* Wayne.B wrote, On 8/11/2007 12:08 AM:
On Fri, 10 Aug 2007 18:29:15 -0400, Jeff wrote:

the
fridge, radar, and autopilot must be turned off if the engine is
running and the batteries are not fully charged?

Of course not. It is important however to get the batteries back up
to at least the 80 or 90% level in a reasonable length of time.

But you can run a lot of stuff tapping power off a 100 Amp alternator
and still leave it with a lot of charging power. In my case, the 30
Amp fridge, the TV, computer, and all the instruments don't come up to
50 Amps. My point with the fridge is that it going to use the power
at some time during the day, its more efficient to do it directly off
the charge source.

If
the alternator belts are slipping/burning at less than the 100 amp
level, something is wrong, probably belt tension or belt type. Over
100 amps dual belts are generally necessary.

Alignment is a common cause - being off 1/8 inch will kill a belt in
no time. Also, a faulty regulator that's "spiking" the field voltage
can do it.