Normal voltage drop

"Robert M. Gary" wrote:

It's interesting that if I take the alternator and regulator to the
bench I can hold 100amp without dropping below 14v. I guess the
in-airplane application is a lot different than the bench environement.


Oh? Well that points to a poor connection between the alternator
and the battery. It could be the hot side, or my favorite topic:
Bad Grounds. I suffered from the hot connection being loose on a
borrowed 91 CRX, on the way to a funeral. I hung a voltmeter on the
dash and noticed I was hardly gaining despite going at 60 mph. (I'd
run the battery down in traffic with headlights and blower on...)

You should be getting 14.4vdc to charge the battery; 13.8 is the
oft-quoted static voltage of the "12 volt" battery.

Since working on a running engine with a big people-eater spinning
on the front never appeals to me; try this. Run it for a while; shut
it down. Start feeling connections back to the battery. When you
hit the bad one, you'll burn your fingers. (Trust me...)

If all joints are cold; start checking grounds. Or rather, inspect
and clean them. Alternator bond, if any. Engine to frame. Regulator
grounds. You name it.
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