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Peltier cooling does not work. Too slow the cooling and not enough cooling power.
So, I looked for crazy powerfun fan and I got it, 2 units.. Nidec BETA V , 12V 3.3 amps, 40 watts.
Used ones, this comes from servers. No more in production.
This fan is crazy powerful !!!!
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Features
01. Thermal OVERHEAT ( visual and loud buzzer ) Alarm at 90C for Left ( Red ) and Right ( Green ) resistor bank and 100C for middle bank ( yellow ).
02A. Automatic power cut-off at 100C for all 3 resistor banks. The thermal switch cut off the relay power.
Operation of each resistor bank and 50Watts x 2 halogen and cooling fans, are all powered by relay.
02B. Red resistor bank , one of the hottest resistor get a thermocouple for temperature reading if needed.
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03. 40 amps fan speed controller, to keep fan at 12.8V only. This fan will die fast if at 14.1V testing alternator.
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Above :
04. Voltmeter reading bus bar voltage.
.05. Thick and wide 100% copper bus bar.
Left bus bar is POSITIVE. Right side bus bar is NEGATIVE.
06A. All resistors ( 12 ) each every one gets 1 fuse, soldered direct to wire. Fuse holder usually get hot.
06B . 50Watts x 2 Halogen get 1 fuse.
06C. 2 of 40 watts NIDEC fan get 1 fuse at its Speed Controller.
06D. Relay for resistors, 3 of them, the coil 85/86 get fuse too, 1 fuse.
06E. Relay for Halogen and relay for fan, get fuse too, 1 fuse.
06F . All 7 small pilot lamp at junction box, get fuse too via its relay fuse.
There is no positive cable or device or even switches with indicator lamp that has no fuse, all fused.
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07. All connection except when using WAGO 221, are crimped and soldered.
08. All relays are soldered too, the relay holder with usual female terminal get too hot at 21 amps.
09. All WAGO 221 connector which is 20 AMPS UL listed rating, is used at no more than 10 amps load.
10. All cables wihin the cooling fin or may touch the cooling fin, all get fireproof fiberglass white color cable jacket. Heater element usually use this kind of fiberglass jacket.
The themal switch ( type NC) for relay power cut-off gets red tick at white cable jacket and get orange wire, thermal switch for alarm ( type NO ) no red tick but wire is yellow.
11. The main positive cables, are actually 6 x 2.5mm before getting 125A fuse and then it becomes 35mm welding wire, orange color and the positive/red 100A Mueller Battery Clip.
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. 12. 3.5 meters wire for Controller Box., to be at the driver seat.
This way I can test my alternator alone while loading the alternator. No need 2nd person to hold throttle at 2,000 RPM engine or 3,000 alternator';s RPM.
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Preliminary test, using my oldie battery.
Must use two of my power supply and battery maintainer to inject 56 amps, otherwise voltage drop is high when sucking an 80A battery at 65 amps.
Only 65 amps and not 77 amps because voltage drop to 11.77V. If at 14.1V, it will be close to 77 amps.
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Will update in a day or two when I get to test my alternator
Last edited by S-Prihadi; Mar 28, 2025 at 02:17 PM.
Reason: ADD INFO
MS! I luv the ingenuity you deployed to design this test rig: beautiful set with separated load vs. control side and matching cooling for tropical duty.
77Amp seems huge current
to only power 1000 Watts
under 14.1VDC
Thats car electrical !!
Trailer trucks 24VDC use higher voltage to minimize losses.
It's never easy to measure valid numbers from systems. Congrats!
I do not want to load my alternator output via V19 Q-Diode if I use the easy to access Jumper Bus Bar, so I must clamp it at immediate alternator first input to F32.
Level 1 short circuit protection, 3M vinyl tape
Level 2 short circuit protection, plastic board.
Now, I can bite the alternator terminal.
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Initially I wanted to use the radiator fan as a big load, using Xentry command/actuation.
