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  #1   IP: 137.200.32.38
Old 06-21-2018, 09:15 AM
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Balmar died

My nice shiny white Balmar that did such a nice job charging batteries died on me in mid-trip
Before it quit making electricity it dragged the belt and made nasty smoke too. Naturally I had a bunch of extended family aboard to ask "is your boat on fire"
They were impressed that 30 minutes later we were underway with the old Motorola in place. Nice to have a spare!
* I sure am glad I didn't buy that Balmar at the list price of several hundred dollars
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  #2   IP: 24.152.132.140
Old 06-21-2018, 10:53 AM
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Have you done a post-mortem on the Balmar? It would be good to know why it died.
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1977 Catalina 30
San Pedro, California
prior boats 1987 Westsail 32, 1970 Catalina 22
Had my hands in a few others
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  #3   IP: 137.103.82.194
Old 06-21-2018, 10:57 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ndutton View Post
Have you done a post-mortem on the Balmar? It would be good to know why it died.
No I have not. I just got back. My go-to alternator and starter guy retired as well, so it is DIY now or find a new shop
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  #4   IP: 24.152.132.140
Old 06-21-2018, 11:00 AM
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Did your volt/amp meter array give any indications?
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Neil
1977 Catalina 30
San Pedro, California
prior boats 1987 Westsail 32, 1970 Catalina 22
Had my hands in a few others
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  #5   IP: 137.103.82.194
Old 06-21-2018, 11:24 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ndutton View Post
Did your volt/amp meter array give any indications?
By the time I saw it, it was putting out a very low charge, maybe 3 or 4 amps at 13.2 volts. Jumping the field to full voltage did not change it.
What it seems like is there was an internal short of some kind, it burned out most of the diodes, and now barely works at all. I had to use oven mitts to hold it, it was hot enough to burn if you held it for more than a few seconds. The old one is working as well as it ever did now with the same regulator.
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  #6   IP: 24.152.132.140
Old 06-21-2018, 11:26 AM
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Any idea of the engine RPM and charge load when it happened?
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Neil
1977 Catalina 30
San Pedro, California
prior boats 1987 Westsail 32, 1970 Catalina 22
Had my hands in a few others
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  #7   IP: 137.103.82.194
Old 06-21-2018, 11:33 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ndutton View Post
Any idea of the engine RPM and charge load when it happened?
Probably 2000-2100 RPM and around 16-20 amps.
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  #8   IP: 24.152.132.140
Old 06-21-2018, 11:36 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by joe_db View Post
Probably 2000-2100 RPM and around 16-20 amps.
Man, that should be nuthin' for the Balmar, low (%) output and good speed for the cooling fan.
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Neil
1977 Catalina 30
San Pedro, California
prior boats 1987 Westsail 32, 1970 Catalina 22
Had my hands in a few others
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  #9   IP: 137.200.32.22
Old 05-22-2019, 06:57 AM
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Finally got around to getting it fixed. The shop said it wasn't obvious what was wrong with it, but they put in new brushes and bearings anyway for about $70.
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