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Apr 26th, 2026 | | AD Chevy Trucks  Over 6,000 pictures Brad Allen has an awesome collection of Chevrolet factory pictures that he has set up from film strips. Check them out!
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| | | | Joined: Jul 2004 Posts: 5,708 'Bolter | | 'Bolter Joined: Jul 2004 Posts: 5,708 | I have seen many threads mentioning the swap to a more potent charging system because air conditioning was being installed. What is it about air conditioning that requires more oink out of the charging system?
Stuart | | | | | Joined: Jun 2007 Posts: 90 Wrench Fetcher | | Wrench Fetcher Joined: Jun 2007 Posts: 90 | Mainly just the fans. Those fan motors can pull quite a bit of current in order to provide you with that nice blast of refrigerated air. | | | | | Joined: May 2006 Posts: 8,351 'Bolter | | 'Bolter Joined: May 2006 Posts: 8,351 | On older cars, it had more to due with the clutch on the compressor, as they don't have electric fans. But on newer cers with electric fans, that does have a significant role in it as well, as the fans generally run all the time when the A/C is turned on.
Bill Burmeister
| | | | | Joined: Jun 2007 Posts: 90 Wrench Fetcher | | Wrench Fetcher Joined: Jun 2007 Posts: 90 | Yep, good point about the electric cooling fans. I was more meaning the blower motor fans. Even on newer vehicles I've seen the headlights dim and the voltmeter drop momentarily when the blower motor was turned on high. | | | | | Joined: May 2006 Posts: 8,351 'Bolter | | 'Bolter Joined: May 2006 Posts: 8,351 | When we test alternators, the equipment we use actually uses the cars own accessories to losd the system. One of the things we do is to turn on the high beams and the AC on max to get a full load on it.
Bill Burmeister
| | | | | Joined: Mar 2005 Posts: 1,636 'Bolter | | 'Bolter Joined: Mar 2005 Posts: 1,636 | How did they handle the charging problem in the 50's and early 60's for cars with a/c before alternators came out? Surely they had a way to run the a/c clutches without killing the battery.
Wasn't it the mid 50's when a/c really made it's debute in the automotive world? | | | | | Joined: Jun 2007 Posts: 90 Wrench Fetcher | | Wrench Fetcher Joined: Jun 2007 Posts: 90 | Not sure on GM, but I know Chrysler used special 60 amp generators and regulators. I've heard mention that people use GM "School Bus" generators in their chevy cars and trucks because of the increased duty rating... so logically I'd be led to believe that A/C cars had higher output gen's from the factory. 60 Amp generators were not that much bigger than the 30 and 45 amp units. Is this correct? | | | | | Joined: Mar 2005 Posts: 1,636 'Bolter | | 'Bolter Joined: Mar 2005 Posts: 1,636 | The one on an old 1960 school bus I drove didn't look any bigger than the one on my 58 Chevy pkup. But it would keep up easlily with the load of the bus. | | | | | Joined: Jun 2004 Posts: 8,597 Riding in the Passing Lane | | Riding in the Passing Lane Joined: Jun 2004 Posts: 8,597 | G.M. used a gen. that was longer then the ones without air. They used a special dual point regulator & a smaller pulley.
They say money can't buy happiness. It can buy old Chevy trucks though. Same thing. 1972 Chevy c10 Cheyenne SuperIn the Gallery Forum | | |
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