However, it is not possible with engine running. Engine must be off.
I also can not use my LED BAR Lazer Elite 53cm which is 8.8amps. Because it uses OBD connection and I am using it for Xentry.
I did not use my small 25 amps electronic load bank ( like an inverter ), due to space so tight at alternator terminal at F32.
So I use the rear heater ( rear windshield defroster ), which is not always available for 2nd use, when already operated some minutes ago.
200 amps achieved. Alternator is warm at this point in time, not COLD or HOT.
Basically the table below is what I calculated to be used as loads, minus the BD380 electronic load bank item 9 in blue. In liue , I use that rear defroster.
Item 8,Lazer light bar also not in use for this test.
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So, the Resistive Load Bank is a success. My alternator is a healthy 200A Valeo....tested & proven.
However, the sequential turbocharging is not very good at certain variable load scenario when user is needing to hold at the right/wrong RPM and load band.
The switching ON and OFF of second turbo charger is the issue.
Go fast boats have what we call displacement speed and planing speed.
This speed in knots to transition from displacement speed to planings peed is depending on the hull speed length ratio.
The power required between displacement speed to start of planning speed is about 400% more.
So from say 20HP, you then need 80HP to raise the bow up and escape the water sucking effect of displacement speed to planing speed at the stern.
When planing speed achieved, only like 40% or so of the hull touches water, the rest is raised up in air.
When in bad weather, boats can not go fast, because it will slam and sometimes "enter" into the wall of water, the wave.
If this critical slowing down speed lies at the transition speed between displacement to planning, the engine suffer big time
Repeated turning ON/-OFF the belt driven supercharger to allow turbocharger to take over , eventually damage the engine.
So this system is not combo supercharger + turbocharger per se, it is supercharger assisted only up to certain RPM/Load.
At sea if the wave is high enough, the boat is equal to climbing a road say 20-30 degrees up, that is heavy load for the engine.
If sea is flat, engine load lowers.
In bad/big sea, In order to steer the boat properly, one need to apply power, that made matters worse as engine is needed to safely handle big sea.
So , all my friends with these engines, none last more than 300-500 happy hours. Suffering hours is what they get on the long term.
Every month of ownership, cruising speed drops down knots by knots. Such engine aged so fast, its like a throw away engine.
The solution is simple. 1 gallon of fuel and a big propane torch
Last edited by S-Prihadi; Mar 30, 2025 at 04:18 AM.
However, the sequential turbocharging is not very good at certain variable load scenario when user is needing to hold at the right/wrong RPM and load band.
The switching ON and OFF of second turbo charger is the issue.
Go fast boats have what we call displacement speed and planing speed.
This speed in knots to transition from displacement speed to planings peed is depending on the hull speed length ratio.
The power required between displacement speed to start of planning speed is about 400% more.
So from say 20HP, you then need 80HP to raise the bow up and escape the water sucking effect of displacement speed to planing speed at the stern.
When planing speed achieved, only like 40% or so of the hull touches water, the rest is raised up in air.
When in bad weather, boats can not go fast, because it will slam and sometimes "enter" into the wall of water, the wave.
If this critical slowing down speed lies at the transition speed between displacement to planning, the engine suffer big time
Repeated turning ON/-OFF the belt driven supercharger to allow turbocharger to take over , eventually damage the engine.
So this system is not combo supercharger + turbocharger per se, it is supercharger assisted only up to certain RPM/Load.
At sea if the wave is high enough, the boat is equal to climbing a road say 20-30 degrees up, that is heavy load for the engine.
If sea is flat, engine load lowers.
In bad/big sea, In order to steer the boat properly, one need to apply power, that made matters worse as engine is needed to safely handle big sea.
So , all my friends with these engines, none last more than 300-500 happy hours. Suffering hours is what they get on the long term.
Every month of ownership, cruising speed drops down knots by knots. Such engine aged so fast, its like a throw away engine.
