I'm catching smack for deleted alternator
 

I've been scooting around in the 94 Volvo trying to get over 25 mpg. I've tried to running with out the Alt with one battery and kept getting stranded. Now I have 2 batteries and I'm ready to try again. My VW Club says I'm full of it and the alt barely pulls the hp back at all. Maybe 1 hp.

Can anyone give me some knowledge about the benefits of this so I can smack them back? SC

Back in the day when I worked at a shop our alternator tester had a 3hp electric motor. A 90 amp draw would stop it dead in its tracks from a working alt. Those are rather agressive at charging.

Just point out that Honda uses a relay or ELD to turn the alt off and on as needed to save fuel vs constantly charging the system.

Measure your electrical load. My own truck draws 20 amps with the headlights on low beam and the heater blower on the lowest speed. That's about 2 hours to suck a deep cycle battery down to empty. It's about 1 hour from a fully charged deep cycle battery if I want the battery to last.

Please start a fuel log.

Im not sure how to measure the power load of this electrical system. Maybe run the amp meter cross inline to the battery?

I did run the engine with the little hot wire off the Alt. while it was running I plugged the energize wire back up/ the idling engine stuttered and took a few seconds for the ecu to get the idle back at a smooth purr. From that I reckon, the Alt does put a load on the idling engine. SC

Alternator delete / field wire switch is a time-tested drag racing trick. Maybe that'll help them understand it's not insignificant.

Also, even if it's just 1 hp (not saying it is), who says that's insignificant? Ever calculate how much fuel you need to burn to generate 1 hp?

FYI, here's how I measured my electrical loads: http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...olts-8908.html

Been alt free since joining. It's what got me here.

Cars pull between 20-50 amps and more at 14.5 volts. Alternators are at best 45%* efficient which means you can double the watts they draw off the engine. ~ 580W (.77hp) to 1450W (1.95hp) . Add the belt drag too. This draw happens every second the motor is running. At idle it can more than double your fuel consumption. At highway speed a small car needs about 9 hp to cruise. One hp is 10% of that.

Tell them to do the math. Alt delete makes a big difference.

*newer ones may be better but I have not researched this yet. An efficient electric motor is an expensive piece of equipment.

I've seen 70% efficiency cited as considered "good", but typical efficiency is going to be lower, probably in the 50s.