Help me kill my alternator - it is stubborn and won't die

[rmay635703]

https://ecomodder.com/forum/showthre...you-37054.html

Someone is working on lightweight cars but I bet not cheap

[DieselJan]

I had the same problem to "Kill" my alternator.
The solution I developed:
https://ecomodder.com/forum/showthre...tml#post535247

[teoman]

Any Joy?

I was just looking at some DACs for arduinos. There are some that work over I2C but they are all 0-5.5V. One that is rated to 15V would be very nice for you to tune exactly how much regen you want.

[teoman]

Any updates from this?

[Daox]

I picked up this project up again now that its warm. I decided to start with another bench test of the circuit. The linear voltage regulator was putting out a very nice consistent 4.99V which is exactly where it should be. Then, I tested the dc-dc converter output and it was sending out a solid 15.6V. Not exactly what it should be (a bit high), but that seems quite reasonable. No smoking gun, okay, lets move ahead. I did notice the 7805 linear voltage regulator was getting quite warm, so I added a heat sink to it.

This afternoon I decided to put the circuit back on the car. I noticed that the fuse connector I made fit in very nice, good connection. However, the ground connector which was just a bent piece of metal barely was making contact. So, I rebent the connector to get a better connection. This time it fit in nice and snug. Could that be all it was?

I got it all plugged in and started the car up. Sure enough, no charging!





While I was working on things, I also current tested the circuit. That little voltage regulator is not an efficient little device. It draws .08A or 80mA. This doesn't sound like much, but over 24 hours it adds up to 2 amp hours. The battery should be around 75 amp hours. This means the circuit will drain 2.6% of the total battery capacity every day. Not horrible, but not good either.





So, I'll be testing this for a few days to make sure it is stays working. For now, the Mirage is all tucked in for the night. I'm looking forward to tomorrows commute.

[Daox]

I had another morning where the battery voltage jumped to 15V. So I re-bent the connector again. This time I took a bit more time and made it fit nice and snug. I don't think it will come out again, but I am looking to replace it soon enough. I want to move the circuit into the car so I can switch it on and off at will and also tie it in to my brake light circuit to do the same for some regenerative braking.