Builds Moonshine - A Build Thread (3 Viewers)

[StevoJonesFJ60]

Thanks Stevo?

Sucks to hear about the alternator, I've never heard of a regulator failing and producing 24V. Hopefully everything on the toyota harness south of the fusable link is ok.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Thanks Stevo?

Typo, my bad. It's been fixed.

Sucks to hear about the alternator, I've never heard of a regulator failing and producing 24V. Hopefully everything on the toyota harness south of the fusable link is ok.

Nor had I. I measured voltage to see what was going on and freaked a bit. In retrospec, it was a bad idea to rip out the regulator.


Quick update on that, I jerry-rigged my broken IGN fusible link with a length of fusible link from AutoZone. As I said before, I couldn't take the contacts out, so I stripped the ends on a length of the new link, cleaned the back of the terminals and simply pressed the wire into both sides. It is held in by the connector grommets and a piece of electrical tape. Crappy repair, but it worked and I drove moonshine back over to the house. The good news is that I checked the voltage coming out of the alternator and I'm back to a solid 14.8v.

Based on how she started up, it seems like the IGN circuit is OK, but I won't know if everything works until I drive it a bit more, but that won't come until Monday when the new parts come in.

Note to self: carry a spare VR at all times.

 

[EOE_overland]

Note to self: carry a spare VR at all times.

I expect you shouldn't need another. A VR goin teets up like that isn't too common. Probably wouldn't hurt to take the alt in for a rebuild when you have some down time? With a used motor that's new to you, I'd expect a little catch up work on a few gremlins.

 

[EOE_overland]

Oh yeah, and...

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Good call Matt. I am thinking about getting a re-wound alternator now. Preventative maintenance!!

 

[davegonz]

Sucks about your electrical problems. What alternator are you running?

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Sucks about your electrical problems. What alternator are you running?

Yeah, it's a bummer, but I'm learning through it, which is the point. It's not the truck's fault, but my own for letting the fasteners get loose.

I'm running the stock 6bt alternator for the 2nd gen dodge ram.

 

[Tapage]

isn't 14.8 a bit hi .. ? I was under the impression 14.4 was the healthy top ..

 

[EOE_overland]

That's 14.8 in the American system, or 14.4 in metric

 

[EOE_overland]

Idiocy aside, I agree that's a bit on the high side. What rpm are you getting 14.8?
And did you get new batteries yet? I can't remember.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

isn't 14.8 a bit hi .. ? I was under the impression 14.4 was the healthy top ..

That's what I had thought as well, but after talking to some guys running this alternator and VR setup, 14.8 seems normal. Think that will be an issue?

Idiocy aside, I agree that's a bit on the high side. What rpm are you getting 14.8?
And did you get new batteries yet? I can't remember.

I'm pushing 14.8v at idle ( 750-780 ). Right now I only have one new battery, a die-hard platinum P2 IIRC.

 

[EOE_overland]

Check the voltage at 2 or 3k RPM and see if its higher.
Might want to check the battery man's specs on charging. I wouldnt stop driving it, but if it were me I'd be concerned enough to look into it further. Even if that is normal charge voltage at idle for that alternator, there's a reasonable chance you may shorten your battery life, and maybe void the warranty(?). AGMs usually don't like high charging voltage for extended periods when warm...aka NC summer driving
Not sure the reason it would be set up that way from the factory? For a UPS truck, starting and stopping all the time, it might be useful to keep the battery charging. But I think you said this alt is from a Ram Cummins? That don't make no sense

 

[Redneck92]

14.8 is fine, as long as its below 15.5-16v you shouldnt have to worry about anything. I've seen some alt where they acceptable limits are 13.9-15.0v. My 4runner when it ran charged at about 15 all the time.

 

[Tapage]

The custom alt I have in Tencha ( specs said it makes 190 amps ) sits on 14.8V at start up and as long as it take to top both of my batteries .. when they are top ( after some driving ) if goes down to 14.4V or so ..

Id I plug my batteries con charger and keep it 100% then start engine alt keep around 14.4V since I guess batteries are full ..

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Well I put in a new alternator charge wire ( 1 AWG ) and a new battery to starter cable ( 1/0 AWG ). Got them from http://gregsmarinewiresupply.com. I highly recommend Greg! He did a great job and I'd love to do business with him again soon.

Unfortunately that did not even out my voltage and I still have light flicker. Voltage varies while RPMs are consistent, so I'm thinking that there is a faulty ground somewhere. I need to work on that some more.

In other news, Moonshine is going to grow up a bit more in the coming months. The 14 bolt bible certainly wasn't kidding when it states that the stock axle weighs 550#!!!

This one has 3.73 gears and came out of a SRW Chevy truck. The lower gears will be perfect for lowering my highway RPM. Soon my FZJ80 rear axle and 4.11 Toyota E-Locker will be for sale.

EDIT: This is going to be the RDB setup I use:
http://www.ruffstuffspecialties.com/catalog/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=14BSRW

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Axle looks much better without all that drum brake crap. Made it a ton lighter as well.

I'm going to give those eldorado calipers a shot and see if I can get the e-brake to work well enough to stall the motor in 3rd gear.

 

[davegonz]

I had El Dorado brakes on the Princess and they never worked right. The 4BT would just power through them.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

I had El Dorado brakes on the Princess and they never worked right. The 4BT would just power through them.

Well s***. I spent some time reading up on them last night on Pirate. Some people said they worked great, others said they didn't work worth a crap.

How was the e-brake cable set up? The ElDorado e-brake mechanism pulls towards the front of the vehicle whereas the Toyota e-brake mechanism pulls towards the center of the rear axle.

 

[hman913]

I did a lot of reading on the Eldo calipers too, and found only a few who said they worked ok. The rest said they were garbage basically. Get the HD rear output for the D300 and toss the disc brake kit on it. It should stop you just fine.

 

[Tapage]

another vote against eldo calipers .. well if you are getting 'em coz you wand / like to have functional e-brake .. there is no such thing ..

Don't waste your time / cash on 'em ..