Alternator Voltage Questions ?

[vsl67]

My battery died while driving recently I traced the problem to a stuffed alternator It was only putting out 12.1 volts and dropping to 11.3 volts going by the digital dash display ,So I swapped the internals from a VT alternator 100 amp into the VS l67 casing Now its reading
13.8-14.1 volts while driving ,
13.3 with aircon & lights driving
13.8-13.9 @ idle in park
13.1-13.2 @ idle in park aircon &ligths

And the readings at the battery At idle are
14.93 @ idle
13.97 @ idle aircon and lights

Does this sound right? Ive searched the forums and get a different answer everytime

 

[patrolking]

Sounds spot on to me

 

[wamboin23]

My battery died while driving recently I traced the problem to a stuffed alternator It was only putting out 12.1 volts and dropping to 11.3 volts going by the digital dash display ,So I swapped the internals from a VT alternator 100 amp into the VS l67 casing Now its reading
13.8-14.1 volts while driving ,
13.3 with aircon & lights driving
13.8-13.9 @ idle in park
13.1-13.2 @ idle in park aircon &ligths

And the readings at the battery At idle are
14.93 @ idle
13.97 @ idle aircon and lights

Does this sound right? Ive searched the forums and get a different answer everytime

are the first readings off the dash, or the back of the alternator?

14.93v at idle is a bit high. i'd check that the sense wire at the battery (small red link going into a black connector) is attached and all good.

 

[hako]

The 14.93Vdc @ idle looks high to me....my limited experience and diminishing brain cells make me think it should be 14.2Vdc - was that measures at the alternator or at the battery?

 

[vsl67]

The top readings are the dash displays and the last 2 readings are at the battery Terminals Just just rechecked the 14.93 at Idle looks like I made a typo its actually 14.23volts

 

[hako]

Sounds a bit better!...volts at idle with lights and A/C on seem the wrong way around to me as when driving should be higher than at idle - is the one when driving done with the dash display and the one at idle with a multimeter?....

 

[vsl67]

Yer thats right Driving using Dash display 13.8-14-1 and the 14.23 at idle at the battery with a multimeter

 

[BowTie]

i think you should quote the voltages to 3 decimal places.

 

[Jxfwsf]

good quality multimeter or just a cheapie?
unless it's something like a fluke use it as a guide they vary a lot in accuracy and most show a higher voltage as the internal battery gets flatter.
the dash readouts are usually pretty spot on, try a fresh 9 volt battery in the dmm and recheck the high reading you posted.
anything from 13.8-14.4 is the normal for an alternator at idle or just above idle as a base line with no load, turn things on and it'll drop as you've discovered and you'll probably start to hear it whine as it's loaded up more. all in all looks like it's working fine.

 

[BowTie]

While were here kicking the can around about this electricity thingymajigger,

how's your charge wire?

Now, would be a good time to rebuild it if you haven't already.