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Old 06-24-2014, 08:35 PM   #136 (permalink)
changzuki
Changfa diesel + Suzuki
 
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Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Northern, NY
Posts: 527

Centurion - '74 FIAT X1/9 Centurion Full Race DNA
Last 3: 143.5 mpg (US)
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Details - Exhibit #3: Alternator cut switch
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Centurion's electrical requirements are minimal. In fact if it weren't for the lights, signals, and four onboard cameras, there wouldn't be a need for a battery or alternator.
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One of the rocker switches on the dash has always been a spare so dedicating one for the alternator cut was easy.
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The alternator used is a stock mid-eighties Delco 10-SI with a 12-SI fan, and is a single wire-to-battery circuit. To disconnect it from the system only required a couple of 60 amp lighting relays wired in parellel between the battery and the alternator.
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The smaller 12 volt battery was more than capable of starting the car and running any brake or turn signals since they're all low draw leds.
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And the dvr/camera system only uses about 3 amps when on and recording.
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The bullet cam under the rear wing is pretty small and only requires 200ma @ 12 volts...
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There's been plenty of discussion on ecomodder and elsewhere about the mpg gains of an alternator cut switch. For the Centurion at the Green Grand Prix this could really add up depending on the circumstances.
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Consider for a moment that the alternator it's running can max out at 800 watts. Converting over to mechanical, that's about: 1.0728176711 horsepower - or one-seventeenth of Centurion's total engine horsepower. Assuming during stage one, Sheepdog 44 and myself cruised at a fraction of that 17 horsepower....
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The alternator now becomes an even larger percentage of the overall picture. Opinion: time well spent to do this for the event. I believe Bruce Pick was on the same wave length with his Honda Accord.
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More to be covered... Much more...
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~ CrazyJerry

Last edited by changzuki; 08-04-2018 at 10:19 PM..
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