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Challenger 4tec Upgrade

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Im no thermal dynamics expert but i would bet that the rectifier under load is hotter than the air in the engine bay, and the intake air still removes heat from it but that might not be enough, or when you added your stereo to it it was drawing too much current from the system and it couldnt keep up with the demand.
 
With your aluminum skills you could make a box around it and snag some water flow from the feed to the exchanger
 
Before i finished reading about the rectifier failure and heat, i was thinking CPU fan, then i read you already considered it.

I would for sure without a doubt get one of those. They last 100,000s of thousands of hours. Most CPU have 3 fans in them, so you gotta have an old computer laying around that has one. Just double check that its 12vdc input. Set it up to pull air off of the rectifier vs. blowing air at it. Its much more efficient that way.



Rob
 
I have a little pc fan Already sitting on a desk, but I wonder how effective it will be pulling 160F air past the cooling fins. Now that I have an auto bilge switch installed and functional, and my flood warning system operational, I'm not too scared to play around with a water cooling method to save the rectifier from a future melt down. They're already designed to use a gasket and bolt up to the intake. So what if I create a low pressure water cooling system for it? All I need is an aluminum or plastic box I can cut a hole in and put two fittings onto. It seems super simple in my mind and much more effective than pulling that super hot air past it.
 
I wouldn't go through all that water cooling stuff.

Its overheating because of stagnant air, ( no air movement, or very little in a sealed environment ) the movement of air is key here, yes the temperature of air moving across is does matter, but movement of air around the rectifier will keep it under a temperature that will keep it alive and operating. Id set it up like i mentioned earlier pulling air off of rectifier, and do a quick test. Put all the running lights on, stereo on blast, all electrical accessories, and of course the new cpu suction fan, and ride all day. Monitor voltages and enjoy the boat.

We will be at HWY 50 Falls Lake Boat Ramp all day sunday if you wanna roll out. Will have 2-3 skis, and wakeboard boat. This is the better ramp thats 6 bux to get in, bathrooms, no traffic, no drama, and cleaner environment.


Rob
 
Thanks for the heads up, but i can't. Got plans for the next two weekends but July 4, I'm definitely looking to lake it up! I honestly don't mind all the Drama, unless I wait more than 10 min, it's not worth it to drive further and even pay money. I guess I'm not to that point of disgruntlement.

I'm also really excited to get back on my x4. It's been too long, and I need my summer time workouts to resume.
 
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If you go the fan route, you have to use thermal compound between the fan and rectifier. The heat sink, on the bottom of the fan mount, has to go on the flat side of the rectifier. If you don't use the compound, it won't help...
 
The rectifier already has fins built onto it as part of the housing. I was just going to add a square fan that fits perfectly over it. Still, it's a $35 gamble to see if it makes it any better than just having it bolted and just radiating heat
 
IDoSeaDoo said:
Thanks for the heads up, but i can't. Got plans for the next two weekends but July 4, I'm definitely looking to lake it up! I honestly don't mind all the Drama, unless I wait more than 10 min, it's not worth it to drive further and even pay money. I guess I'm not to that point of disgruntlement.

I'm also really excited to get back on my x4. It's been too long, and I need my summer time workouts to resume.
Click to expand...
Yes!!!!! Get it fixed.
 
Well, the fins are already part of the rectifier. There can be no better contact for them than being part of the same casting.
77.jpg

The fan is like a tiny box fan, it would just sit on top.
 
Yesterday I had a bigger problem, and one that not only really bothered me, but one that I quite frankly don't understand yet.

The wife and I were going out to go shopping and we smelled a strong smell of gas. It smelled like an old fuel spill. It was coming from around the boat, so I went closer to investigate. I popped the engine lid and saw that some water had built up from the recent rains we had. Guess my plug fix stopped the leak. No biggie, but as I went to unscrew the plugs, I heard and saw fuel start belching from the vent on the side of the boat.
Now THAT made me raise am eye brow. I quickly cracked the fill cap and stopped the vent purge but now am wondering what exactly happened.
The last time I used the boat, I filled it most of the way up and drove around a while. Probably burned at least 10gal. Then went home and everything was as usual. Well, now this.
The boat was sitting pretty level with the nose slightly up. The vent is located in the stock location, to the right and back of the tank. It's got a huge bung on it going to a wide diameter hose. Plenty of venting capacity. I wonder if, because of those baffles, if fuel is somehow building up pressure when it all sloshes to one side and blocks the vent. I can't imagine that is what happened here... unless water somehow got into the tank and raised the fuel level to the point where it comes out of the vent after building pressure from sitting in the sun....
You guys have any ideas?
 