The solution is simple. 1 gallon of fuel and a big propane torch
I read "500.Hours old marine engine getting retired"... isn't that short lived??
What gets worned out/defective ?
The Toyota TT video chewing cylinders furthest away from load end is the same issue shared with MB...
I can't believe so many Crankshafts are defective or go out of spec on boosted engines...
This is really a call for BEARINGS MAINTENANCE like BMW.
Toyota Dr. says "oil played a roll"... He points out the burnt oil on valves and the stuck rings. Unfortunately he virtually ignored all the oil pump specifics. I bet dual-rates pump.
I believe this engine was damaged by unbalanced drafty pistons under extreme load. That condition was caused by limited piston oiling.
The soft coating loose bearings are pointed out as contributors. I am surprised they did not spun... ie. not dry-welded.
Great dual squirters redondancy to support some debris.
🤞
Last edited by CaliBenzDriver; Mar 30, 2025 at 09:18 PM.
Marine application for go-fast boat with gasoline engine when the propeller size is too big or passenger too many , is an engine killer.
The propeller is a fixed size and so is the reduction gear, forward and reverse only. So fix ratio .
Usually the design load on the engine can be as high as 95+% to the engine at 1/2 weight load of passenger and fuel at at top speed.
If the engine is 5,500 - 6,000 RPM redline, they cruise all day long at 4,500 RPM, but at load of 75% - 80%.
In a car its like going up and endless mountain climb in a gear ratio equal to engine load 75%-80% constant , at 4,500 RPM for hours.
Its a very high stress application even in flat sea.
Gasoline engine inboard is the cheapest engine for go fast boats.
Here is a true marine diesel engine for pleasure yacht application, but still called a High Speed engine for its 2,300 RPM max WOT.
MAN V8 Common Rail of 2009. 900HP x 2. On a 55 footer yacht.
In Red is milligram diesel fuel
Slow cruise is 1,900 RPM, fast cruise 2,100 RPM, max redline 2,300 RPM
At 2,000 RPM it is already 75% engine load, relative.
I can cruise at 2,000 RPM for straight 10+ hours during long distance journey.
I do prefer 1,900 RPM if I can, for long cruise exceeding 2 hours.
If I turn your V6 3.5NA into a marine engine, at 4,500 RPM it will be approx 170kw.
Approx 250cc x 170kW = 42.5 liters ( 11.22 US Gallons ) per hour would be the fuel burn, estimate.
This engine if installed on a 23 ish footer center console with single engine and weight no more than 4,000 is lbs,
will give approx 20 ish miles per hour at 4,500 RPM with lots of friends & gear on board aka heavy load.
The mileage you get will be 20/11.22 = 1.78 miles per gallon, which is VERY decent for boats. of this size.
Now if you can burn equal gallon/liters as above in an hour on your engine, one can imagine the actual engine load for that 1 hour run.
Fuel burn per hour = amount of actual work done/produced by that engine per hour, that simple.
Last edited by S-Prihadi; Mar 31, 2025 at 02:02 AM.
Resistive Load Bank feature continued...............
13. All relays get flyback diode to prevent spike from killing my ECM/modules.
This time I use normal Bosch 30A relay, without built-in spike absorber resistor at the coil 85/86, hence I use 1N4007 diode instead.
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Testing Red and Green resistor bank. Can't do all 3 resistors bank, power supply even both combined does not have enough juice.
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Without the fan, the resistor body will reach 90C temperature fast, In 2 minutes 2 seconds.
77.6C at below thermocouple is because it is placed at screw of resistor to cooling fin, so heat load spread some to fin already.
Thermal cut off to relays of Green at 90C and of Red at 100C are at 2 min 37 seconds and 2min 57secs respectively . Ambient temp was 31C.
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If with fan cooling 10+ minutes no issue, power cut off won't happen, even overheat alarm won't be triggered.
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I stop at 6+ minutes. In 10 ish minutes, the temperature of the resistor will hit 77C approx and stay there.
