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Hi all,
Im heading to very old areas during winter and my car takes a while to start (5 seconds) which I havent experienced a few months ago.I measured the battery voltage this morning with car off and terminals connected. I read 13.8V!!
That seems too high and im afraid my alternator is overcharging the battery. I turned on the headlight with car off still to put a load on it. The voltage read 12.8V which is what I expected the non load voltage to be.
I compared the reading on my DMM to a DMM that is in my engineering lab. It was within 5%.
How concerned should I be about this?
The battery is interstate MEGATRON II, changed about 2-3 years ago.
Car is 2000 accord SE.Except for spark plugs, everything is from factory in the electrical system.
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Thanks for reply,
The voltage after car has been running for 15 minutes ( drove then measured) was 15.75V.
15.75?! thats not good at all. shoudn’t be any higher than 14.3 while the alternator is functioning normally. I am no expert but i think that 15.75V is high enough to start frying things.
where is the Voltage regulator? I know cars have them never new where they are or what they look like.
[quote=”ShopTech” post=117907]You need to replace the alternator. Voltage regulators are internal.[/quote]
you can’t just open a alternator and replace the regulator?
Just for shits and giggles try another voltmeter on your battery. A proper battery load test and alternator output test should be done to get an idea of the whole system.
You can replace the voltage regulator if you know how. Unless you have the correct tools and knowledge of an alternator innards you might just open a can of worms.
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