Random Writings

I have further broadened my marine engineering skills over the last few days – as I mentioned before, Innocenti’s alternator has packed up and Tuesday morning’s task (after writing 600 words of thesis between being awake and coherent and the shops opening) was to try and get it repaired. This is where the internet and 3G mobiles come in really handy. A quick search revealed that a big auto-electrical firm, Sewell of Leeds was a ten minute walk around the corner, so having removed the alternator from the engine the night before (fiddly, but without dropping any Vital Bits into the Oily Black Void of the bottom of the engine bay), I double-wrapped it in plastic bags and took it round there in my rucksack. The chap kindly tested it and pronounced it knackered – it needed a new voltage regulator and new brushes as a minimum. They offered to fix it, but the parts would take a day or two to get. At this point I thanked him kindly and rang the next firm I’d found during my earlier research, Auto Generators, who said that they could fix it the same day. They’re in Wakefield, but close to the railway station and so the alternator and I took a train ride on a smart London-bound express and got off after twenty minutes. I found the place and stepped into a room entirely full of alternators and starter motors in various states of disrepair. The Helpful Chap took one look at the unit and said – ”
that’ll need new slip rings as well as the oil’s got to them, I can do it, but it’ll be £65″. However, he offered me a reconditioned unit for £95. This sounded like a good deal to me, but upon a rummage in the stockroom he didn’t have a suitable recon unit. He did, however, have a new one. After a confab with his boss he agreed to sell me the brand new one for £100. This seemed an excellent price given that the likes of Adverc charge about double that for a new unit – mind you, he was taking the old one in part-exchange.
I took the shiny new alternator down the road and was stopped in my tracks by a cafe with a sign saying “Coffee and bacon butty £2.50”. The cafe (Bean for Coffee) was a smart little place and had newspapers and free wifi, making it an abject bargain. Back at the station I saw a steam train – the Scarborough Spa Express, which runs regularly all through the summer and turns out to be priced at a very reasonable £19 for second class or £29 for first (I’ll keep that in mind for a fun day out in the future). My morning had gone well!
Then the train to Leeds was delayed by 20 minutes, and when I got back to the boat I fitted the new alternator with more than a little fiddling and faffing, only to find that there was no charge warning light with the ignition on, and no output when the engine ran. Connecting up the external charge regulator (Innocenti came with an Adverc charge regulator) produced output from the alternator but the warning lights, voltages and current went bananas. Bother. I poked around and checked things and reluctantly concluded that the new alternator was probably faulty. By now it was 4.30 and I left it for the day as I had an evening engagement.

This morning I rang Adverc, where the helpful lady agreed with my diagnosis, and then Auto Generators who said “bring it in and we’ll sort it”, so I took another train ride to Wakefield. I was in the shop less than ten minutes – they span up the alternator on the test rig, confirmed the symptoms and then fiddled with it and gave it back. Apparently a screw was loose inside – my guess was that the connection between the voltage regulator and the field brushes was at fault – and I dragged the unit back to Leeds again. Having installed it this afternoon it all seems to work fine, so fingers crossed for no more problems!

Tonight I’m moving off the Clarence Dock public moorings (once my laundry’s done) and will then be moving out to Knostrop for the night before continuing to Castleford tomorrow.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 1st, 2010 at 3:44 pm and is filed under Narrowboat.