Alternator so hot belt is smoking

[suttonj]

1986 Sea Ray Seville II, with a Mercury MCM 170.
last year I had a fire when the water cooled Voltage Regulator fried.

I installed the Breezeworks Low mount alternator conversion kit.
Also replaced the Coil, Points, Condenser, Rotor, distributor cap, and the slave starter solinoid.
Got it running today, but noticed smoke at the front of the engine.

I Shut it down and the belt was hot, the alternator pully (Front of the alternator) was too hot to touch.

The body of the alternator is warm, but not hot, just the pully. i checked the voltage and it's 13.8VDC with the engine running.

Is something wrong with the alternator? It spins freely, I'm at a loss, and I'm afraid to put it in the water. It just doesn't seem right.
any advice?

 

[Don S]

Re: Alternator so hot belt is smoking

Is the belt tight?

 

[EddiePetty]

Re: Alternator so hot belt is smoking

Is the belt tight?

.....and in the same plane and alignment to the crankshaft pulley?????

 

[suttonj]

Re: Alternator so hot belt is smoking

Actually thought it might be too tight, so loosened it just a little.
As for being in the same plane, Yes it it, but just eye balling, it looks like the alternator might be skewed just a little.
would that cause the belt to get so hot it starts smoking?

 

[Fishermark]

Re: Alternator so hot belt is smoking

it looks like the alternator might be skewed just a little.
would that cause the belt to get so hot it starts smoking?

If it is out of alignment, sure it could make the belt get hot and fail.

 

[stonyloam]

Re: Alternator so hot belt is smoking

The only reason that the belt should get that hot is friction between the belt and a pulley. It sounds like it might be slipping under load. I would guess too loose rather than too tight.

 

[suttonj]

Re: Alternator so hot belt is smoking

OK, it's starting to rain and boat is covered now. Tomorrow morning I'll put a straight edge on the pullys to make sure they are all lined up. Is there a way to properly tension the belt without a belt tension guage?
Thanks for the advise, I'll update you tomorrow.

 

[stonyloam]

Re: Alternator so hot belt is smoking

The instructions say "tension belt to 1/4 inch deflection at center of longest belt span" I am guessing that is with 10 lb pressure, but am not sure.

 

[IdahoDoug]

Re: Alternator so hot belt is smoking

A belt can also slip from being old and having a hard glazed surface on the rubber that doesn't grip the pulleys well. More heat from slipping means more glazing and worse grip. Many alternators are not perfectly aligned. Its not ideal, but fine as long as you keep up on replacing the belts when they age prematurely from the above poster's observations - you may have to replace them twice as often or more depending on the degree of angle. A get home trick is to use sandpaper to roughen the V belt faces a bit. Yes, a running engine and sandpaper held against it is an easy way to do it, but don't be tempted as if it snatches your finger it will be the fastest grab you've ever experienced and you're gonna be seriously hurt.

If the belt is oily, same thing will happen. The get home strategy is to pour soapy water on the running belt. It will slip even more, then suddenly grip with an audible sound as the oil is dispersed. Learned this on a rainy day in Indiana on a Fiat from a man in his 90s who happened to walk by while I was leaning in the engine bay.

 

[suttonj]

Re: Alternator so hot belt is smoking

Update: I put a straight edge on the Alternator Pully (Front face) and it lines up with the Back of the power steering and flywheel pully.
measuring from the other pullys it appears as though there are two problems.
the alternator is out of plane with the others, and it is also skewed (cambered). Not sure which is correct term, but it is at a slight angle with respect to the plane of the belt.

So my plan is to first fix the angle / Skew / Camber (is that even spelled correct)?
then I should be able to put some shims behind the alternator bracket to bring it into plane.

I will let you know how it goes, thanks for the advice.
Oh, Idahodoug, my belt is new, but that is good info non the less. i like the soapy water trick. The sandpaper on running belt, .... Hmmm I've had these same fingers for 46 years now, I think I'll keep them.

 

[IdahoDoug]

Re: Alternator so hot belt is smoking

Good plan, particularly the finger part - heh...

 

[NHGuy]

Re: Alternator so hot belt is smoking

You are on the right track. ps. Fingers are handy.

 

[Doernuth]

Re: Alternator so hot belt is smoking

You are on the right track. ps. Fingers are handy.

But the human hand is equipped with spares......

Get everything lined up, put a new belt on it and let us know how it works.