With less then a week to go I'm starting to get excited about a little down time. I'll be going back to the racetrack again next week.

I know, most everyone here doesn't do the NASCAR thing but for me it allows some downtime without most of the aggravations of work. I leave this Friday (6/9) and don't return until Monday or Tuesday.

I get great pleasure in working on my Barth and thinking about my upcoming trip. I replaced the upper radiator hose and installed a new thermostat - flushed the cooling system and refilled with antifreeze/water(30%) and 2 bottles of Water Wetter. Replaced the two front tires and took it on a 50 mile round trip to see how it drove.

I have parked the Barth next to the house and plugged into shore power. Flushed the water tank and checked the pump operation. The fridge and both A/C's have been put thru it's paces. Pulled out the awning and checked. My propane tank is full. All systems go, everything checks out.

Every time we go to the tracks we crank up the stereo system inside the Barth to listen while were outside. This year I decided to mount two Bose outdoor speakers and a Sony marine stereo system inside one of the outdoor boxes. This should make it easier to go inside and sleep/recover while others are outside having fun.

I'm now in the process of stocking the coach with goodies for the trip. Have to put the sheets on the beds and vacuum it out. I have 3 other friends going and for one of them this is going to be his first time.

It's really nothing more then 4 days of getting away from it all. The wife is home dispatching calls. The business can't run itself unless someone's answering the calls. When we go on vacations together the business line is on call forwarding to the cell phone so were actually still working while vacationing.

Imagine trying to dispatch roadservice in New York for Penske while the seagulls and the waves are on the beach with you in North Carolina. The kids playing in the ocean and one of you have to stay on shore in case the phone rings or the 2 other mechanics have questions.

I can't get away unless I go away without the wife so for me this is a break. Every time I post to this site it brings me closer (mentally) to down time. That's why I like reading this section the most.

So if there's anyone going to either of the two Pocono races this year let me know and we'll hook up. If there's a lurker, looker, visitor, guest, potential buyer of a Barth motor home out there who want to stop by let me know. I'll be in the family camping area outside of turn three. I'll be the one with the biggest smile on my face!

This is it, I'll be gone till Monday. Hopefully the trip will go as smooth as the other ones. Everyone have a great weekend and enjoy your family.



Bill N.Y.

Have fun, and...DON'T FERGIT THE BEER!

Got back from the track and for the most part all went well.

Well, maybe not. I started off at 8am Friday with a run up I-84, about 80 miles into the trip I realized the voltage gauge was at 12v. This is not normal as it is usually around 14v. Got off at the Newfoundland exit and turned left. I knew there was an auto parts store at this exit because this is my shortcut into the racetrack.

After pulling over I left the Barth running and pulled off the doghouse cover. While inspecting the motor I broke out my test light and touched the terminal for the exciter wire. Had voltage there but noticed a slight noise pitch when I did this.

Hmmm, must be a loose wire for the voltage regulator tap on the top of the alternator. While removing the wire I kept hearing the motor pitch change until I pulled it off. A quick inspection revealed a tight female plug. That's odd, maybe it was slightly varnished - it looked good. Cleaned it up anyway and reinstalled. The volt gauge went up and the pitch came back again.

That should be it right... while attempting to reinstall the dog house the noise pitch went away and the voltage started to drop back to 12v. The exciter wire was still powered and should have full fielded the alternator to charge. I wiggled the wire and found that the male plug inside the alternator was bad.

I used some zip ties to snuggly pull the wire in one direction thus making a better contact inside of the alternator. An internal open going to the blade plug connection inside of the alternator is what I was thinking made this happen.

So there I am sitting in an auto parts store and what do I do? Remember, I have no fear (except the wife).

Reinstalled the doghouse and took off. Voltage back up around 13v and rising, Good news. I drove into the track and had just about 14v I then turned the coach off. While setting up camp I fired the generator off to get the refrigerator running. This would allow my batteries to charge up while the jumper wire was hooked to the house batteries and starting battery.

I just put this alternator on 2 years (less then 2,000 miles) ago, what gives. I called the rebuild shop and informed them of my problem. Who's going to give a warranty on a 2yr old alternator? The people I deal with will.

I didn't want to put on a regular alternator. I wanted a Heavier Duty, Higher Amp version and realized that I did have other options to make it back home.