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Originally, I had wanted to put vents on both sides of the tank, but my dad talked me out of it. Said this was plenty to vent the tank. Stupidly, I listened...
 
IDoSeaDoo said:
Well, the fins are already part of the rectifier. There can be no better contact for them than being part of the same casting.
77.jpg

The fan is like a tiny box fan, it would just sit on top.
Click to expand...

Yo Dawg, yo fins need more fins.

Actually, cooling will help increase life, but the real trouble is that the rectifier is running all the time to keep the batteries charged, it can't handle the duty cycle.

If it were my boat, I would completely isolate the essential systems (starting, Nav lights, bilge) from the accessories, stereo, blender, refrigerator. With the OPTION to bridge the two circuits for an emergency start condition. It doesn't have to be anything elegant, even a set of jumper cables could accomplish it.

Then, before / after each trip I would plug in a charger, just like a bass boat with starting and trolling batteries, using a 2 bank boat mounted charger.
 
Krispy said:
Yo Dawg, yo fins need more fins.

Actually, cooling will help increase life, but the real trouble is that the rectifier is running all the time to keep the batteries charged, it can't handle the duty cycle.

If it were my boat, I would completely isolate the essential systems (starting, Nav lights, bilge) from the accessories, stereo, blender, refrigerator. With the OPTION to bridge the two circuits for an emergency start condition. It doesn't have to be anything elegant, even a set of jumper cables could accomplish it.

Then, before / after each trip I would plug in a charger, just like a bass boat with starting and trolling batteries, using a 2 bank boat mounted charger.
Click to expand...

That was exactly my idea, except bilge and lights are on the Accessory battery. I installed one of those big battery cable switches in the engine bay to bridge the two batteries. And yes, my intent was to only reconnect when my starting battery died. However, in light of the special occasion, I threw caution to the wind and decided to try to charge up the acc. battery with the charging system. It was a mistake, I had a hunch that it was too. If it was just the other battery, I probably would have been okay. If it was just the other battery and the stereo, I might have gotten away with it. But that 800W amp just totally pushed it over the edge. Not to mention, I had to run the bilge a few times too due to that leaky little drain plug.
I think the rectifier got stuck in the full-steam position, hence the overcharging. Seems like the Voltage Reg portion is gone. I wonder... Could I hook two of these up in parallel? Would the magneto be able to handle the current draw? Unless I get a spare set of parts and know I'm going to pull the motor for something anyway, this will always stay just a thought in my mind. I do respect the engineers who spec'd out these parts and their mathematical conclusions.
 
snikwad003 said:
Your baffles are open at the top so that should not be why
Click to expand...

I think my next steps are to run the boat and crack the fill cap while riding. I wonder if my strange fuel starvation issue is somehow related to this... There is also an unused vent that I blocked off located on top of the fuel pump assembly. It's only a 1/4" vent, and when the boat is full of fuel, it actually sits about 2" below the fuel line. But, if I were to connect that vent to my main vent and run it high, I bet that would relieve the pressure if the fuel level is tilted to block the original vent.
 
Well, I believe I found the cause of my fuel-vent regurgitation. I severely underestimated the level to which I had raised the nose. I forgot that I set the trailer tongue on a jack stand to better drain the water out of the hull as I was washing it. The vent must have been submerged by fuel and pushed up by the vapors that built up during the hot afternoon. This is a clear indicator that I need to open and connect the fuel pump vent to the main vent line. Going to buy a fitting and Tee it in.
 
Better than a PC fan, Dayton makes fans the same size, but flow MUCH more air. The ones i have are 110VAC, but a small inverter would do the trick.

But I do agree that water cooling would be much more efficient...
 
Did you ever tee that vent in? Im wrenching on mine and found mine has what tou were talking about doing. I dont know if the many years difference in our pick ups would matter1466461118816.jpg
 
Not yet, I'm out of the country. Working on a whole other boat out here. Retarring this 12yo beauty,
313.jpg
gonna take her out on the river today [emoji3] long shot away from my boat back home, but that beast could not handle the massive hydrilla patches that dominate the water here. You just about need a flat bottom fan boat.
 
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