poorman

Does anyone else have problems with the volt meter reading low even with the alternator working and the battery fully charged?

freegdr

having the same issue here got me stumped been thinking about bigger cables to see if it cures it but funds are tight

freegdr

going to be trying something like this but buy the cables local costlesshttp://www.jeepin.com/images/features/cables/

excess650

I just added auxiliary lights and was curious as to alternator output and such. I already KNEW that when I ran my AC with blower on the voltage would drop, but was curious as to HOW MUCH it was actually dropping. Hot weather is here, and I like to be comfortable, so I usually run AC if the humidity is high. With the addition of auiliary lights, I thought I might have a problem with the alternator not keeping up the charge in the battery.

With the engine idling with no lights, blowers, accessories, etc, it shows just shy of 14V. As I turn on lights it drops minimally, but turning on the blower, and even more so with the AC, it tends to show a bit more than 12V. This concerned me, so I pulled out the Fluke 77 and went across the battery terminals.

At idle with nothing else turned on, 13.96V
with low beams 13.94V
high beams 13.92V
high beams + auxiliary lights 13.86V

at idle with blower on H only 13.90V
with high beams 13.64V
with high beams + aux lights 13.64V
+ max air 12.27V

blower on H, max air + low beams + aux lights 12.74V

same as above but bumped RPM to 2K and voltage went 13.50 so still charging the battery

I find the OEM volt meter deceiving, so I'm considering adding a digital accessory volt meter wired to the battery, but through a relay so that it only draws its minimal current when the ignition is ON.