Has anybody installed an alternator to replace the Marelli Dinamo Y DN 44 A 250W 12V ? It would be nice to find one which looks like the dynamo, but delivers more amps already at low revs.
Am I the only 3500GT user who has completely emptied the 64Ah battery with 4 hours driving in a rainy weather. The wipers were on, the headlights were on, the ventilation fans were on and I was driving smoothly with all other cars in a saturday ralley. After 4 hours driving I came again home, stpped the engine (to open the door) and could not start again: the battery was completely empty. Upon that, I measured the currents of all consumers and found, that I would have needed a Generator delivering at least 30Amps during all that drive. As we all know, only alternators deliver that kind of current, even at low revs. Thats why I wouldd like to install an alternator. Wilfried
If you want to keep the original look, you can install an alternator that looks like a generator. There are several companies that make them. This is one of them: http://racemettleltd.co.uk/dynalite.html I do not have any personal experience with these type of alternators. If you decide to go ahead, please let us know if it works well, costs, etc. Ivan
If you want to keep the original look, you can install an alternator that looks like a generator. There are several companies that make them. This is one of them: http://racemettleltd.co.uk/dynalite.html I do not have any personal experience with these type of alternators. If you decide to go ahead, please let us know if it works well, costs, etc. Ivan
The previous owner of my 3500 GTI replaced the alternator. It works great and generates 14 with everything off and 1 with nearly everything on. I noticed that if the single ground cable is not connected correctly your generator. You will run on the battery only.... I can take some pictures of if needed. Olivier
The generator of my 3500GT does its best, it just cannot do more than what it was designed for. In 1961 all cars had still dynamos. The alternator with its solid state diodes came some time later. Also, the ground strip is ok. For your information I cpied here a notice I posted last year for Mark Fletcher, who a most interesting theme here "A barnfind". If I want todrive again in the rain a whole day, then I need a alternator with an output of at least 30 Amp. Yes, I would appreciate if you could post a picture of the alternator, as it is mounted in your car. Do you know by chance what make / type it is? Here is what I wrote: Mark, I need to tell you what I experienced last Saturday with my 3500GT: We were on a ralley driving around in the country with rain, some fog and 69 other cars. (No other Maserati). Both fans were on to blow warm air on the windscreen, avoiding condensation. Wiper on most of the time. Headlights on to be seen, as the law will soon prescribe in Switzerland. After 4 hours of slow driving and a lunch with all the participents we arrived at home. I stop the car to open the garage door (still manual, I regret!). Starter motor will not turn engine any more, just a feable clonk. Battery empty. I first thought the generator or voltage regulator was defective, which seem not to be the case. I recharged the battery from the mains (as we will do in the future with our electric cars...) and measured each consumer in my car: - Ignition (stationary 5 Amps, when runing about the half): 2.5 Amps - first ventilator (the controle to the left)....................... 6 - second ventilator (control to the right)........................ 2 - parking lights............................................ .............. 3.4 - headlights........................................ ...................... 10.2 - windscreenwiper (depending on the water on the sceen) 4 - petrol pump (depending on demand) estimated.............. 0.5 - blinker, brake light, horn (part time!) estimated............. 0.1 - Total average current during my trip........................... 28.7 Amps The generator is a Marelli Y DN 44A 250W 12V. It can load the battery with 21 Amps if it rotates at 4500 RPM. As I drove very often with the engine below 2000 RPM, the generator probably gave only 15 Amps or so. 13 Amps were missing and did discharge the 64Ah battery in 4 hours to such a low level, that it did not turn the starter motor any more: 64 Ah - (4h x 13A) = 12 Ah. What I learned: daylight driving at dry weather is ok. But if you want to drive the car during a rainy night, you will be in trouble after 4 hours! Enjoy your car with sunny weather! Wilfried
Thanks for that analysis, Wilfried. Interesting. I hope you get your problems sorted out and can enjoy the car.
Here are some pictures of the alternator that was re installed in my car from the previous owner. The Alter has a Hella sticker. Hope this helps Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Hello Olivier, Thanks for the pictures. I think I can read 55 A engraved on the alternator. The label says that it was remanufactured, which means restored/repaired in an official workshop. Could you please measure the diameter of the alternator? Is it less than 14cm or 5.5 inch? Wilfried
Hey there I took some measurement and the alternator measures 5" diameter and 4" deep not including the cooling fan. The number reads 061 5 298 55A Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Hi you might want want try one of these. terminology is important with international searches\ http://www.gener-nator.com/ http://www.ejwhitneyco.com/automotive.html Cheers Graeme
Hello Graeme, Do you know if there are any conversion tables to translate "Marelli Y DN 44A 250W 12V" into LUCAS? On the 3500GT many of the front suspension parts are Jaguar-compatible. It could well be that one can also mount a LUCAS C-type Generator/alternator, which is available from at least 2 sources. Cheers Wilfried
