cnicholson Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 having fitted a stereo and large sub woofer to drown out the drone of the diff, I have noticed that when everything is turned on in my PI, i am getting a voltage drop. having done some digging it appears that i have a 36 amp alternator fitted, is this correct for a PI? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard B Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 Seeing as you have added all that ICE, and a PI has an extra strain due to the demands of the pump; I would look at a large jobbie. 55amps - 70 amps :-/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Jones Posted December 8, 2011 Share Posted December 8, 2011 PIe with EFI and stereo (albeit no big power amps!). I find that I get lowish (sub 13v) voltage readings and slow flashers at low rpm with lights, wipers and blower on. Put the heated rear window on (it works :) - but not very effectively :() and things get a bit serious - flashers stop. However, with a few revs it seems ok.Did a 12 car rally in it last night with lots of main beam, wipers, blower etc and not only did it keep going, but it even started as usual this morning! So it can cope..... just a little marginal maybe.Car is seriously filthy now but the mud sort of matches......Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Jackson (2) Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 It's meant to be used and the muddier the better! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy thompson Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 Try a power lead straight from alternator to battery - pre 74 wiring on Mk2's seem prone voltage drop due to convoluted main power wires (brown) via starter. Really helped on mine with things like flashers etc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 Ebay is a good source of alternative alternators if you are not in a hurry - sometimes get a bargain. I've recently bought a Lucas A127 55amp for my PI. I am going to run a heavy cable straight from alternator to battery as Andy suggests (old cable is not up to spec).They fitted A127s to various 80s Fords and Rovers. They are straighforward to re-hand if the one you get is wrong. But get one with a pulley attached if you can as that might be a hassle to find otherwise - the ACR one won't fit.The A127s are a bit bigger than ACRs so don't fit engines with SU HS6 carbs. Well, maybe if you had a very small battery, but that kind of defeats the purpose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cnicholson Posted December 11, 2011 Author Share Posted December 11, 2011 I have fitted a 43 am verison and it holds its own at 12v, the main battery drain seems to be the blower motor.... why on earth this is have no idea, the spitfire ones dont seem to be that juicy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PI down under Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 I found a nissan alternator that required a minor plug change and mod to adjustment stay. Its been reliable and doesn't seem to suffer the flaws of acr15, 17 etc. Voltage is important when approaching the redline in a PI.I also went on to control my aftermarket cooling fan with a suzuki swift thermo switch which bolted straight into the blank plug fitted to the PI thermo housing. Through a relay it came on just above the two dots on the temp guage and went off just below.Japanese cars are good for something!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazzer Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 On night rallies it used to drain the battery on a 45amp so I was given a used 65amp off a late 80s Rover 820. Needed to change the pulley but otherwise now perfect and will support main beam halogens, electric cooling fan, interior fan and carb cooling fan no problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazzer Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 On night rallies it used to drain the battery on a 45amp so I was given a used 65amp off a late 80s Rover 820. Needed to change the pulley but otherwise now perfect and will support main beam halogens, electric cooling fan, interior fan and carb cooling fan no problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.thumb.jpeg.b15b81ef10abeea1c3039ae03c4a9f3a.jpeg)
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.