keep_hope_alive Premium Member
Acoustics Engineer
- Thread Starter
- #31
i learned a few things about the charging system behavior today. i finally put a voltmeter in the dash.
under normal conditions, the alternator maintains 12.5VDC. even under load of A/C or the sound system the voltage didn't move while the car was driving. so the alternator maintains 12.5V on purpose. however, under braking the voltage would climb to 14V - indicative of regenerative braking. even if the car was simply slowing (i.e. turn off cruise) the voltage would climb - so the PCM uses the alternator as a load to both assist braking and provide regenerative charging.
of note - when the headlights are turned on the voltage climbs to 14.4V and stays there.
i did not observe any typical ELD behavior during 4 hours of highway driving.
i made two videos showing charging behavior
under normal conditions, the alternator maintains 12.5VDC. even under load of A/C or the sound system the voltage didn't move while the car was driving. so the alternator maintains 12.5V on purpose. however, under braking the voltage would climb to 14V - indicative of regenerative braking. even if the car was simply slowing (i.e. turn off cruise) the voltage would climb - so the PCM uses the alternator as a load to both assist braking and provide regenerative charging.
of note - when the headlights are turned on the voltage climbs to 14.4V and stays there.
i did not observe any typical ELD behavior during 4 hours of highway driving.
i made two videos showing charging behavior