Supersprint1988 Posted June 14, 2013 Share Posted June 14, 2013 Track day,- 7000rpm, bang and a sudden smell of gelcoat. Nose cone looks like a Mercedes here Alternator fan disintegrated No other damage 😬 Question Do I need the alternator fan 🤔 Cheers Carsten  Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mankee Posted June 14, 2013 Share Posted June 14, 2013 How the heck did that happen?! Did the nut on the end of the alternator spindle come off? And the pulley? What sort of alternator is it? I have a couple of spare alternator fans for a Lucas A127 if you need to replace it. Can't help with the nose cone though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuB Posted June 14, 2013 Share Posted June 14, 2013 Are you sure you weren't attacked by Ninjas? Sorry not very helpful 😬 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ. Posted June 14, 2013 Share Posted June 14, 2013 Looks like the hole in the middle has stretched and the fan has broken in half. At least no one was injured. The fan is to cool the alternator, so I think running without would be a bad idea. Duncan Edited by - DJ. on 14 Jun 2013 22:40:28 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stationary M25 Traveller Posted June 14, 2013 Share Posted June 14, 2013 Wow - scary stuff ... bet that made you jump ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Perry Posted June 14, 2013 Share Posted June 14, 2013 Wow, that one definitely goes on the list of weird and unpredictable failures 😳  Never seen the like before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Deslandes Posted June 14, 2013 Share Posted June 14, 2013 same happened to me at a Wiscombe hillclimb a few years ago. Mine was a Valeo which apparently do this from time to time when they fracture into pieces. I heard of one coming through the bonnet and whistling past the driver's ear. I managed to get a replacement fan from a local auto electric place and, so far, its been ok but I do check it for cracks occasionally. Edited by - Paul Deslandes on 14 Jun 2013 23:40:26 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supersprint1988 Posted June 15, 2013 Author Share Posted June 15, 2013 Mine was a Valeo which apparently do this from time to time when they fracture into pieces  A Valeo it is 😳   Edited by - Supersprint1988 on 15 Jun 2013 09:06:30 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supersprint1988 Posted June 15, 2013 Author Share Posted June 15, 2013 Do I really need this fan ? A lot of alternators does not have one,and our cars only use little electrical power compared to modern tin tops. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eugene Posted June 15, 2013 Share Posted June 15, 2013 Yes, you do need it. Those that 'appear' to not have a fan have them internally... Your alternator doesn't - and will burn-out very quickly without it. 😳 😔 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supersprint1988 Posted June 15, 2013 Author Share Posted June 15, 2013 Thanks Eugene It's a Raceline supplied Valeo, so I better give them a call. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil B Posted June 15, 2013 Share Posted June 15, 2013 Carsten, It might be worth asking Pete when you call Raceline if they have an option with a larger pulley on the alternator. This will run the alternator a bit slower, but as you point out our cars don't have a high current demand. The benefit is that the fan speed will be reduced and therefore the c/f forces on the "blades" and the centre hole will go down too. Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Perry Posted June 15, 2013 Share Posted June 15, 2013 PhilB, Good advice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supersprint1988 Posted June 15, 2013 Author Share Posted June 15, 2013 Raceline sales office is closed until 24.06. Typical *confused* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Biddle Posted June 16, 2013 Share Posted June 16, 2013 That happened to me many years ago when I had a VX in the car. In my case one piece of the fan went downwards, bounced off the chassis and appeared through the side skin. I would have preferred it to go through the nosecone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rj Posted June 16, 2013 Share Posted June 16, 2013 Sorry Carsten, but your post made me laugh.  Glad no one was hurt. (I heard it from Mads, whom you met on the trackday.) Like it has been said: Don't run it without, get it geared down instead. In fact on some of the Rover engines have a smaller pulley on the crank to slow down the alternator. Have you any idea of what your alternators gearing is? Most stock units don't like to be pushed past 14k. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supersprint1988 Posted June 16, 2013 Author Share Posted June 16, 2013 Regin I'm glad to hear that you feel well entertained    Edited by - Supersprint1988 on 16 Jun 2013 17:28:22 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harolddude Posted June 19, 2013 Share Posted June 19, 2013 Hi, same here. Another Valeo unit on a Zetec , fan vanished . Only noticed it when I found scratches and a small dent on the pulley. Very lucky though as it had almost completely squashed a brake line . Redline helped me out, they had a few in stock. Edited by - Harolddude on 19 Jun 2013 18:24:53Â Edited by - Harolddude on 19 Jun 2013 18:28:13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supersprint1988 Posted June 22, 2013 Author Share Posted June 22, 2013 Local shop sold me a new alternator fan. Inspired by Harolddude I checked my brake line today when I was refitting the alternator Same problem as you. The exploded fan had given the pipe from the master cylinder a VERY close shave. Â New pipe on its way. Thank you Harolddude *thumbup*Â Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drumster Posted June 22, 2013 Share Posted June 22, 2013 Hmmm, I had the same Valeo alternator on my x/flow for over 10 years and no problems... Also have the Valeo on my Zetec and was concerned at the proximity of the fan to the brake pipes/union, so I made a shield out of mild steel and simply bolted this onto the brake pipe union fitting. This gives about 5mm clearance between shield and fan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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