Re: Broadway won’t start

by glyne lock Sat Nov 28, 2020 3:53 pm

Roopert
just to say its great to tell a good story and sounds good what you have said above
I have been trained on dealer training to charge with jump leads as I had explained
I fit leads to lots of trucks and Anderson sockets to make it safe for a driver to put some charge back in the vehicle batteries and then jump start but have had many a driver not put the lights on and the driver then phones back to myself he cant start .when I get to the truck I put the lights on then after aprox 15 mins start the truck .I have spent over 35 years doing brake downs working in the motor trade carrying out the job . you keep contradicting when I post about charging and jump starting but there is doing the job and telling a great story .I remember you not under standing the basic earth wiring on the solar system and I did see what you removed like others did after being corrected .just like the y tube clip when another forum member posted to show you the charging a flat battery how its done by people in the trade.

by Roopert Sat Nov 28, 2020 4:41 pm

Sadly, there are things that get learned "in the trade" that don't make any sense - but they just get handed on from person to person, without ever being questioned.

If you look at it historically then there probably was a rationale (of sorts) when car voltage regulators were mechanical devices with low sensitivity. In those days (pre-1970's) there would have been some basis, because the mechanical relay-based devices could need a "nudge" to switch - but not these days, when voltage regulators have no moving parts.

And I agree - of course, I do make mistakes. None of us are perfect.

by gassygassy Mon Nov 30, 2020 10:24 pm

Yup, that is courtesy of the Powers That Decide to fit "Intelligent" (thick, idiotic) Alternators in order to scrape through emissions tests. There are two things that stop me from getting a new motorhome, and money isn't one of them. One is Adblu, and the other is "intelligent Alternators".

by gassygassy Mon Nov 30, 2020 10:25 pm

Roopert wrote:...........None of us are perfect.

No, none of us IS perfect wave

by Roopert Mon Nov 30, 2020 10:52 pm

Indeed, I guess that proves my point... I did notice, but only after it was too late to go back and edit it!

gassygassy wrote:Yup, that is courtesy of the Powers That Decide to fit "Intelligent" (thick, idiotic) Alternators in order to scrape through emissions tests.

Are smart alternators anything directly to do with emissions tests? I thought their main role was to leave enough "headroom" in the engine start battery so that a vehicle has somewhere to put the energy that it recovers from regenerative braking? I guess you could argue that this (in theory) makes a small contribution to the efficiency, which leads to (slightly) more miles for a given CO2 output.

One of the main reasons I've not changed to a more recent van is because I don't want one with an Adblue system - because it adds a lot of complex systems. But a smart alternator would not worry me too much - they are so unobtrusive that most people who have one are completely unaware of the fact. Though it is true that in a camper van context it forces the converter to use a more sophisticated leisure battery charger, which makes a small difference to their costs.

by gassygassy Tue Dec 01, 2020 12:40 am

Yes you are right Roopert. I read (although everything you read isn't necessarily true) that the intelligent alternators exist so that during emissions testing, once the engine battery is charged, the alternator doesn't put any drag on the engine so its emissions are reduced. It gives you the impression that the engine designers are sooo very close to their absolute limits of miniscule emissions that are possible, that even reducing the alternator drag makes a viable difference. I'm glad you agree with me on the Adblu. It is the very reason why I would have bought a Fiat that didn't need it in preference to Peugeot or Citroen. It would sway me away from AutoSleepers if I could get an alternative on a Fiat chassis. Now, however it has all gone too crazy and I am happy with a 2009 motorhome. Don't tell anyone but it isn't an A/S but I still like coming to the forum, and hopefully can contribute because here we have intelligent contributors. I have just posted a V E R Y long thread on rotating your Truma boiler round 180 degrees so you can get at the pcb, and so it is installed in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions. I hope it is useful to some people.

by rgermain Tue Dec 01, 2020 9:09 am

Yes got a smart alternator on the Fiesta, somewhere, don't know it's there, maybe if it fails I will find out as I expect the replacement cost will blow my head off.

I intend to keep our Motorhome till we give up, as at 73 don't intend to be driving a tank around much more than another 10 years if I am lucky, yes I also don't want to fork out ???£s at my age.
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Richard