I had a great weekend and must report that the coach ran exceptional. The water temp was around 185 and never went past 195. That Water Wetter product (2 containers) sure worked well. I used a container of that RedLine fuel conditioner and I really like it. The coach had a little more pulling power and idled a tad better.

That Monday it was time to come home. I started up the coach and while driving home it stopped charging again. Instead of just beating a dead horse we fired off the generator to allow the house charger to recharge the batteries.

Today I pulled off the alternator and took it to my local re-builder who reported that my suspicions were correct. The male plug wire end inside of the alternator was loose. He replaced the wire and plug end and gave it back.

No other Barth's were in the family camping area. I had several people stop by and commented on the all aluminum construction. There was a construction company president there who came over and said that at one time he was a dealer for Barth back in the early 70's into 85. He thinks he has some NOS chrome items laying around. I gave him my number and told him about this website, so we'll see. This time around the people who stopped by seemed to know quality and some even knew about Barth's.

Remember a couple of weeks ago (May 19th) we were talking about retiring and how you could save up or spend it all while making it. My friend who likes to live beyond his means summed it up like this.

"Bill, I'll never get out of this hole (debt) so I might as well enjoy myself before I go into the deep hole for good!"

See what beer does to people. That actually made sense to me...

Bill N.Y.

Bill, you got me thinking on the alternator. What alternator do you have? Motorcraft? Autolite? I don't want to do the Ford/Chevy thing, but your post got me thinking about mine, with the idea of checking for loose connectors as PM. I don't think the Delcotron has any push connectors inside. Just three screws. The outside is one big lug and two push connectors, which can be a problem, what with moisture, heat and dirt.

If you want to go bigger, Quick Start will sell you the parts. Why do you want to go bigger? Does the Ford alternator reduce its output as the temperature rises like a Delco?

Along the PM thought, for Chev Barthers, I would suggest that it is a good idea to replace the double push-on connector with a new one. Most good auto parts stores have them. Also, remove and clean the big connector on the stud. This could avoid alternator trouble which could result in buying a rebuilt one. I have had bad luck with rebuilts.

quote:

Originally posted by bill h:
What alternator do you have? Motorcraft?

Why do you want to go bigger? Does the Ford alternator reduce its output as the temperature rises like a Delco?

I have a Motorcraft Alternator. It is not the original one that came off the Barth. I replaced it over 2 years ago, just because. The old one on there was working fine. I just didn't want any problems.

Going by memory now... I think it was an original 70 amp alternator. I am a truck mechanic so for me bigger is always better. 140 amp: Ok I'll take it! Whenever I bring in an alternator for repair/ replacement/ inspection I want to know what the re-builder said was the cause of failure.

Did it overheated, did it fail from corrosion, did it wear out from old age, let me know so I can try to prevent additional failures.

If I do go bigger is the wire capable of handling the load? What's the length of the wire? How wide of a pulley and at what angle does the belt wrap around? No sense in burning up or overheating the stud or connection at the back of the alternator and no reason to have the belt slip because I have an overloaded testosterone level.

I like a bigger heat sink inside the alternator. Bigger windings will run cooler then little ones and will tend to last longer. A bigger fan on the front will also pull in more air and cool it a little better.

Have you ever seen anyone excited about rebuilding alternators? I have a friend that use to own a rebuild shop and you would swear that every time he talks about the quality of his parts and the care that he uses when rebuilding you would think that you were talking to a recently cured male virgin. He could talk you into buying his alternators on passion alone. His nickname was "Fast Freddie" (because of the speed at which he talked) and whatever he was on gave off this infectious pull that if you didn't go to him anything sold by anyone else was junk!

Unfortunate for me that was the year he sold his rebuild shop to another and because of that his once fine name and quality has suffered. I go to a different re-builder/shop now and the quality is there but that passion is gone.

I have very little experience with external regulators on Fords, no trucks made now even have that kind of a setup. I know how it is wired and can troubleshoot this system without a problem.

Why didn't I replace it while in the parking lot of the auto parts store? I had other options. I trust the people that I deal with locally. This wasn't a major problem that needed me to get dirty. It took away from the beer break that I so rightly deserved. If I broke something while removing it this could have been a bigger problem. I like spending my money locally etc...

You want to know what I think of a 21SI or 22SI Delco alternator? They're junk! For you they might be ok. At 175,000 to 200,000 miles they wear out. For a gas job that's fantastic! See what I mean.

