Loosening the alternator belt is a good idea, but don't do it for long as on most engines it also runs the coolant pumps.
Gary ~~~~~~~_/)~~~~~~ On Fri, Sep 30, 2016 at 9:25 AM, Michael Brown via CnC-List < cnc-list@cnc-list.com> wrote: > Thinking out of the box here. > > The way the alternator is wired in and the state of charge of your battery > may be adding to the randomness of the problem. > If the output of the alternator is a heavy gauge short run directly to the > battery or the positive stud on the starter then the > battery will damping out a lot of the alternator's noise - voltage spikes > - variable output. > > That may not be the way your boat is wired. Another common wiring was to > use a smaller gauge wire ( 14 ? ) that runs back > to an instrument panel, through an ammeter, then forward again to a > terminal block ( or starter stud ). That is fine for the > intended purpose of charging the battery but not as good for damping out > alternator noise. The ammeter may have a wire > wound shunt that could act as a wonderful noise antenna. If the battery is > discharged then you will get a good current running > which might increase the energy in the wiring. If the battery is fully > charged from being on a shore power charger than it may > not be accepting much current and not dampening much. > > I have no idea how difficult this is but you could test by loosening the > alternator belt and starting the engine. Try it a couple of > times, then a couple of times with the belt tight. > > Michael Brown > Windburn > C&C 30-1 > > Date: Fri, 30 Sep 2016 08:21:34 -0400 > From: David Knecht <davidakne...@gmail.com> > > I have posted about this problem before, but still have not solved it. I > have been struggling with a electrical system problem since I upgraded my > electronics two years ago. I installed a Seatalk network, Raymarine EV-100 > autopilot and B&G Zeus T8 chart plotter. The problem is that periodically, > the Zeus behaves like it has a mind of its own. The unit will begin beeping > while the touchscreen acts like someone is activating menus and commands > randomly. All kinds of problem ensue from that let alone that you can?t > use the controls while it is happening. It happens intermittently, > sometimes with engine on and sometimes off and I have not been able to > identify the source. One of the things I have noticed is that it happens > more often (but not exclusively) when the engine is running. Last weekend, > I had an incident of this that might help someone understand it. I > unplugged the Seatalk cable to the chart plotter to see if it had anything > to do with the network (it doesn?t). I had the > chart plotter on for about 45 minutes while I did other things and all was > fine. Then I started the engine and the Zeus immediately began beeping and > randomly activating menus. This continued for the time I had the engine > running (about 15 minutes). So that would seem to point toward something > people have suggested before- noise in the electrical system from the > alternator. Here is what I don?t understand- I shut the engine off and the > problem persisted with decreasing frequency for another 10 minutes or so > and eventually stopped and it worked fine thereafter. If this were an > alternator problem, is there some way it could persist for so long after > the engine was shut down. Dave > > Aries > 1990 C&C 34+ > New London, CT > > > _______________________________________________ > > This list is supported by the generous donations of our members. If you > like what we do, please help us pay for our costs by donating. All > Contributions are greatly appreciated! > >
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