[whited44]

Dennis,

First of all thank you for following up and posting what you find. It helps others who may find this thread in the future.

Given the year of your coach, you MAY have a PennTex alternator, and you may have the standard double belt which routes around the AC comp and alternator. Before I go off in the weeds about other potential causes, let’s see what the voltage tests reveal. Could you also post a pic of the back of the engine. It will help us see your alternator setup. Cause Newell made a handful of different setups on the alternator on the Series 60 engine.

Ok so here goes.. 
with it unplugged prior to cranking it up the batteries read 12.5

I fired it up and put it in high idle.  Read the batteries and the alternator they were both around 12.2

The longer I let it run the worse it got until it was around 11.9

At 11.9 I shut it off and plugged it back into shore power and it went to 14.4 and charging quick

I’ve included pics of the alternator. I’d assume that’s what my prob is

[Jack Houpe]

My 2 cents, get a jumper with at least 14 gauge wire and good alligator clips then find the "F" connector on the back of the alternator short the F to the big battery cable on the alternator and check your voltage output if its 14VDC or more your alternator is good and your problem is in the regulator or wiring if not your alternator has problems. This is just to check the alternator not a fix.

[Richard]

That is helpful info.

That is a Penn Tex alternator. And you have the belt setup that is prone to slippage.

With the dropping voltage, you definitely are NOT getting amps/volts to the batteries. There can be a number of reasons, we just have to figure what the issue may be. https://www.qualitypowerauto.com/Penntex...lyl_VBEcr7

This may get a little hairy, because I found on my 95 with the same setup, that Newell wired it a little differently, and they used a different voltage regulator.

Let’s divide the problem into three areas of root cause;
The alternator is not putting out the correct voltage/amperage
The voltage regulator is not putting out the correct signal to the alternator.
The cabling, or isolator, is not allowing the voltage to reach the batteries.


I don’t know how comfortable you are with a voltmeter and diagnosing the issue.

The next easy step as Jeff suggested is remove the alternator and take it to a shop. You might also take the regulator while going to the shop. The regulator is located inside the stainless cabinet to the right of the engine.

[whited44]

That is helpful info.

That is a Penn Tex alternator. And you have the belt setup that is prone to slippage.

With the dropping voltage, you definitely are NOT getting amps/volts to the batteries. There can be a number of reasons, we just have to figure what the issue may be. https://www.qualitypowerauto.com/Penntex...lyl_VBEcr7

This may get a little hairy, because I found on my 95 with the same setup, that Newell wired it a little differently, and they used a different voltage regulator.

Let’s divide the problem into three areas of root cause;
The alternator is not putting out the correct voltage/amperage
The voltage regulator is not putting out the correct signal to the alternator.
The cabling, or isolator, is not allowing the voltage to reach the batteries.


I don’t know how comfortable you are with a voltmeter and diagnosing the issue.

The next easy step as Jeff suggested is remove the alternator and take it to a shop. You might also take the regulator while going to the shop. The regulator is located inside the stainless cabinet to the right of the engine.

Maybe I should run these alternator tests on the regulator prior to removing it??  This is the regulator you speak of??

---

whited44 pid='67103' dateline='1730987921']

That is helpful info.

That is a Penn Tex alternator. And you have the belt setup that is prone to slippage.

With the dropping voltage, you definitely are NOT getting amps/volts to the batteries. There can be a number of reasons, we just have to figure what the issue may be. https://www.qualitypowerauto.com/Penntex...lyl_VBEcr7

This may get a little hairy, because I found on my 95 with the same setup, that Newell wired it a little differently, and they used a different voltage regulator.

Let’s divide the problem into three areas of root cause;
The alternator is not putting out the correct voltage/amperage
The voltage regulator is not putting out the correct signal to the alternator.
The cabling, or isolator, is not allowing the voltage to reach the batteries.


I don’t know how comfortable you are with a voltmeter and diagnosing the issue.

The next easy step as Jeff suggested is remove the alternator and take it to a shop. You might also take the regulator while going to the shop. The regulator is located inside the stainless cabinet to the right of the engine.