Thermocouple usually read 10C cooler than resistor.
I then proceed to the yellow resistor bank.
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With fan cooled, I have yet to overheat any one the resistors bank to auto relay shut off, let alone audio-visual thermal alarm getting triggered if test is under 15 minutes.
I fear more the relay contacts 30/87 will burn out. It does get very hot at 21 amps quite fast.
This is the 30 amps relay using its provided low quality sockets set. The white region is ceramic, the yellow surrounding body is platstic.
The wire is 1mm or 1.5mm at best. The female terminal is typical, brass.
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Above is like 5 minutes operation, there about.
Below: Relay male pins.
Below: Relay male pins.
Below : relay socket
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Below : Relay soldered direct, not using socket set. Front view.
Below : Relay soldered direct, not using socket set. Front view.
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Below : Relay male pins/terminal direct soldered, the two hot ones are terminal 30 and 87.
Below : Relay male pins/terminal direct soldered, the two hot ones are terminal 30 and 87.
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For elecrical junkie dudes, here is the long video of the test
BTW, fun test yesterday. My wife's Corolla Cross max is 90 amps alternator output. AA. There is no proper grounding stud on the Corolla, thus negative crock clip is direct battery post, unlike on our W212 negative stud at suspension tower. BB. Small currect clamp is at main negative battery cable between battery to chassis, therefore the small current clamp reading is not a true NET loss or charging like in our W212,
due to AA set up.
ABOVE : Battery amperage above at this point in time is still reading NET charging to battery.
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Above,alternator on the verge of collapsing from full load.
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Below, full HVAC blower speed and high beam headlight ON and I loaded with 2 resistor banks and I then turned on 3rd resistor bank.....alternator then collapsed
The way your 30Amp cube relays are heating up under 20A may call for plan B ?? contact itself is hot
What load is this relay switching in your 200A load tester? 100A DC SSR on heatsink
Use heatsink mounted SSR or 100Amp AC relays ?
The cheapest SSR's are not the best and the most expensive OMRON lead the pack with protections.
The pure resistive load you're switching is the easiest to handle unlike 3Ph-AC motors.
Any SSR will bring more reliability to your new test set : 1million cycles are no problem.
Last edited by CaliBenzDriver; Mar 31, 2025 at 05:09 PM.
Its OK Cali the traditional mechanical relay, I will run the Load Bank only at 10 miutes at a time as maximum allowed.
However, I may modify Yellow resistor bank, I want to buy another 40amps fan speed controller and use it as adjustable Load controller for the Yellow resistor bank.
If I can get nice slow ramping up say per 1-2 amps of load all the way to 21 amps, I will be happy.
Test succesful. When 5 core wire comes, I will move the variable resistor of the load controller to the controller box so I can control it from inside the car.
Surya, your ALT load tester is now a very elaborate with split variable load control
voltage spikes
The ALT still sees max current but switched on/off at some frequency.
> Two things you new to keep an eye on:
-1- Max current has to stay within voltage regulation
-2- Max spike voltage is heating up capacitors hotter
Load switching is convenient to get average values but not for huge currents. Yes "supersonic fan" used PWM load switching like tank pump over 3xDC phases...
Mind the load size to minimize spikes.
Last edited by CaliBenzDriver; Apr 8, 2025 at 02:23 PM.
Dont worry Cali, our cars are just as "noisy" as this Load controller for radiator fan with 53 amps PWM and most likey HVAC blower too.
Also I am reading the load controller output to resistor and not at its input aka car batter+ alternator. The input is clean.
The load controller does its PWM switching when not at 100% duty cyle. At 100% it is clean for its output.
Now I have 21 amps adjustable to 0.25 amps accuracy which is needed when I do smaller alternator for my friend's cars .
I still got 21 + 19.5 + 9.x amps all pure resistive. So all good.
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sometime ago, otherwise I can't measure alternator 200 amps output.
. Alternator is warm at this point in time, not COLD or HOT.
