Alternator issue?

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astaib
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Re: Alternator issue?

Post by astaib »

Rich wrote: Fri Mar 26, 2021 10:03 pm 18 AWG means #18 American Wire Gauge. The diameter of the conductor. + is not grounded. It's the shield of that wire.
Ok, so what is the third grounding ?
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Re: Alternator issue?

Post by Rich »

astaib wrote: Fri Mar 26, 2021 10:06 pm
Rich wrote: Fri Mar 26, 2021 10:03 pm 18 AWG means #18 American Wire Gauge. The diameter of the conductor. + is not grounded. It's the shield of that wire.
Ok, so what is the third grounding ?
F2, the VR ground lead, and the shield of the (+) lead.
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Re: Alternator issue?

Post by astaib »

And also the body of the alternator?
Sorry for the following dumb questions:
-f2 is connected to the same ground as the vr, did I get it correctly?
-what is the “shield” of the (+), is it this:
28035425-E9FD-4603-BAD8-83261FDD5464.jpeg
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Re: Alternator issue?

Post by Rich »

astaib wrote: Fri Mar 26, 2021 10:15 pm And also the body of the alternator?
Sorry for the following dumb questions:
-f2 is connected to the same ground as the vr, did I get it correctly?
-what is the “shield” of the (+), is it this:
28035425-E9FD-4603-BAD8-83261FDD5464.jpeg
It's the metallic woven mesh. It needs to be connected to what is referred to as a drain wire, which is then connected to ground. But I would expect that (+) wire to be a single shielded conductor and quite large, as it's supposed to be able to carry 70 amps.
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Re: Alternator issue?

Post by astaib »

I will go tomorrow to the plane, inspect and make pictures.

I will ask you if you don’t mind.

Thanks all :)
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Re: Alternator issue?

Post by Rich »

It could be argued the alternator body is naturally grounded to the crankcase due to how it's mounted. But it might be electrically isolated from all the wiring.
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Re: Alternator issue?

Post by Steve »

Here is a photo of my alternator connections:
IMG_4604.jpg
Far left is the AUX lead which comes from the resistor board. Next is F2, which has a ground strap to the case from that terminal. Next is F1. Next are the three wires (to one ring terminal) which I spoke of that are connected to the case (GND). Last, on the right of the ground terminal, is the B+ (main output) lead.

Note that this is a PlanePower alternator, not the standard alternator that comes with the Lycoming engine, but the connections should be analogous.
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Re: Alternator issue?

Post by astaib »

Thank you Steve. This is very interesting. I also have a plane power alternator. Exactly the same. I will check, but from what I remember I don’t have “triple wire”. Also I have to see where the shield of B+ is grounded.
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astaib
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Re: Alternator issue?

Post by astaib »

I checked the installation instructions of the plane power alternator that we have. Do you know if we have a voltage regulator type A as mentioned in point #7?

Thanks.
D7402A28-4822-4BB2-954C-14484B309EA2.jpeg
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Re: Alternator issue?

Post by Steve »

Not type A. Our VR should be connected as follows:
Electrodelta.pdf
(937.02 KiB) Downloaded 55 times
I'm not sure what the three ground wires connected to the case alternator run to. I do remember that when I converted to the PlanePower alternator from the original, the three wires were also connected together with one ring terminal to the case (I still have my sketch of the old wiring).

Steve
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