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Cooperative Motor Works

Vintage RV & Motorhome restorations - "The GMC Coop"

You are here: Home / MOTORHOME REHAB RANCH / Mechanical Tips / Alternator Information

Alternator Information

Yes, we have no alternator!

What would you do if your alternator went out and you had another 200 miles to go?    Simple, turn on your generator and place an 8ga. jumper wire across the 2 outside terminals on your battery isolator up front.  Your 110-12volt converter will be powered by your generator and will produce 12volts.  The jumper will supply this power to the chassis battery to prevent it from dropping and will allow you to run on and charge the chassis battery without the alternator.  Go by Radio Shack and get a heavy gauge jumper and you’re set!

Another similar tip:  You can place the same jumper on the isolator as above and charge your chassis battery from the living area power converter when plugged to shore power!  On restorations, I install a “knife switch” there to give a simply solid connection any time it is needed.  Call us if you need more explanation.

Tired of having to go through all of the hassle to change your alternator belt on the road?  I mean the other 2 belt are in the way and threading the belt past the fan is a pain!  Go to Alt. belt spare for a great idea.

How do I check to see if the alternator is putting out?

Use a meter and first test the center terminal on the (blue finned) battery isolator under the pass. side front hood.  With the motor off, you should have no reading.  If you do, the isolator itself cold be bad.  Start the motor and recheck the voltage on the center isolator terminal, it should read @ 13.5 volts DC. If it does, the alternator is putting out, if not well like its not!  Of course you would want to check the alternator connections to be sure they are tight before you replace the alternator.

What do I do if the alternator light comes on while I’m driving?

Battery combiner.jpg (70226 bytes) When your generator is on, the power converter is charging the living area battery, right?  Well, install a high current knife switch which ties the living area and chassis batteries together the same way the “boost” switch on the dash does and keep driving.  You can simply switch on the boost switch and do the job for a short time, if you do this too long you risk burning out the boost solenoid.  The power converter will charge the chassis battery with the switch thrown so you can “keep on truckin”.

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