i pulled one out of a 1995 escort (internally regulated) where do the 2 small wires go? i have them to a switched source right now and it charges great (14.50 volts) the problem is that it never stops charging. i have been running with my headlights and the fan on all the time so there is draw on the system but i don't want to forget and boil my bat. or over charge it. (it has been tested with no draw on the system other than the engine and it still never shuts off) i think the 2 small wires are hooked up incorrectly. any other ideas? ha, how often do you have a problem where a car part wont stop working!!
What do you mean it won't stop charging? It should put out around 14.5 V anytime the engine is running.
Yea! What do u mean it won't stop charging. My volt meter shows 14V anytime the engine is running. So far, the battery has not been cooked, abt 6mos now. I have 3G, one wire @ 130amp.
hmmm, so it wont ever drop under 14. what specifically does the regulator do then? i thought it would run a battery up to full charge and then drop the charge to 12 volts to run all the electrical accessories. therefor it would only show 14 volts for a short time.
Voltage remains fairly constant or at least it should. Its the Amperage output that changes according to load and batt. state of charge. My car runs around 13.6 volts. New cars run upwards of 14.6 volts as the norm. If you see 12 volts something isn't doing its job.
The voltage regulator regulates, you guessed it, voltage. A fully charged 12 volt battery actually has a charge of just over 13 volts. The regulator has to output above that 13+ volts to force current into the battery and keep it charged. Ideally, the only time you want to use battery power is to start the car. The rest of the time the alternator powers things. The voltage stays more or less constant and the electrical load placed on the system determines how much current is drawn. But the alternator is somewhat rpm dependant, they don't produce full current until they're spinning around 2000 rpm. Notice how the alternator pulley is always smaller than the crank pulley, it's overdriven. At engine idle speed your 130 amp alternator might only be able to supply 50 or 60 amps.
