| Author |
Message |
cgoodwin (208.12.29.127)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, June 21, 2004 - 9:13 pm: | |
My Neoplan 6V92TA is fitted with a 270 amp gear driven alternator, which is VERY expensive to repair, is gear driven and in the event of a failure can do engine damage (learned the hard way). I am considering removing it and installing two belt driven Semi truck alternators producing 130 AMPS each. There is a drive pully available which will drive from the same gear which drove the big alt so all I will have to do is fab some brackets. Has anyone done this?
Chris |
jimmci9 (209.240.205.68)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, June 21, 2004 - 9:57 pm: | |
don't know your particular set up, as far as how much room you've got... but the older mci-7's and 8's had a belt drive alternator... the big 250-300 amp delco maybe...and i think used an air cylinder as a belt tensioner....might help some....jim |
RJ Long (67.181.211.253)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, June 21, 2004 - 10:01 pm: | |
Chris -
Crawl into the rear driver's side engine compartment access door on nearly any MC-5, MC-7, MC-8, or early production MC-9 and take a look. They all (OEM) had alternators belt-driven from exactly where you want to drive yours. Since your Neoplan is also a T-drive, think about changing a belt in there when it breaks, which, of course, it will do at Oh Dark Thirty. . . (BTDT, MC-8, on a charter, at nite, in the rain!)
OTOH, GMC built over 30,000+ buses with gear-driven alternators, many of whom had the engine rebuilt long before the alternator and/or drive mechanism gave out. . .
Might give Luke a call (1-888-262-2434) and ask him, based on his 40+ years in the bus business, just how common alternator gear-drive failures are.
HTH,
RJ
PD4106-2784
Fresno CA |
Jayjay (205.188.116.135)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, June 21, 2004 - 11:52 pm: | |
If you no longer run the bus AC system, then you can get by quite nicely with a single 130 (+-)
Cheers...JJ |
Stan (68.150.152.113)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, June 22, 2004 - 9:16 am: | |
Going to a belt drive off the gear train just increases the risk of gear and bearing failure. The load will be pulling sideways on the stub shaft instead of a straight drive to the alternator. Both systems are very reliable and there is no bus system that does not have some potential for failure, however remote. Do preventative maintenance and drive trouble free. |
Jim Ashworth (Jimnh) (172.142.115.80)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, June 22, 2004 - 4:36 pm: | |
If you re-read the first post, it seems he already had an alternator failure. "(Learned the hard way)".
I can understand his being a little gunshy with a gear driven alternator. I have removed mine and am using a one-wire 75A 24V and a 140A 12V with a 3 stage regulator from Xantrex. Both have been working well since last summer. And I never think of an alternator self-destructing.
Jim |
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