Charging System Chronic Undercharging

Status
Not open for further replies.
Originally Posted By: SubLGT
............ I wish I could tweak this electronic regulator a few tenths of a volt higher, like I used to be able to do with the older mechanical regulators......


I came across this alternator modification that boosts output voltage by 0.6 volts (a bit too high for my comfort), it requires installing a pair of diodes in the "sense" lead to the voltage regulator.

http://www.smartgauge.co.uk/alt_mod.html

".................Instead of adjusting the voltage reference inside the regulator, what would happen if we fooled the regulator into thinking the output of the alternator was at a lower voltage than it really is? The regulator would adjust the alternator output voltage until the new voltage we fed into the regulator was correct. So if we somehow fool the regulator into thinking the alternator output voltage is 0.6 volts lower than it really is, then the regulator will adjust the output voltage to 0.6 volts higher than this. In the case of an alternator charging at 13.8 volts, this will increase the output voltage to 14.4 volts............."
 
use one diode instead of 2 for half the voltage change.

note, if you get that backwards, you will risk running the alternator at full tilt and could risk things getting messy if not caught.

TYPE of diode matters, too. they have different voltage "drops" ("forward voltage")
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top