Maybe I should run these alternator tests on the regulator prior to removing it??  This is the regulator you speak of??

[[email protected]]

You know this is why it’s good to keep up with every thread on here. I am learning some new things. Apparently my alternator must have been changed to an integral voltage regulator as that regulator in the stainless box is not hooked up to anything. I actually did not even know what it was, now I do. Anyways l, I also noticed that the belts do seem to get loose, I have been keeping an eye on them. I may put it on my list to come up with another belt set up for it. Maybe using a belt tensioner instead of the manual tensioning.

[Richard]

That is the regulator. However that is a replacement. So a prevoius owner has had an alternator problem before. If you look at the black above the regulator you will see the four screw holes where the orig reg was mounted.

---

Can you post a pic of the right side inside the electrical box? Cause you are around the time newell switched from solenoid connection of alternator to battery to diode based isolation. A quick pic will tell the tale.

[cwl1979]

You've got a nut missing on the back of the tensioning device. That could be a big part of the issue. When its cold and the belts are tight it seems to charge and work ok. Once the belts warm up it gets loose and wont charge properly. It will also cause the bolt hole to be out of round and that will cause problems as well. Before digging to deep into it I personally would get a nut on that bolt and adjust the tensioner and see if that makes a difference.
 I would also check the rest of the bolts as you can see the powdery rust on the bottom bolt indicating its not as tight as it should be. The super shiny spots on the pulley also indicate belt slippage.

[whited44]

You've got a nut missing on the back of the tensioning device. That could be a big part of the issue. When its cold and the belts are tight it seems to charge and work ok. Once the belts warm up it gets loose and wont charge properly. It will also cause the bolt hole to be out of round and that will cause problems as well. Before digging to deep into it I personally would get a nut on that bolt and adjust the tensioner and see if that makes a difference.
 I would also check the rest of the bolts as you can see the powdery rust on the bottom bolt indicating its not as tight as it should be. The super shiny spots on the pulley also indicate belt slippage.

Good catch i'll fix this tonight

---

That is the regulator. However that is a replacement. So a prevoius owner has had an alternator problem before.  If you look at the black above the regulator you will see the four screw holes where the orig reg was mounted.

---

Can you post a pic of the right side inside the electrical box? Cause you are around the time newell switched from solenoid connection of alternator to battery to diode based isolation. A quick pic will tell the tale.

Here is that picture

[whited44]

whited44 pid='67103' dateline='1730987921']

That is helpful info.

That is a Penn Tex alternator. And you have the belt setup that is prone to slippage.

With the dropping voltage, you definitely are NOT getting amps/volts to the batteries. There can be a number of reasons, we just have to figure what the issue may be. https://www.qualitypowerauto.com/Penntex...lyl_VBEcr7

This may get a little hairy, because I found on my 95 with the same setup, that Newell wired it a little differently, and they used a different voltage regulator.

Let’s divide the problem into three areas of root cause;
The alternator is not putting out the correct voltage/amperage
The voltage regulator is not putting out the correct signal to the alternator.
The cabling, or isolator, is not allowing the voltage to reach the batteries.


I don’t know how comfortable you are with a voltmeter and diagnosing the issue.

The next easy step as Jeff suggested is remove the alternator and take it to a shop. You might also take the regulator while going to the shop. The regulator is located inside the stainless cabinet to the right of the engine.

Maybe I should run these alternator tests on the regulator prior to removing it??  This is the regulator you speak of??

---

1.  I tightened up the belt and put a nut on the back of the one bracket. 

2.  I ran the first page of tests for the Penntex regulator and had some mixed results (see pic) also the black and orange wires are not hooked up on it. The black is grounded elsewhere (see a prior pic)

Fired it up and I think after all this BS the belt was just loose. I saw the alternator spinning and figured it was good prior to this.  Checked the voltage at the chassis batteries and it was 14.1 while it was on hi idle.

[cwl1979]

Sometimes a fresh set of eyes can see the simplest problem that was overlooked. I've got the same alternator setup and I'm not fond of it. Seems like a better bracket could be used, or a tensioning device. Either way glad its working now.