Figured out how to keep steady voltage

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Chetrick87

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This is interesting im definitely going to di this. And where the hell do you get a 900a alternator?
 

drakon543

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Lol thats where you rip the guts out of a large generator stick it in the middle where your seats used to be with a hole in the floor. Spin it off the driveshaft. Need to power the amp and his stealth rail gun.
 

dross99_si

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Thanks for the tip!
After dealing with a dead battery the other day I paid very close attention to the battery gauge yesterday on a 400 mile round trip to San Diego to meet Black Bear Justin. The gauge would fluctuate between 12v and 14v and it was starting to worry me as I thought the battery might have died due to a bad alternator. Is it normal for the gauge to fluctuate like that while driving? I was under the impression that it was always supposed to be around 14v while the truck is running.
 

chopperwalker

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The fluctuation is on purpose. From what I understand this is for highway fuel economy. The alternator cuts off so the fuel economy goes up, but your battery drops. It then kicks back in when its low and charges it back up.
 
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NathanJax

NathanJax

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The fluctuation is on purpose. From what I understand this is for highway fuel economy. The alternator cuts off so the fuel economy goes up, but your battery drops. It then kicks back in when its low and charges it back up.

That's correct. However, for those of us that don't care about the small fuel economy hit, and are more worried about getting steady voltage to electronics, this is an easy fix...
 

iamdub

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I like to believe that my engine makes enough torque that turning the alternator isn't gonna load it down so much to affect the fuel consumption. I'd rather keep as close to 14V as possible going to the higher-amperage parts, namely the fuel pump and cooling fans. Lower voltage to an electrical motor results in it pulling more amps which results in higher heat which results in shortened life. Getting .001 fewer MPG is far easier to deal with than replacing a fuel pump.

Thanks for posting this. I unplugged mine last Sunday.
 

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