Re: Charging system curiosity

["jtrealtywebspannet" <jtrealty@xxxx>]

>From the description of the symptoms my guess is a bad voltage 
regulater in the alternater. The alternater is running "flat out", 
that is the regulater is bad and thinks the battery is low and is 
telling the alternater to output full. Take the alternater off and 
have an auto electrical shop "bench" it. That is they put it on a test 
bench and can control the load and watch it operate. If confirmed bad 
the regulater is easy to replace but it may be smarter to get a 
rebuilt with new bearings and brushes too. If the battery was 
subjected to overcharging it may need to be replaced too. Take it 
along and have it load tested. Be careful, before removing the 
alternater disconnect the battery. If this was a grounding problem you 
wouldn't have full output on the alternater, the starter wouldn't 
work, and the idiot light wouldn't come on. This could have been 
caused by jump-starting or accidently touching the cables the wrong 
way.
David Teitelbaum
vin 10757



--- In dmcnews@xxxx, "tmpintnl" <tobyp@xxxx> wrote:
> Hello List - I've got a little challenge with Winged1 that is 
outside 
> of my limited knowledge of electricity. To begin with, I have a 
Delco 
> 108 amp alternator installed (for the past 8 years or so). At 
> present, my "idiot light" is glowing most of the time, and the 
voltage 
> in the system is showing 14.5 volts using a digital multimeter at 
the 
> battery terminal in the engine bay. The static voltage in the car 
is 
> about 13.2 volts with the engine off. If I idle the engine, and 
turn 
> on everything, I see a voltage pull down to about 13.2 volts. Is 
this 
> an internal regulator challenge with the alternator, or some bizarre 
> ground situation? I know that the voltages are high ... hmmmmm. 
> There is evidence of outgassing from the battery. Any ideas from 
you 
> "closet sparkies" out there?
> 
> Toby Peterson VIN 2248
> Winged1 - Structures ... yes. Electricity ... bah, humbug.