Charging System Question
Thread Starter
On The Tree
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 193
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Charging System Question Hey Guys,
A year ago, i was in a rush and my delco battery died. Pepboys only had a pro start battery in stock and bought it. Well it died this morning. Now car was sitting for 6 days in 30-40 degree weather and I know that can play a role on the car but I also have a Van with a Bosch battery sitting that same amount of time and it started right up.
So i was reading pep boy pro start are crap so i went ahead and bought a red top. I decided though to check the charging system with a volt meter. Tell me if this is normal. When I start the car, it reads 14.4-14.4 volts. I will let it run for a few minutes and then start putting a load (ac full blast, defroster, stereo, and heated seats). The voltage will drop to 13.3 and sometimes get as low as 12.8. Turning these off, the car will stay at 13.5-13.6. When driving on the highway with the stereo on i will see the voltage change anywhere from 12.6 to 13.7.
Is this normal or do i have a regulator on the way out
A year ago, i was in a rush and my delco battery died. Pepboys only had a pro start battery in stock and bought it. Well it died this morning. Now car was sitting for 6 days in 30-40 degree weather and I know that can play a role on the car but I also have a Van with a Bosch battery sitting that same amount of time and it started right up.
So i was reading pep boy pro start are crap so i went ahead and bought a red top. I decided though to check the charging system with a volt meter. Tell me if this is normal. When I start the car, it reads 14.4-14.4 volts. I will let it run for a few minutes and then start putting a load (ac full blast, defroster, stereo, and heated seats). The voltage will drop to 13.3 and sometimes get as low as 12.8. Turning these off, the car will stay at 13.5-13.6. When driving on the highway with the stereo on i will see the voltage change anywhere from 12.6 to 13.7.
Is this normal or do i have a regulator on the way out
I have a 1500W sound system and I will drop down into low 12s at a stop light. If you want you can do the Big 3 and you should see better charging. Otherwise I don't think your car is any worse off than mine.
