Tag: maintenance
-
Fixing the squeak
The new alternator has been squeaking at low revs, and by the alternator, I mean the alternator belt. I had initially shimmed the top mounting bracket with a penny washer that I drilled out with a 10mm bit to make it fit. This is the configuration I was using when I first heard the squeak.…
-
Sparks fly, broken alternator
A suggestion from Dad was to take the wiring off the back of the alternator, clean the contacts, and reconnect them. Grime/corrosion there might be a reason for the voltage drop I’m seeing at the battery side of the circuit when the alternator is charging the batteries. I duly turned the engine starter battery switch…
-
Battery investigations
Iโve been suspicious for a while about how hard my batteries for house are losing voltage over a ~ 12 hour day. I know the fridge compressor comes on periodically at 3 amps to keep the coolant moving around, but that doesnโt add up to taking a battery from fully charged to near fully discharged…
-
Finding the right cable size for the water pump
Given the voltage drop at the pump, yesterday evening’s project was to wire the pump with 8 AWG (10mm sq) for the positive feed, and a bit of 2 AWG (35mm sq) for the negative feed. Unsurprisingly, the pump worked very happily, and the clamp ammeter gave me glimpse of ~10 – 11 amps of…
-
Reconnecting the GPS
A casualty of the wiring locker re-wire was the GPS connection for the Raymarine Autohelm system. The previous install was temporary, and used two chocolate blocks to bridge the three wires for the ground. The existing cable to the GPS uses red (+12V), yellow (data), and black (power ground and signal ground). The Raymarine gear…
-
More anodes, and a quick hull clean
When Blue Opal was launched back in April, the yard in Pwlhelli had installed a cone-type anode on the end of the prop for me. With Blue Opal on the slip this weekend gone, I figured it was worth checking that the anode was still present. Spoiler, it wasn’t. A quick visit to the local…
