The message to which you are about to reply is shown first. GO TO REPLY FORM



 VIEW    REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE Replies to this message will be emailed.    PRINT   SAVE 

Voltmeter question 200

posted by  Don Foster on  Mon Dec 9 12:40 CST 2002
Author: [PROFILE] [EVERY POST] [THREADS] [BEST POSTS] RSS Feed     [IGNORE ALL POSTS]
last visit: Sun Oct 5 11:53 CST 2014
[RELATED]

Allan, you're right, but you're saying it backwards.

When a battery is stone cold, it's less chemically active and its resistance is higher. It imposes less of a load on the alternator.

Because the alternator has a lighter load, its voltage climbs and the system voltage climbs.

But when a battery is warm, it's more chemically active and its resistance drops, conducting more current. Because it conducts, or draws, more current, it loads the alternator more heavily -- and the alternator and system voltage drop.

And when the battery is fully charged, it passes less current, so its resistance rises and it loads the alternator less, just as when it's cold. The system voltage rises.

The alternator is not smart enough to know the battery temperature and adjust anything to compensate.
--
Don Foster (near Cape Cod, MA)






USERNAME
Use "claim to be" below if you don't want to log in.
PASSWORD
I don't have an account. Sign me up.
CLAIM TO BE
Use only if you don't want to login (post anonymously).
ENTER CAPTCHA CODE
This is required for posting anonymously.
OPTIONS notify by email
Available only to user accounts.
SUBJECT
MODEL/YEAR
MESSAGE

DICTIONARY
LABEL(S) +
IMAGE URL *
[IMAGE LIBRARY (UPLOAD/SELECT)]

* = Field is optional.

+ = Enter space delimited labels for this post. An example entry: 240 muffler


©Jarrod Stenberg 1997-2022. All material except where indicated.


All participants agree to these terms.

Brickboard.com is not affiliated with nor sponsored by AB Volvo, Volvo Car Corporation, Volvo Cars of North America, Inc. or Ford Motor Company. Brickboard.com is a Volvo owner/enthusiast site, similar to a club, and does not intend to pose as an official Volvo site. The official Volvo site can be found here.