Be
sure to pay close attention to the cooling fan on the
front of the alternator. The fan on the front of the
alternator is designed to draw outside air through
the alternator to cool the internal components.
When
looking
down from the top, a counterclockwise rotation alternator
will have the fan blades on the right side of the
cooling fan. A clockwise rotation alternator, will
have the
fan blades on the left hand side of the cooling fan.
It
is common when installing an alternator on an older
vehicle to have the alternator rotating in the opposite
direction
for which it was assembled. When this happens the
cooling fan runs backwards and does not properly
cool the alternator.
The result is an alternator that runs hot and overheats
just like a car engine.
To
prevent damage from excessive heat, Fifth Avenue builds
all of their alternators
using a special “Bi-directional” fan
to insure the alternator will be properly cooled
regardless
of
the application. |