rocmoc

First upfront I want to say, I took my Trooper alternator to O'Reilly Auto Parts to be tested. Since I knew they would not have a parts sale & said it upfront as the part is not available, I purchased gear oil & tail light bulbs to ease the pain of wasting their time. They do these test for the hope of a parts sale. It is only right if they won't take a few $ for doing the test, a purchase should be made. IMHO! Process, Using their equipment, you have to input the year, car manufacture & model so the test equipment knows what to look for. We used 1988-89 Suzuki Samurai, thanks to whoever it was that came up with this is a close match. Suzuki alt has a 3 wire plug but it will work. The test equipment will look at the overal alt output which is in the 13+ to 15 V range. Then it will look for the output to the three wire plug. Since the Trooper alt has one less wires than the Suzuki, the test results will show ONE failed. Everything else will show as passed. If the person doing the test switches the wires for the plug on the test equipment, the failed test will move to the other terminal. Bottom line is the output passes and so does the plug. I also went by and talked to a friend who is an old-time mechanic, in other words my age, about pulling the battery cable off the positive terminal of the battery. He also said if the alt was not putting out, the engine would die. Hope this helps others as this becomes an issue in the future. rocmoc n AZ/Mexico

I went to the big city where them thar city folks have them fancy machines that can test an alt. WELL it was GOOD, nothing tha matter. I will post on another topic the testing process. Either a wire or guage. rocmoc n AZ/Mexico

I will be taking my 08 alt in tomorrw to be tested. We have an old-time gen / alt shop in Tucson. Has been there forever. Will post what they tell me. I have a spare start that I will sale and deliver to the Jamboree. I will bring it just in case! rocmoc n AZ/Mexico

LOL! rocmoc n AZ/Mexico

LOL, I was leaving the hot tub at home since KOA already has a few. BUT I am also leaving my suit home also, LOL! rocmoc n AZ/Mexico

Rick, Is the group camping the sites all the way to the rear of the campground on Dog Patch Lane? If so, the owner said there were 4 hookups per site. In looking on GoogleEarth, it will be a tight fit if we have a lot of big rigs. Should we do a poll/question as to how large people's rigs are. I will be in a big rig, 50 feet long without my trailer ramps extended. 108 inches wide without my stairs out and awnings open. Not trying to be a pain but I don't want to get there and not be able to fit. rocmoc n AZ/Mexico

WELL, it wasn't me that got it! Too much money for my blood. Hope it went to a good home! rocmoc n AZ/Mexico

Where are you at Charlie? Please fill in a little more of your profile, at least the state so we know where you are talking about. Thanks, rocmoc n AZ/Mexico

Wow that was fast. I was going to offer to take them to the Jamboree for someone if they bought them. That is great they sold. rocmoc n AZ/Mexico

Sent you a PM. rocmoc n AZ/Mexico

I sent you a PM. rocmoc n AZ/Mexico

Tinman, sorry looked once before and I don't have any spare spider gear washers. Most everything else. Will be looking today. The washer that Lenny fixed was in one of my nearly new, unsed spare diffs. They messed it up at the factory in one of the upgraded diffs with the clips on the bolts. The washer may not have been fixable if it had be used on the ground for a while. rocmoc n AZ/Mexico

Will check tomorrow and see if I have anymore! rocmoc n AZ/Mexico

Hay today is a new day. Everything has gone Purrfect! Yeah we have cats and they both will be at the Jamboree. Everything I have touched today has gone the way it is suppose to. Put the Trooper back together to the point that will allow me to service the engine and install my rear diff with Lenny's kit. Repaired the tow hitch on the motorhome after towing the Dodge Ram for 7,000 miles. Points & condenser installed in my old Ford. Now off to a HOA meeting. We never do anything but eat & have drinks on the dues. One of the best HOAs have ever belong to. rocmoc n AZ/Mexico

Life is Tough on the range! rocmoc n AZ/Mexico

Happy but never wasted! I am sure one of the other option will occur first. Rarely unhappy so don't need much help there either! rocmoc n AZ/Mexico

Rick, looks like you were right on! rocmoc n AZ/Mexico

Lenny, so ticked working on it yesterday and gauge showing it did fix I wasn't thinking of any replacement. Was thinking I had too many items/toys/projects/etc to work on and not enough time/energy to keep up with the maintence of it all. Of course, I could change my mind at any moment about selling. I will be at the Jamboree even if, I have to carry a battery charger & charge the battery daily I have to use only the dirtbike I have to pull my 4X4 Ram there and use it I have to walk I have to stay in camp watch TV, drink Happy Juice and wait for you all to return and tell me your stories I have to ride with someone else, heaven forbid!!!!!! rocmoc n AZ/Mexico

OK, I turned off the master switch and she kept running. SO, I pulled the positive cable off the battery. She kept running. Think the alt is fine so maybe the gauge? Also did the headlight test. Nice and bright with no change when engine rpm is increased or decreased. rocmoc n AZ / Mexico

This is what I have found on the net, "Forgive the answer but you are looking at the electrical system of the car incorrectly. The battery does not "run" the car, it is merely a storage device for power to start the car. The power generated by the alternator is what runs the car and all the accessories when the engine runs. The alternator case is the ground and the large (usually red) wire on the back is your power. One of the smaller wires charges the battery, but once the engine is running, the battery is nothing but dead weight. For the record, in older style cars, it was acceptable practice to remove the battery cable to test the alternator. Today's newer electronic alternators can be seriously damaged by doing this, checking for proper alternator function is best left for the correct diagnostic equipment. To answer the second part, the alternator grounds to the engine, the engine grounds to the frame and/or body which in turn acts as the ground for the rest of the components." AND http://knol.google.com/k/how-to-tell-if-your-car-alternator-is-bad# The second link says to disconnect so who knows! rocmoc n AZ/Mexico

I don't see the problem. Your Trooper is running, weather is great, you are out riding having fune & the rest of us are at home. So there are some flies in you way, show them what you can do! rocmoc n AZ/Mexico

That worked with the old generators. I don't believe it works for alt. The battery has to be connected to the battery to grounded the alt. Someone please correct me/us. Anyone know for sure! rocmoc n AZ/Mexico

WELL! I have had a shower, lunch and some HAPPY Juice (5 o'clock somewhere) and I am closer to my HAPPY Place. I will get this thing fixed and be at the Jamboree. I like to play not repair. What did other people do about a replacement? Just in case the alt is bad and can't be repaired. No one has really shared a solution. rocmoc n AZ/Mexico

After-market parts for the Trooper are greatly needed. BUT always improve & upgrade. YES the fenders need to be improved. Wider is better and taller so wheels don't hit and bread them. Fiberglass is better so we can repair a crack instead replacing. DOORS, fiberglass doors with steel reinforcment for some protection. rocmoc n AZ/Mexico

Would you believe? Same part #, looks the same but when you to mount on engine won't fit. Between the '08 and '09 they added a lip inside of the mounting surface on the alt so it won't mount on the '08 engine. What a pain, I finally took it back out and notice a slight difference in the lip, about 1/16". Place a grinding stone on the hand grinder and hit a few times. Smooth with a flat file and slipped on but by that time I am not in my HAPPY place. Put it back together and started it up. NO CHARGE on the Dash gauge. Either my spare is bad or it is something else. I checked the wiring, fuse box, connections & behind the dash before I even started the work. SO any ideas? I will take the '08 alt into Tucson and have it checked. What a pain to change it out. I really don't like working on this stuff. I have enough projects. This is suppose to help transport me to my HAPPY Place and NOT away from it, LOL! rocmoc n AZ/Mexico