voltage

[tirpsesutol]

I was having problems with the voltage dropping down into the red so replaced my battery and the original Valeo alternator with a Bosch unit. It helped but the needle still drops half way into the red when the engine is hot. Whats strange is on cold days the reading is almost normal and eventually drops into the red. Very odd and puzzling. Checked the ground wires and all connections including the belt tension and all seems fine. Could it possibly be the solenoid which I believe is located on the starter ????

[slade]

hmm... I'm hardly the most expert here... but I have the same problem with voltage dipping. It used to be bad enough that if I tried to roll down the windows the car would die i checked the grounds and retightened them... that no longer happens, but whenever I touch any electrical device on the car voltage dips.

Hmm... maybe your fans suck extra voltage?

slade

[tirpsesutol]

hmm... I'm hardly the most expert here... but I have the same problem with voltage dipping. It used to be bad enough that if I tried to roll down the windows the car would die  i checked the grounds and retightened them... that no longer happens, but whenever I touch any electrical device on the car voltage dips.

Hmm... maybe your fans suck extra voltage?

slade

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The voltage drops even when there is no fans or accessories running.

[GSimpson]

Put a Digital multimeter directly on the battery terminals and see if it drops there. If it checks OK then you have a dirty contact somewhere.

[tirpsesutol]

Put a Digital multimeter directly on the battery terminals and see if it drops there. If it checks OK then you have a dirty contact somewhere.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

This is very strange...I took the car out yesterday and the dial read normal. After about a half hour the needle started to drop down to the red again. Very odd.

Marco

[watership down]

This is very strange...I took the car out yesterday and the dial read normal. After about a half hour the needle started to drop down to the red again. Very odd.

Marco

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Maybe your alternator is getting tired. It converts the voltage from ac - dc using diodes inside the alternator. Maybe one of them is failing when it gets hot

[tirpsesutol]

Maybe your alternator is getting tired. It converts the voltage from ac - dc using diodes inside the alternator. Maybe one of them is failing when it gets hot

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Not sure if that could be the problem. Its a brand new alternator. Could it be the voltage regulator on the starter?

[Guest teigan]

no the starter circuit isn't it. i get the same symptoms as you in race cars, but that's from the battery compartment getting super hot. more likely, you have a voltage regulator issue as mentioned. the battery may be damaged from all these things going on, so try swapping the battery again too. there may be something leaking power overnight like a stuck relay draining your battery slowly.

Edited September 27, 2005 by teigan