Volvo 2003 alternator upgrade

P

prober6295

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peteandlu.wordpress.com
I have purchased an alternator which was on a Volvo MD22 it is a 115amp 12volt can anyone tell me if its suitable for replacing my 50amp unit on the 2003 diesel engine?
I know that I may have to modify the brackets etc but technical help would be apreciated
Prober6295@aol.com
 
Is it a small case unit?

If the alternator you've bought is a small case unit, it will probably fit OK (the standard fit on the MD22 was a 50A small case alternator). However, a single drive belt isn't ideal for larger alternators, so you need to be prepared for possible drive belt slippage with attendant black dust! Unless you have a very large battery bank, you won't gain much benefit from the bigger alternator - the current output is limited by the ability of the batteries to accept charge. I have a 660Ah domestic bank with a 90A alternator on a 2003T engine, and rarely see a charge rate approaching 90A.
 
As pvb says it ought to fit. On my last boat I had a 2002 driving a Prestolite 105a alternator, controlled by an Adverc, on a single belt with no problems.
 
Likely you wont get the drive belt slippage unless you are taking more than the 50A of the standard alternator, but then there's no point in having the biggie installed unless you take that level of charge. So can the rest of the system make that draw?
 
Re: Is it a small case unit?

pvb

You give nothing away in your bio, so, you either know a bit about boat electrics or you just tell a good story! In the hope you do know a bit, can you answer this? I have upgraded my service batteries by adding a second 110ah. I have standard alternator (50amp?) on a Volvo 2003 with Advec battery management. Is the alternator big enough?
 
Re: Is it a small case unit?

Steve - that will be fine, I ran 6 x 110 amp batteries on Asterie with a 70 amp alternator - gets a bit hot at 60 amp output.

Careful of the Adverc - they can over heat the alternator at low revs

cheers

Ian
 
Yes...

Yes, the standard 50A alternator with Adverc control will be fine with 220Ah of batteries. An interesting bit of kit to have is an accurate ammeter, voltmeter and amphour counter. I have a Link 10, but the newly-introduced NASA BM-1 Battery Monitor will do the job for most people and is about £95 including the 100A shunt. It's only when you can actually see what's happening with the charging process that you start to understand it.
 
Re: Yes...

I bought mine many years ago from Merlin. If I wanted to buy one today, I'd probably get it from JG Technologies for £199 inc delivery. Note that the latest version of the Link 10 has a square bezel.
 
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