I have been running the alternator on my 40 HP for over a year now.
Granted, I have to rev it a bit to keep up with traffic (when I care), but I
am wondering if the alternator is wearing out? At idle it makes a racket
that sounds sort of like a bunch of crickets. It dies down when I rev the
engine a bit. I don't get to hear my beloved fweem as much with that noise.
Is it a sign that the alternator is getting ready to malfunction, that it is
just "dumping" excess power at idle, that it is lugging... or what? The
battery is good.

TIA
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KWW