ok, its been a while since i installed my FD alt from silverrotor and the apexi TT....recently i took out the stereo to do some wire cleaning up and put in the efan... noticed that the apexi TT shows voltage at 15.1V on start up.....after driving it for a while it'll lower back to 14.4V...but the next morning it does the same thing....is this normal?...or am i risking frying something in the car with too much voltage?..i thought voltage was only suppose to go as high as 14.4V

 

15.1 is OK...She'll fall a bit as the alternator gets hot, due to the inefficiencies caused by the heat.

Be glad- you've got yourself a nice, strong charging system there

 

i kno!.....with the efan full blasting its still like 14.7.....most times i have stereo cranked, headlights on, stepping on the breakes....and the apexi shows 12.5V

ok...just making sure i wont blow something up....the past week or so each morning i had to start the car with the headlights on just so the volts would drop abit....

 

Personally, I think 15.0VDC is too high.
It might be ok for very brief periods.
I've seen batteries puke due to overcharging at voltage levels that high.
14.5VDC is about max.
14.6VDC to 14.9VDC is be careful.
15.0VDC+ is too high.


-Ted

 

ok ted..thanks for making me paranoid again...any suggestions on how to fix this?.....

 

at first i suspected the voltage regulator to be broken....but i dont know...it seems to stay at 14.4 after its warmed up...so i havent a clue to what needs to be fixed

 

anyone?

 

Ted's being paranoid, IMHO, lol... A good battery should not be damaged due to a charging current from a 15v potential... Consider, the FSM calls for 14.4 to 15v from the alt...And I would be willing to bet that most (if not all) of the electronics on the car could handle 18v for a bit, sans the bulbs. Consider also that aircraft batteries (24v) are charged at about 28v, a 4-volt split...

Now, if you have a weak or drained battery, it's a different story. Ever hear of thermal runaway during charging?

14.4 is good, man. Go worry about something else. The flu season, for instance...