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Lower Charging voltage because of new weaker battery ?


Psycho

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Hi

a few weeks ago my AC-Delco battery broke (side terminal problem).

I tried to get the battery here (i live in germany), but there was noch chance.

So I installed a battery, that is a litle bit weaker (capacity aprox -8%).

The battery has an indicator and was fully loaded before I installed it.

The car starts perfect and I have no Problems, even if i turn on all devices, including 800W (RMS) audio.

But the charging voltage is about 0,5V lower than it was with the AC-Delco.

On a cold morning, it goes up to 14V and drops after a few miles (as the temperature rises) to

13,1-13,4V.

The lowest value i've seen was 12,9V.

In normal driving condition it is realy stable (+/- 0,1V) arround 13,3V.

Batery terminls and cables are in good conditions and clean.

If the battery is fully loaded, the voltage normaly goes down, to prevent overcharging.

So could the difference between the voltage reading be the weaker battery, that is full loaded ?

Belt tensioner and belt are nearly brand new (<500 miles).

Regard form germany.... Eckhard <_<

Ps. 114kmiles+ (runs great and up to 145mph - allowed in germany)

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Your charging voltages sound entirely normal.

It's likely that a new battery, having a lower internal resistance, is capable of being charged at a slightly lower voltage than the old battery that probably had a higher internal resistance.

Your description doesn't worry me at all.

Now where are my earplugs . . . . ?

Regards,

Warren

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The lower capacity battery is fine, but it won't last quite as long as the full size battery. As a battery ages, its capacity decreases, and with 8% less capacity new, it will become marginal and need replacement sooner. As Warren says, your voltages all are in the normal range, and the old tired battery apparently needed higher voltages to maintain its charge.

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All right ....

thank you both for the quick reply!

@Warren.... why earplugs --- you can turn it on and get outside the car :D ?

800W are needed for the base-pulses... not for continous listening :blink:

regards.... Eckhard ;)

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@Warren.... why earplugs --- you can turn it on and get outside the car :D ?

I'm guessing you must have something like Seven-Eleven convenience stores in your country. That's what we have here.

The "children" around here pull up to the door and then increase the volume of their "system" just as they exit the vehicle while they leave the engine running and the windows open. You do that there?

Just once, I'd like to see someone steal their ride! :lol::lol::lol:

Okay, so I'm a little older than you. BUT, I still have my hearing! :)

Sometimes it can really piss me off that I have to close my window just to hear MY radio.

Regards,

Warren

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@Warren.... why earplugs --- you can turn it on and get outside the car :D ?

I'm guessing you must have something like Seven-Eleven convenience stores in your country. That's what we have here.

The "children" around here pull up to the door and then increase the volume of their "system" just as they exit the vehicle while they leave the engine running and the windows open. You do that there?

Just once, I'd like to see someone steal their ride! :lol::lol::lol:

Okay, so I'm a little older than you. BUT, I still have my hearing! :)

Sometimes it can really piss me off that I have to close my window just to hear MY radio.

Regards,

Warren

no...

but if you want excellent Music, you have to fit the car with an amplifier, that has a litle more punch for impulses.

And if you built a good designed isobarik woofer, that is not hard mounted to the car, you have the music in the car and not outside.

Btw... my ears are realy good :lol:

And petrol is too expensive, to do such things.... not turning off the engine while going in a shop.

About $5,4 per gallone , or $1,5 per litre.

And if i want to go crazy, i take my 184PS bike and go to the racetrack.

Eckhard B)

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This is relavant to a discussion we were having the other day on another thread. An older battery puts a strain on the alternator, probably due to the internal resistance that Warren eluded to. Its best to replace a battery before it fails badly or before the warranty period is over so as not to strain/tax your alternator.

Eckhard's experience here details that clearly.

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And petrol is too expensive, to do such things.... not turning off the engine while going in a shop.

About $5,4 per gallone , or $1,5 per litre.

Arghh . . . . I feel your pain! And I'm glad to hear you feel your ears. :lol:

Regards,

Warren

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There is no means of avoiding the final collapse of a boom brought about by credit expansion. The alternative is only whether the crisis should come sooner as the result of a voluntary abandonment of further credit expansion, or later as a final and total catastrophe of the currency system involved. - Ludwig von Mises

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