I'm catching smack for deleted alternator

[SmellyCat]

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

[Cobb]

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.

[JRMichler]

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.

[SmellyCat]

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

[MetroMPG]

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

[orange4boy]

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.

[serialk11r]

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