Previous posts have indicated I was having troubles with the main alternator and the water maker. Well , we are making progress, (I think). The water maker motor was acting somewhat similar to the alternator in that it would run for a while and then slow to a stop when it heated up. After it was cleaned, it worked fine so I imagined the same problem for the alternator. Perhaps the carbon buildup from the brushes creates enough resistance that the field current is quite low; although the voltages are fine.

I took the brush cover off and did a cleanup of the brushes and area and put it back together (with some difficulty!). I couldn’t test it because the frame was damaged enough that I didn’t want to install it for fear of further damage. Eventually, I found someone who tested but without me there. It came back ok and they replaced the bearing and brushes. Problem is, they only ran it for 10 minutes. Which is not long enough to reproduce the problem. So still not sure but I think it is ok.

The holes in the frame had become quite “ovalized” and needed either reinforcing or a bushing. I arranged for a metal work shop to fix the frame. He didn’t have a bushing but felt that filling in the hole with weld and then adding a reinforcement would work so I signed up with him.

As an aside, La Paz is very busy this time of year so I was not able to get moorage at any good facility for very long; I had a reservation at Fonatur for the 6 weeks I was to be home for Christmas and I didn’t want to remove the alternator frame until I was at Fonatur in case I could not get things fixed and thus not use the engine. The alternator frame sits between the engine block and the engine mount pads. I had planned on suspending the motor from the companion way which would disable the motor and make it difficult to get into and out of the cabin, so once I started I was committed and immobilized. I arrived at Fonatur on Sunday one day late and exhausted. (Grounded: see blog about that!) and started on my plan. Cracked each bolt to make sure it would move (no problems); checked with Guy to determine a method of suspending the engine just right so that when I removed the bolts it would not move up nor down. Between us we decided that I could move the arm on the frame so that it was just touching the floor. As I lifted the engine with the block and tackle, I should be able to pass a piece of paper under the frame and the floor once the engine was resting on the suspension and not the bolts. Got that? Well, it worked, I think.

Early Monday morning, I suspended the motor, took out the 8 frame bolts. This proved to be quite difficult as I did not have clear access to the bolts. Sometimes a socket would work but mostly it was a box end wrench 1/8th of a turn at a time. But, the bolts receded slowly and I slid the frame out, tied it to the back of my bike and sped off to Ing. Becerra’s shop. He looked over the frame, declared it fixable, and said come back in 24 hours.

Sure enough, at 11:00 the next morning I arrived at the shop and the frame was ready. He said it was too soft a metal to fill the hole with weld but he welded a ¼” reinforcement on each ear and all seemed well except the bolt wouldn’t fit through. 5 minutes with a ½” drill fixed that. So fixed frame; cleaned and painted and $50 and I was off. As an aside, they all got quite a kick out of my fold up bike. Either they were laughing at the crazy old guy on the bike, or were amused at my “Mexican” methods. The people here are very resourceful, so if you don’t have a car, you use what is at hand (rather than a taxi ), so my use of a bike to transport the frame may have been appreciated. In any case, smiles all around as I tripped off down the highway ready to install the frame. Or so I thought.

As mentioned, the frame sits between the engine block and the pads from the forward motor mounts. The frame is made with ¼” metal so there is EXACTLY ¼” space for the frame. At least there would be if the motor mount pads didn’t move slightly. Unless everything was lined up exactly, it would not fit. 90 minutes of hammering, adjusting, persuading and cursing didn’t work. Decided to take it off again and cleaned all the paint off and added a layer of grease. 30 minutes later, it seemed like I had a start but nothing more. I re-evaluated the situation ( a thing I did many times that afternoon) and tried putting the frame in on an angle and that finally worked.

Excitement reigned as I thought all I had to do now was get the bolts into the holes. Ha! Trying to get one bolt in proved fruitless after an hour. Re-evaluate. It was very difficult to line up the 3 pieces of metal well enough to get a bolt in. I decided to get a bolt in between the motor mount and the frame would so that at least I would not have to worry about that. Managed to get 2 bolts on each side which theoretically would allow me move the frame and mount together to get a 5th bolt into the threads. By 3 in the afternoon, I had one bolt home but the 2nd bolt was very elusive. I was concerned about time as at 9:00 the next morning I was to be on a bus to the airport. The engine could not remain suspended for the 6-week absence and I could not lock up the boat nor expect anyone to enter/exit through the hatch to check on the boat. I looked at abandoning the project and removing the frame; or blocking the engine from beneath. Both would require major alignment work when I returned in January.

Time for a walk to clear my head and frustrations. It was amazing how, through out the day, a break or a walk or a snack gave me a new prospective!

Back on board with a new idea. I unbent a paper clip and used it to “feel” inside the hole to see if the hole was lined up, and if not, which way to move the frame/pad combo. Another ½ hour saw the 2nd bolt started. Like the first part, each thread of the bolt took quite a while to slowly inch the bolt home, but it seemed like I had a method that was working. Finally, the last bolt was installed and tightened at 10:30 that night. Tired and very sore (after spending 12 hours upside down and backwards under the engine) I cleaned up, beered up, and went to bed. Hopefully the alignment wasn’t altered and the alternator will never more be haunting my sleepless nights.

And I wish you and yours all a very Merry Christmas and a great New Year wherever your endeavours find you.