nod:
first I did route it to the fins, but didn't notice improvement in lower temp or in voltage,
that's when I decided to route it to the regulator it self and got results.
I route it this way as a trial but it works,
so I'll get some sort of collector for the front of the pipe, to force even more air at low speeds.
I was considering routing it from other places, but I know there's a lot air flow where I put it now, cause when I put the hot intake hose there, at high speeds my car would shut down in idle cause of LPG, too much air was forced into the engine, that's why I decided to put it where I did:cool:
 
Last edited:
No, because :

-Heat=less charging (volt. regulator drops it's charging cause of heat)
Yes it does this on purpose, for a good reason.

-Driving always with headlights on (by law) and fog lamps (cause I want to)
I'm annoyed by foglights when there is no fog :)

-It DOES work, Voltmeter isn't lying
Yes, it seems your duct does cool off the VR well, getting an about .2-.3 voltage rise?

-it will prolong alternator life cause it will take some of the massive heat produced by
alt+engine+exhaust manifold

Super agree, should make VR last longer too.


-It will prolong life of the battery cause the charging will be more stable (and I run Bosch battery so I don't wont to kill it prematurely)
Not so sure about this.
The VR intentionally drops the charging voltage as ambient temp rises, because batteries charge better and last longer with lower charging Voltage when they get hotter.
(You want the charging voltage to be lower on hotter days.)
How well the VR stuck on the back of a hot alternator next to the exhaust can do this is debateable. :)

I hope that Volvo and Bosch engineers worked together to plot out ambient temps versus engine loads/temps, and battery temps/charging voltage needs, to figure out what voltage the battey should get according to the VR temp.

A VR that was better able to sense actual temp of the battery would be much better. (glued to the battery would be best I think)

Modern cars use ambient temp sensors to get a better idea about the battery temperature, and change the charging voltage from the ICU.

The voltage bump you are seeing is from cooling the VR, making the alternator work harder to create a higher voltage because of the new VR input. But, you are cooling the alternator as well, making the higher voltage easier to generate. Probably zero sum, or likely less net stress on the alternator.

So, having a higher charging voltage on hot days is worse for the battery.
Cooling the Alternator and VR is nice for the alt and VR, but worse for the battery.

:)
 
Last edited:
**** all the cars on here are because race cars. Im gonna do it. what kind of hose/piping is that? Looks like the cold air hose that goes from the mani to the air box.
 
No, because :

-Heat=less charging (volt. regulator drops it's charging cause of heat)
Yes it does this on purpose, for a good reason.

-Driving always with headlights on (by law) and fog lamps (cause I want to)
I'm annoyed by foglights when there is no fog :)

-It DOES work, Voltmeter isn't lying
Yes, it seems your duct does cool off the VR well, getting an about .2-.3 voltage rise?

-it will prolong alternator life cause it will take some of the massive heat produced by
alt+engine+exhaust manifold

Super agree, should make VR last longer too.


-It will prolong life of the battery cause the charging will be more stable (and I run Bosch battery so I don't wont to kill it prematurely)
Not so sure about this.
The VR intentionally drops the charging voltage as ambient temp rises, because batteries charge better and last longer with lower charging Voltage when they get hotter.
(You want the charging voltage to be lower on hotter days.)
How well the VR stuck on the back of a hot alternator next to the exhaust can do this is debateable. :)

I hope that Volvo and Bosch engineers worked together to plot out ambient temps versus engine loads/temps, and battery temps/charging voltage needs, to figure out what voltage the battey should get according to the VR temp.

A VR that was better able to sense actual temp of the battery would be much better. (glued to the battery would be best I think)

Modern cars use ambient temp sensors to get a better idea about the battery temperature, and change the charging voltage from the ICU.

The voltage bump you are seeing is from cooling the VR, making the alternator work harder to create a higher voltage because of the new VR input. But, you are cooling the alternator as well, making the higher voltage easier to generate. Probably zero sum, or likely less net stress on the alternator.

So, having a higher charging voltage on hot days is worse for the battery.
Cooling the Alternator and VR is nice for the alt and VR, but worse for the battery.

:)

So basically what you are saying is that is a good thing...and I really don't thing that it's bad for battery...
 
Back
Top