Some trucks can run 300,000 plus miles in a year in a slip seat line haul, team driver or even a married couple owner operator setup. Who want to replace an alternator twice a year?

The trucks being produced now can go over a million miles without a major breakdown. It's usually driver abuse that does a truck in.

Why go bigger? I want the power if needed and if not then it's not working that hard. It makes me sleep better at night. Does the Ford alternator looses power if it gets hot? I don't know, what I do know is every alternator that I deal with looses it's ability to charge correctly the hotter it gets so I would suspect so.

We have coach batteries that get drawn down and then were trying to recharge 3 batteries with a regular alternator so I would suspect that bigger is better. Have a bigger reserve and if you don't need it then great. If you do then it's even better.

It's one of those things that make you think for the extra money why not? For me, with alternators, bigger is always better!

Bill N.Y.

quote:

Originally posted by Bill N.Y.:
Does the Ford alternator looses power if it gets hot? I don't know, what I do know is every alternator that I deal with looses it's ability to charge correctly the hotter it gets so I would suspect so.

Some of this is design, and some is the old temperature/conductivity coefficient. The typical car battery is replenished from the starting drain in a very short time, about as much time as it takes for the alternator to heat up. I seem to remember that the Delco regulator is temperature compensated for this reason. This is a pain at night in stop and go traffic in summer. I share some of your disdain for the Delcotron.

quote:

We have coach batteries that get drawn down and then were trying to recharge 3 batteries with a regular alternator so I would suspect that bigger is better.

Certainly heavier components should last longer if operated a a percentage of capacity.

However, I am not a fan of charging coach batteries by the engine alternator, particularly through an isolator. If I wanted to do that, I would have a Perko make before break switch in the charging line to allow the alternator to see only the coach batteries and respond to their needs only. When the typical motor home with an isolator tries to charge both truck and coach batteries in parallel it responds to the highest battery and the result is a long slow charge for the lower batteries, usually the coach batteries. A heavier alternator never really gets to show its stuff in such a set up. The Winnebago relay solution is elegant in its simplicity, and at least avoids the diode. An isolator drops the charging voltage by around .7 volts, which can result in a sulfated battery with a short service life unless equalized or at least three-staged after the trip. Batteries that are charged by an alternator and are not regularly equalized do not last as long as batteries that are properly fussed over.

End of alternator and isolator rant

quote:

Originally posted by bill h:
The Winnebago relay solution is elegant in its simplicity, and at least avoids the diode.

Funny you should mention that. The people parked next to me had stone dead batteries in their Ford F350 Motor home. I don't know the make was (didn't care) but the start batteries had a heavy gauge wire running to a "key on relay" and then down to the house batteries - If the key switch was on the 2 coach batteries would charge - key off and it's isolated from the starting battery. This setup is a parallel charge for all three batteries while running down the road and a break/open if the key was off. He had no isolator.

It seems that this guy didn't know that the 12v refrigerator needed to be turned off during the winter. He also assumed that the only time he could use his house setup was when the key was on. He tried to start his generator and nothing happened - he then said - "Ooops, forgot to turn the key on!"

Needless to say he was parked next to me so I didn't let him suffer - diagnosed two bad house batteries - one had a nice bulge on the side - I suspect that after it went dead this past winter the electrolyte/water froze. No chance of recovery so we got him new batteries.

Is this the setup your referring too? Come to think of it, maybe it was a Winnebago.

Bill N.Y.

Yeah, sounds like.

The Winnebago system uses an interesting method of battery isolation and paralleling. The dash switch is an SPDT CO on-off-(on) It has three wires, with the momentary side getting power from the coach battery, the on side getting power from the ignition (or acc terminal of the ignition switch), and the center being the output to the coil of the paralleling relay.

So..Start with the switch in off. To charge the coach battery while driving, you have the switch in the on position, which ties the batteries together while the ignition is on and use the momentary position to tie the batteries together when the starting battery is low. The off position is used for normal starting or to charge the chassis battery only. If the switch gets its power from the acc terminal of the ignition switch, then it can be left in on for all normal use, as the acc terminal is usually not energized until the starter is released.

This system combines the function of the isolator and the paralleling solenoid without the reduced charging voltage of the isolator. And there are fewer parts and connections than a system with both an isolator and a paralleling relay.

However, it does not address the issue of charging a low and a charged battery in parallel.