APU Tri-pac not charging batteries

I have to clear this up, The only thing I changed was the alternator pulley and the belt. When I stopped at Thermo King they replaced the alternator and a/c brackets, the a/c bracket had a 6" crack in it and was under warrantee. The new brackets are made of steel not aluminum, I haven't had a chance to check to see if the 140 amp will fit under there with the new steel brackets.

 

Have any of u guys turned up the idle on your tripak? I did and my voltage output increased dramatically. Although its noisier now. 13.8v is what my inverter reads now. Before I was lucky to hit 13v

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update: got to look at the new brackets, using steel there is a lot of room there and the 140 amp might fit but there is not a lot of room to allow for adjustment. I had a problem, the alternator froze and broke the belt, took the alternator off and found that when Thermo king replaced the brackets the mechanic sprayed battery terminal anti-corrosive on the terminals and into the alternator. its funny that when you use anti-corrosive you spray it onto already connected terminals, this was sprayed onto the terminals before it was assembled, and also into the alternator, I replaced the belt with the spare I had on board and took the alternator to napa and they replaced it with no questions. It only cost me about 2 hours to run around in the town i was in to get it fixed.

 

Ok, I had a problem earlier when "The Shop" did a service on my apu. They changed the filter/strainer in the back under the air cleaner and cracked the plastic fuel line between the filter/strainer and the fuel pump. It was a pain in the ##### for the longest time. When I stopped to get it looked at, since I replaced the cracked line there was nothing that they could do execpt replace the fuel pump, around $300 and change ($200.00 for the pump & labor). This weekend I took all the covers off the apu and got a real good look at the fuel pump. I replaced it with a pump from O'Reilly's auto parts ($40.00). I had to tap one end of the pump since it had a hose connection on it instead of a pipe connection. The pump was different but the overall length and size were correct. It bolted up correctly and I moved the connector to the new pump. Put it all back together and it started up like it was new. I'm going to change the filter location on both of the fuel and the oil filter so when the filters get changed they won't dump the fuel and oil inside the APU and the Fuel on the belt.

 

While you had all that off of it, you should have adjusted the valves. None of the ThermoKing shops ever want to do that, but it makes a world of difference when the engine 1st starts, especially at higher altitudes.

 

My APU seems to be doing just fine right now, after I replace the Alternator with an AC Delco, Mounting brackets, Motor mounts, Both belts with Gates belts, and the Fuel pump and strainer. Since its new I've only had it for 18 months.

 

I recently went to tighten up the belt on the alternator and was suprised to find the alternator that i had gotten broke at the alternator mounting bracket, I went to Napa and asked them about the exchange. It was no problem. So since i had the new mount upgrade i had to try the 140 amp alternator. it mounted on the apu just fine, had to move the cables a little by moving a clamp. The tension adjustment bar had a thick end that had to be grinded down, i went into the store and asked the clerk about one for a chevy. He didn't have one but took the one i had to a shop he knew and had them grind it down. He removed about 3/8" and it fit fine, same belt, 110 amps supply, no problem.

 

I'm also interested in whether this is something I need to do myself. Will this alternator fit in the confines of the unit?

 

ok, the 2 alternators i tried the first was the 105 amp, it is smaller and fit just fine with the original mounts. ( there is an alumimum mount with a bar that runs under the oil pan of the motor. the second was 120-140 amp the mounts were changed to steel and the bar running under the motor was removed, no longer part of the replacment kit since the steel mounts were much better. the 105 amp will fit either, the 120-140 amp only fits the steel mounts. it takes just a little more to fit it in but it does fit. The only problem i had with the 120-140 was the belt adjustment bar, it had to be ground down to fit the bolt position, and clear the alternator case it is much bigger. twist a couple of cables and it works just fine. you can do it your self. if you want i'll give you a step by step.

 

This is good info...thanks!