Albemarle 24 not charging at idle

[drseth]

Hi,

Today I went fishing, trolling for striped bass and was going about 3mph, idling at 600 rpm, and then noticed the alternator dropping from 13.2 volts to 11.8 volts. I put the boat in neutral and revved the engine to 2000 rpm and then it started charging again. It kept doing this a dozen times this afternoon. I had the autopilot on, 2 gps chartplotters and 2 depth finders, as well as the VHF radio.

I had earlier tightened the belt, because it was squealing. Can the alternator have new diodes installed or new brushes installed and everything will be ok? Or should I go out and buy another marine alternator? If a new alternator is needed, should I get a higher amp alternator?

Seth Anderson
Moon, VA

 

[Maclin]

Re: Albemarle 24 not charging at idle

Welcome aboard!

You did not provide the year and model of the engine and outdrive involved so some of this may not be relevent, but these are my thoughts on your situation...

If you have had that amount of equipment on and drawing current at low speed before with no problems, then my bet is that the belt is still slipping at the lower RPMs and just not squealing. When this happens is the power steering jerky? The power steering belt may also run off a pulley that turns the alternator, and if that is the case then jerky steering is another symptom of a slipping alternator belt. Another obvious symptom is belt debris all around the front of the engine.

In any event, just have the alternator tested before buying a new one or refreshing that one. And while it is off sand and paint all the pulleys involved and get a new set of belts.

 

[cr2k]

Re: Albemarle 24 not charging at idle

Alternators don't generally put out much at idle. You are pulling a good load on it too.

 

[ENSIGN]

Re: Albemarle 24 not charging at idle

The slower the idle speed the less current the alternator is going to put out.

 

[Holy Shamolee]

Re: Albemarle 24 not charging at idle

My volvo alternator had a 68 ohm 5 watt resistor attached to it. It was encased in rubber very close to the alternator on the exciter wire. I had to replace it to rectify this problem on my boat.

 

[Don S]

Re: Albemarle 24 not charging at idle

My volvo alternator had a 68 ohm 5 watt resistor attached to it. It was encased in rubber very close to the alternator on the exciter wire. I had to replace it to rectify this problem on my boat.

Problem is, not all Volvo's used that resistor, until the OP comes back some engine information, then it's all just a big guess. He might not have a belt on it any more.