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Old 12-06-2006, 12:12 PM
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OMEGAMAN OMEGAMAN is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SD Blue View Post
Actually, it is current that charges the battery not the voltage. Unless you are doing a lot of short trips when it's cold, the original regulator shouldn't be giving you a problem. I've seen more of a problem with bad connections causing poor recharging than anything else.
Negative! The 12 volt battery in your car has 6 cells that hold 2.2 volts per cell for a total of 13.2 volts per cell. In order to charge that 13.2 volt battery you need to exceed that voltage. On a cold day you need a lot more than 14v to charge a battery than you do on a hot day. If you have a modern car put a voltmeter on the battery with it running on a cold day. It was a little below freezing yesterday and my explorer was charging at almost 16 volts. Most if not all modern alternators have a temp sensor somewhere in that charging circuit for exactly this reason.
Remember the old wives tale about charging a battery on a concrete floor? It's hard to get a battery up to temp on a giant heat sink.
If it's only current that charges a battery try charging a 12v battery on a 6 volt setting. Those of you with old battery chargers will even have a high amp 6v setting.
It's not hard to exceed the current output of our alternators and this mod is never going to change that. But when your driving with only a few accessories on the battery has a much better chance of getting fully charged.
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