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Charging voltage question?

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Volt meter on my 92 loyale wagon is running up close to 18 with no accessories turned on. I put lights, heat, blower motor on full and the gauge goes on down to just above 12. My head lights dim some when the blower motor is turned on. I am guessing it is the volt regulator and or alternator and am wondering if regulator is part of the alternator or separate? Thanks

  • Author

OK so I am still getting used to using this board and pretty much found my answer in another post. Any additional input such as what damage could be caused by this over charge condition would be very much appreciated. Thanks again Jay

Overchargin' Alternators are like SuperNova Stars: That is the Behaviour of a Dying Voltage Regulator, so you can Spect an Alternator Fail Soon.

The Regulator is integrated into the Alternator itself...

To Drive your Subie at 18 Volts could Fry the Stereo and eventually the Light Bulbs; plus any other Electronic Sensitive Equipment. (Think About the Dashboard Circutry and the ECU too)

I Kindly Suggest you to take the Alternator to the Car Electric Shop, to Change the Worn Parts of the Built-in Regulator; or Search for another Alternator at a Junk Yard but you can end with Two Bad Alternators ... :-\ ...

Also you can do an Alternator Upgrade, using the Nissan's Maxima 100 Amps one; useful if you Plan to Run Extra Halogen Lights. (There is a Complete Write Up about it Here)

Good Luck!

Kind Regards.

  • Author

HEY thanks for the reply as I did not understand all that could be lost with this charge condition! You told me exactly what I needed to hear thanks so much. I love this board. I pulled a almost new looking alternator from a u pull it salvage yard fro 15.00 awhile back just in case I needed one. It is going on the car first thing in the morning. So far I cant tell that anything has blown up other than the fact that the blower motor stopped working last night :( Wish I had have know this was such a bad situation as I just did a t two thousand mile trip with it over charging YIKES. Will never happen again. Thanks Jay

HEY thanks for the reply as I did not understand all that could be lost with this charge condition! You told me exactly what I needed to hear thanks so much. I love this board. I pulled a almost new looking alternator from a u pull it salvage yard fro 15.00 awhile back just in case I needed one. It is going on the car first thing in the morning. So far I cant tell that anything has blown up other than the fact that the blower motor stopped working last night :( Wish I had have know this was such a bad situation as I just did a t two thousand mile trip with it over charging YIKES. Will never happen again. Thanks Jay

Usually the first sign of overcharging (aside from the volts gauge) is the headlight lowbeams start to burn out (after the 2nd one in two days I took the hint when it happened to me:eek:). However, overvoltage can fry the ECU, any light bulbs, and who knows what else.

 

A suggestion on u-pull-it alternators (I do this all the time): Knowing my original alternator is still good, I replace it with the junkyard one; if it fails within a week or two, I can bring it back for exchange or refund; and I still have a known good alternator (the original). If it doesn't fail, I leave it on the car, mark the original as "known good" and keep it for a spare. I can cycle junkyard parts into my car and know they are okay rather than find out when I need it that it wasn't any good to start with (when it's too late to return it:mad:).

You're Welcome! :)

 

... I just did a two thousand mile trip with it over charging YIKES. Will never happen again...

 

Holy Cow! ... if you Had any Car Overchargin' for a Long Time, the Battery itself Might Explode!

Does your blower still work on setting 4?

The over-voltage could have fried the resistor block.

  • Author

All is well so far after replacing the old alt with the new old alt from the u pull it!? Volts are now normal and the blower was the 15 amp fuse all seems to be normal now! I feel lucky nothing else blew up seeing I just did such a long trip in over charge. Subarus freakin ROCK and so does this site. Peace out Jay

You're lucky, my alt spiked in my Legacy, just a spike and the car actually shut off. It started right back up after pulling over and unplugging the alt, but it fried my gauge cluster.

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