Prestondrew40
Car audio enthusiast
I did the big 3 ab 7 months ago and noticed my voltage bouncing around a lot so I checked the wire going from the Alternator to the battery and it was really hot. What would be causing that to happen?
What's the car?I did the big 3 ab 7 months ago and noticed my voltage bouncing around a lot so I checked the wire going from the Alternator to the battery and it was really hot. What would be causing that to happen?
It’s not bouncing around super bad. Around .3-.6 voltsI did the big 3 ab 7 months ago and noticed my voltage bouncing around a lot so I checked the wire going from the Alternator to the battery and it was really hot. What would be causing that to happen?
Was asking to see if it stretched across the exhaust manifold, but yours doesn't. Still there's a lot of radiated heat in an engine, primarily the exhaust manifold. You can always take it to a place like autozone and see if it's overloaded for the wire size, but I doubt it is. They'll hook up a DC clamp meter and see how much amperage is going through each wire. Do you have a stock alternator? Also what size is the wire leading from alternator to battery? Is the cable proper copper or is it some aluminum garbage? I always recommend tinned copper strands rather than OFC for the engine compartment area since it goes through advanced wear due to heat and water vapor from the road, over time OFC will increase slightly in resistance.It’s not bouncing around super bad. Around .3-.6 volts
It’s 1/0 sky high ofc. Still stock alternator Bc I haven’t had the money to upgrade that just yet.Was asking to see if it stretched across the exhaust manifold, but yours doesn't. Still there's a lot of radiated heat in an engine, primarily the exhaust manifold. You can always take it to a place like autozone and see if it's overloaded for the wire size, but I doubt it is. They'll hook up a DC clamp meter and see how much amperage is going through each wire. Do you have a stock alternator? Also what size is the wire leading from alternator to battery? Is the cable proper copper or is it some aluminum garbage? I always recommend tinned copper strands rather than OFC for the engine compartment area since it goes through advanced wear due to heat and water vapor from the road, over time OFC will increase slightly in resistance.
Most likely it's not a real issue, you may just need to rethink how you route your cable. Even at a temperature that you can't touch it comfortably there's a long way to go on the rating of a wire and the heat most likely isn't caused by resistance from overpowering unless it's the wrong choice in wire.
That's actually not that much for a voltage to bounce either, the alternator is likely trying to save power but there's a ton of things going on that drain power, most likely the voltage change is either loads inside the car fluctuating a lot, your car's energy saving trying to keep the alternator from tugging more than it has to, your battery is getting weaker, or a combination of them all.
What voltages are you referring to when you say .3-.6 voltage flux?
Yeah up at those voltages it's likely to just be power saving. It doesn't make sense to have the alternator running the battery all the way up to 14.5 in terms of fuel economy. Newer cars have more elegant solutions that make it smoother but it's for the same goal which is saving gas and polluting less.It’s 1/0 sky high ofc. Still stock alternator Bc I haven’t had the money to upgrade that just yet.
the voltage will go from around 14.1 to 13.7 then back to 14.1 then down to 13.5 then back up with nothing Running
Unreliable charging voltage is common in most cars from the factory. Newer stuff tries to be "smart" about it but plenty will just never charge above 13.8 ever. If you really care you've got to externally regulate your alternator or buy an aftermarket one with internal regulation set wherever you like.It’s 1/0 sky high ofc. Still stock alternator Bc I haven’t had the money to upgrade that just yet.
the voltage will go from around 14.1 to 13.7 then back to 14.1 then down to 13.5 then back up with nothing Running
So the only way to fix it would be a new alternator?Yeah up at those voltages it's likely to just be power saving. It doesn't make sense to have the alternator running the battery all the way up to 14.5 in terms of fuel economy. Newer cars have more elegant solutions that make it smoother but it's for the same goal which is saving gas and polluting less.
I'd have to look and see if the 2005 Toyotas had a voltage regulator where the PCM controller the voltage of the alt (basically what hispls said above, some cars try to have a "smart" function to downclock voltage to save gas mileage).So the only way to fix it would be a new alternator?
I don't think it needs to be "fixed" personally, but as was mentioned in someone else's post you can either bypass the control or replace the alternator if you demand to receive 14.5V at all times. Your fuel economy will be impacted.So the only way to fix it would be a new alternator?