How To: Alternator delete

[Cobb]

That a boy. 2 group 24s in the rear where the spare tire ought to be will make it take corners like no ones business.

Originally Posted by Daox

One more reason to stick with lead.

[sully06]

Thanks for posting this. I'm thinking about doing this in my Camry. I can remove the belt and run belt free! Which I think will get me some decent gains! Is it ok to charge a deep cycle battery using the alternator? Like say going on a trip longer than the battery can last? Also I was thinking about getting a low wattage solar panel to stick in the dash of my car to trickle charge it while the car is parked say at work or home.

[Daox]

Yeah, the deep cycle will be fine being charged by the alternator. If I have a trip too long I'll be using the alternator. As I progress with this thread, I'll be installing a switch to turn the alternator on and off. I haven't determined exactly how I'm doing that quite yet, but that is one of the next steps.

A solar panel has generally been considered a poor way to charge the battery though, they just don't put out enough power to be worth the cost. It is a very cool idea though.

[sully06]

A solar panel has generally been considered a poor way to charge the battery though, they just don't put out enough power to be worth the cost. It is a very cool idea though.[/QUOTE]

Even sitting in sun for 8+ hrs

[Daox]

Yep, even with it sitting in the sun for 8hrs a day. As I mention in my first post a lot, we have to think about worst case scenario. Worst case is a cloudy week. Unless you have a massive battery, its not going to last a week for you, let alone a week in winter when there is nowhere near 8 hours of sun per day. Then, you add in the other little factors like the windows have UV protection and/or tinting which reduce the panel output. And solar panel output isn't optimal unless the panel is tilted perpendicular to the sun (ie sitting on a dash). The little things start adding up, and the size of the panel you need keeps going up, and you still need a charger for that week where there is absolutely no sun.

A few guys have done it, and I agree its a very cool idea. But IMO there are a lot of other mods that are a lot more beneficial and reduce my commuting cost a lot more. Thus its an idea I'd consider, but its way down on my list to the point I'll probably never get to it.

[sully06]

Thanks! I'm excited to do this modification and see how much mpg gain I see.

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by sully06

Even sitting in sun for 8+ hrs

A 5 watt panel in direct sunlight for 8hrs will produce 40 watts of energy assuming no charging losses. My car requires a minimum of 163 watts to run, so 8hrs of charging will get me 15 minutes of run time if I run absolutely no accessories.

[sully06]

Thanks

If I do run beltless will I still need to unhook the alternator? Will my scangauage still read?

[Xist]

Originally Posted by sully06

Thanks

If I do run beltless will I still need to unhook the alternator? Will my scangauage still read?

Your car will still run if you have a bad alternator until the battery dies, so as long as your battery lasts, your car should run fine.

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by sully06

Thanks

If I do run beltless will I still need to unhook the alternator? Will my scangauage still read?

I would still disconnect the wires to the alternator if you run beltless, but I'm unsure how your particular car controls things.

On my car, a small current is supplied to the alternator to activate the field windings. Even if I remove the belt on my alternator, it will still draw some amount of power in an attempt to activate the alternator. My car uses 4 wires to the alternator to control and monitor charging. A large 5th wire is the actual positive output lead that goes to the battery and powers the car.