22
votes
Alternator dying so junk car?
A rounded bolt is not a reason to junk a car. The numbers you're quoting sound fine for an alternator; if it was below 12V, I'd be worried. If you're still concerned, take the car to a spares store ...
- 8,672
21
votes
Accepted
I charged my car battery with no water in it
The battery is toast. Save yourself potential serious injury. Buy a new one. If the battery has been dead for eight months...it is pretty much a goner.
- 3,917
19
votes
Accepted
Why can't alternators provide full current at idle?
Cost is the main reason.
An alternator that can provide full charging current would be far larger requiring bigger rotor and stator windings. This would make it more expensive and heavier.
The ...
- 16k
12
votes
Accepted
Can a conventional car be used to charge an electric car?
No, you cannot.
Well, you might be able to, but not in a feasible way in any likely manner.
Electric Vehicles commonly have two separate electric circuits.
One running at the normal 12V, which ties to ...
- 474
9
votes
Accepted
How can you optimise the rate at which your electronic devices will charge in the car (fast in-car charging)?
The charging system of a car can deliver TONS of power, so small fluctuations in the alternator or battery are going to be meaningless to the comparatively small amount of power a phone charger needs, ...
- 13.3k
8
votes
Accepted
Will never charging the batteries of a hybrid electric plug-in vehicle damage it?
No, it won't get damaged. But you also shouldn't let the battery totally empty for long periods. Li-ion batteries are best stored with some charge (normally about 40% is recommended charge level for ...
- 1,188
8
votes
Battery or what?
There are several possibilities:
The bike's battery is bad. This is by far the least likely cause, as the previous battery behaved exactly the same way. The chances of having two batteries fail ...
- 3,643
7
votes
Charging circuit
The fastest, cheapest and easiest solution is to add a battery disconnect switch to the car. After placing the ignition switch into acc mode the open the hood and disconnect the switch. When you ...
- 16k
7
votes
Accepted
Connecting to the Battery During Emissions Testing to Measure RPMs?
The voltage being a little low (13.75 is not low enough to be considered a problem in any case) is not going to affect their RPM reading - as it's the frequency of voltage variations that is measured ...
- 18.6k
7
votes
one wire alternator
The one tool you will need to purchase / borrow is a Volt Ohm Meter (sometimes called a Multimeter). Then you need to use it to read voltage AT THE BATTERY, before the car is started and after the ...
- 6,569
7
votes
Alternator dying so junk car?
I have seen somebody spot-weld a short bolt to the rounded nut they are having trouble removing. It's cheap and quick if the equipment is on hand.
- 71
7
votes
Alternator squeal
That year of RAV 4 uses the alternator to tighten the belt. It may not be adjusted properly and the belt is slipping.
.
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- 8,010
6
votes
Accepted
Radio and Charging Outlet Stopped Working
They are typically on the same fuse. Charging outlet should be listed as a cigarette lighter.
- 8,443
6
votes
Why can't alternators provide full current at idle?
If an alternator could provide its full output capacity at idle, what would it output at red line? Output amperage is proportional to rotational speed of the alternator.
Via gearing, an alternator ...
- 1,722
6
votes
Accepted
Car Battery Flat After Sitting for 9 months - BMW e87
Yes, a standard trickle charger will be fine. You need to make sure you give it plenty of time on charge, circa 16 hours; cranking a diesel engine takes around 700 Cold Cranking Amps. You may also ...
- 23.5k
6
votes
Car Battery Flat After Sitting for 9 months - BMW e87
A lead acid battery will self discharge about 5% every month. Assuming your battery was 100% charged, and there is no parasitic draw, that gives us a charge of ~55% after 9 months.
Realistically, ...
- 1,945
6
votes
Will never charging the batteries of a hybrid electric plug-in vehicle damage it?
The car will charge its battery while driving, e.g. when you brake. This allows the electric motor to augment the diesel engine, reducing overall fuel usage. The result is that the charge state of the ...
- 4,422
6
votes
Alternator squeal
More than likely the problem is either your serpentine belt is worn out, or the tensioner pulley isn't providing enough tension to keep the belt in place. Belt slippage accounts for the low amount of ...
- 153k
5
votes
Weird charging issue
The PCM controls charge rate on this vehicle. It monitors battery voltage and amperage flows to decide when to charge and when to rest. This is done as a fuel saving strategy. Some systems use a ...
- 11.6k
5
votes
Motorcycle won't turn over immediately after a pit stop
You may have a bad stator
As @paulster2 stated, you should have your battery tested. You could have a lead plate the broke free inside the batter and grounding out that cel to another cel. Your ...
- 33k
5
votes
Can you charge an electric motorcycle at an electric car charging station?
2015 and newer Zero Motorcycles have a "Charge Tank" option that allows you to use standard chargers:
Zero Motorcycles Charging Options.
For fast charging on the go, Zero offers the Charge Tank ...
- 13.3k
5
votes
Charging Battery
Charging a dead battery using the alternator is hard on the alternator, it is best to use a Battery charger.
Alternator manufacturers know the same things about alternators that we do- they are ...
- 8,010
5
votes
Accepted
Cigarette lighter socket no longer charges phone
You could have voltage at the socket with only one strand of copper connected so simply testing for voltage doesn't mean there isn't a fault.
How to check for a bad Ground:
Connect a load to the ...
- 2,781
5
votes
Battery only charges with parallel load - why? recoverable, or replace?
Given how complicated this seems from both posts, I would suggest that you fit a known good battery and run the complete set of tests on the charging system.
I would include the tests for voltage ...
- 34.6k
4
votes
Battery light on after new alternator
Check the voltage of the white/blue wire at the alternator connector. It should be at least 12 volts if the alternator charging voltage is greater than 13 volts. If there is no voltage here then the ...
- 11.6k
4
votes
Charging circuit
adding a diode would probably be counterproductive as it will cause an extra voltage drop, I'd look into fitting a relay such that the socket was not connected during engine start.
- 589
4
votes
Can you charge an electric motorcycle at an electric car charging station?
You won't be able to charge at a Tesla Supercharger, no matter what. Not even all Model Ss can do this. The charger inquires from the car, probably its serial number, and validates it in a database.
...
- 301
4
votes
Why can't alternators provide full current at idle?
Your premise is backwards. Max output and sufficient output aren't the same thing. Your own numbers show that alternators provide sufficient output to keep the battery fully charged at idle. If they ...
- 12.2k
4
votes
Accepted
Motorcycle Lithium Battery - Potential Parasitic Drain
Just like with a car. Remove the negative battery cable. Get your multimeter, set it to DCA (DC Amps). Use 10A mode if its available. Connect it between the negative post and the cable. Reading ...
- 8,443
4
votes
unique alternator issue
My first thought is your ground wire to the trailer is not large enough causing a voltage drop to the rear battery.
However after some research turns out your alternator is controlled by the PCM and ...
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible