Repairing Balmar alternators

purplerobbie

purplerobbie

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I have somehow managed to kill my alternator and was wondering if i can have if fixed?

I have taken it to my local car alternator repairer and he said he could fix it if he could get the parts for it.

Rob
 
I have read advise from "experts" that claim the Balmar is just a Leece-Neville that is rebranded for sale by Balmar. True or not, it seems certain that the alternator is not custom made by or for Balmar so any good alternator shop should be able to repair it with standard parts.

Unless the windings are burned, the case cracked or something really odd an alternator repair usually requires nothing more elaborate than new bearings or diodes, both off the shelf parts.
 
I have contacted Bulmar in the States before to have parts directly shipped over.
Equally the original purchase of the Bulmars was from a US seller as the UK prices are way OTT.
 
Alternator repair

Alternators are really quite robust.The most common failure point is the slip rings and brushes which can stick or wear and so not provide a good contact to the slip rings.
It should be possible to open up and remove the brushes. Check the slip rings for condition. They may be quite burnt if this has been the problem. They can usually be cleaned up easily.
I ama a bti sceptical about this idea of killing diodes although many on this forum claim it has happened. One diode dead will usually give limited output but if more than one is dead it could stop all charge. good luck olewill
 
apparently the rectifier has gone?

I took it to my local car alternator repairer and thats what he said it needs. But he also said it wired wrong and thats what has blown it. Its not been moved in 5 years and it used to work?
 
purplerobbie said:
apparently the rectifier has gone?

I took it to my local car alternator repairer and thats what he said it needs. But he also said it wired wrong and thats what has blown it. Its not been moved in 5 years and it used to work?
Click to expand...

Most Balmar alternators are made by Prestolite, so parts are easily obtainable. Best to make sure the wiring is correct before installing the repaired alternator!
 
purplerobbie said:
apparently the rectifier has gone?

I took it to my local car alternator repairer and thats what he said it needs. But he also said it wired wrong and thats what has blown it. Its not been moved in 5 years and it used to work?
Click to expand...

What does he say is wired wrong? The internal wiring of the alternator? If so, perhaps he is not used to an externally regulated alternator (if this is externally regulated)? If you took the alternator in to the shop how would he know about the external wiring?

:confused:
 
I'm on dangerous ground here - as I have no direct experience of these units.
However I have two thoughts:-
Many US alternators use positive field control, in Europe "we" use negative.
I thought Balmar used an external controller and bypassed any internal one (if indeed any fitted).


Either of these might explain why the repairer said the unit was incorrectly wired??

(I did carry out some "research into these units some years ago) .
 
I have given up on it.
I'm buying a Sterling one and a new controller for £300. A new balmar alternator is £650 and the max charge unit is £400.
I can get 3 of the sterling sets for the cost of one of the balmar.
 
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