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Alternate Alternator Selection

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cdub0451

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Hi all, I'm fairly new around here. I can't remember when I joined the forum, but have been reading heavily on the LMTV since early '23. I finally pulled the trigger on a Mar/2004 M1078A1 and learned quickly to enjoy chasing all of the gremlins and fixing them as best possible. My current focus is on the battery/alternator/grounding system and have decided to do a Ronmar type setup. I have a Bussman 100A 24-12 Equalizer/Converter on it's way in the mail and converted to a two 24F battery setup. The catalyst for this project is that I'm somewhat confident my Battery Disconnect Relay Switch died and brought down the four 10 YEAR OLD Exide 6TMF batteries. I bought the batteries and hooked them up in a 24v in series config with the 12v tapping off the center jumper.

Turned the disconnect switch and nothing. Flipped the disconnect switch in the cab; nothing. Flipped the ignition switch just to make sure and pressed the start button. Nothing. No lights on dash, no disconnect solenoid sound, nothing. Haven't been able to do anything since it started raining for the first time in a long time. Next steps are to remove the Battery Disconnect Relay Switch, jump from the manual disconnect with some 2/0 to an isolated circuit busbar and terminate the 24/12 vehicle power cables to the appropriate lugs. On to my question.

I am still running the stock alternator but want to know and cannot find info saying definitively if there is a 24v alternator that will bolt directly to the green alternator bracket (is it a J180 Hinged?), or the Cat gold one under the green one (looks kinda like a Pad Mount type to me), if it is an alternator bracket at all? I'm looking for something in the 150-200A range.

Thanks in advance
Christian
 
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Ronmar

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You will need to fab a mount or I have see the green mount modified to accept the tabs on a commercial alt, and a top strut added from the top of the alt to the front of the water pump/engine. I will see if I can find you a pic, I saw one just recently.
 
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Ronmar

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Here are some pics from a facebook group. Basically you cut a notch in the mount to accommodate the rear mount tab. In the first kit that notch is circled in red. The other areas circled in red were done to allow the alt to roll in as far as possible. The person who did this was contemplating removing the tensioner pulley and installing an adjustable top bracket to provide belt tension. I believe he cut the notch with a cutoff wheel on a grinder…

IMG_3788.png


here is this mod with an alt installed. Depending on how precise your measurements are, you can also use washers and bushing thickness at the front to properly align the pullies.

IMG_3789.jpeg

Here is a different persons work doing the same type modification and a different type alt installed. This gentleman said he documented this mod here on steelS, but I didn’t find it with my first search(there is a lot of stuff here:))…

IMG_3790.png
 

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87cr250r

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Does the air temp never exceed 50 °F? Do you not use these vehicles regularly? Your numbers are very unique and can't be the result of maintenance but must be the result of environment.
 
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GeneralDisorder

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cdub0451 said:
I certainly believe that.

What do you think would have caused the Battery Disconnect Relay Switch to die? Besides the fact that it's a piece of crap...
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The original one with all the individual wires is a known issue. There's a PS magazine article about making new small interconnect wires for them. But there's a new version from Bussmann if you don't want to delete it.
 
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cdub0451

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GeneralDisorder said:
The original one with all the individual wires is a known issue. There's a PS magazine article about making new small interconnect wires for them. But there's a new version from Bussmann if you don't want to delete it.
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I saw that article and the wires seem like a lucky fix. After looking at the LMTV schematics and checking the parts books and schematics for the equipment that I manage, it became apparent that it's a nice to have but not necessary to keep. Especially for the amount of money they want for it.

I also saw another PS article that said there was high demand for essentially all of the components we're discussing and to make sure you do your PMCS to keep them alive, which we know will only go so far with the design that is specified.
 
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cdub0451

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Ronmar said:
Here are some pics from a facebook group. Basically...
Click to expand...
Thank you for finding those examples. This is probably the route I'm going to take but I'd like to find a cleaner, more Cat OEM way of attaching an alternator. Hell, they had to attach an alternator somehow for all of the other equipment and school buses they put these engines into. However, I think there might be a chance that the IC tubing will be in the way based off of the images that I could find via search engine.

The bracket that I have mounts differently to the block, but looks to be the same otherwise. It's attached to another bracket/plate that bolts to the front of the block. It's that plate that I mentioned earlier that looks like it could be a Pad Mount but it's hard to tell and my memory is a little fuzzy when trying to remember exactly how the green bracket attaches. These are the best pictures that I took as reference before replacing the oil cooler, and an extra one cause everyone likes pictures.
 

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aw113sgte

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cdub0451 said:
Thank you for finding those examples. This is probably the route I'm going to take but I'd like to find a cleaner, more Cat OEM way of attaching an alternator. Hell, they had to attach an alternator somehow for all of the other equipment and school buses they put these engines into. However, I think there might be a chance that the IC tubing will be in the way based off of the images that I could find via search engine.

The bracket that I have mounts differently to the block, but looks to be the same otherwise. It's attached to another bracket/plate that bolts to the front of the block. It's that plate that I mentioned earlier that looks like it could be a Pad Mount but it's hard to tell and my memory is a little fuzzy when trying to remember exactly how the green bracket attaches. These are the best pictures that I took as reference before replacing the oil cooler, and an extra one cause everyone likes pictures.
Click to expand...
You have the single belt as well, I think this was a later model change. My A1R looks like the same setup as yours.
 
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Ronmar

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Yea that does look like a different mount than the earlier version I showed. Looks like the positioning bracket is under the alt instead of on top of it…
 
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Ronmar

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87cr250r said:
What is a battery disconnect relay switch? Sounds like a gimmick.
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Yea its a gimmick… the system has a added box that monitors alternator load(LBCD) and will disconnect the batteries using that disconnect relay, from a running alternator when it is overloaded by the oversized battery bank, and puts the batteries on a “trickle charge” to save the alt from the dead batteries. The LBCD has a large bank of capacitors built in to try and catch the resulting battery spike when you disconnect the load from an alt at full song:O…

As to battery life, the mitsu and the toyota were/are daily drivers, the tractor perhaps once a week, and daily when I am working on a project. I think my wifes 4runner went over 10 also, but I can’t remember the battery date exactly. I tend to keep tabs on power system performance and do my best to fix issues that effect full state of charge and overcharge. I am in the northwest, so cooler climate…

Thats why I chuckle when people throw together things like dual alternators. “I installed it, works fine” Right at that minute maybe… Get back to me in 5 years.
 
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cdub0451

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Ronmar said:
Yea that does look like a different mount than the earlier version I showed. Looks like the positioning bracket is under the alt instead of on top of it…
Click to expand...
If this isn't the same bracket, I'd be surprised. Cat PN 211-7871. It sure looks like a Pad Mount to me. I'll have to check with the local Cat dealer to confirm and find out what alternators I can attach to it. It was attached to the accessory bracket that mounts to the front of the block.
 

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GeneralDisorder

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cdub0451 said:
If this isn't the same bracket, I'd be surprised. Cat PN 211-7871. It sure looks like a Pad Mount to me. I'll have to check with the local Cat dealer to confirm and find out what alternators I can attach to it. It was attached to the accessory bracket that mounts to the front of the block.
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That part doesn't exist in the Army system. That doesn't mean it's not the same but that CAT part number has no National Stock Number cross.
 
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