Grrr...My battery and voltage regulator died in my Crown Vic.

[Iron Woode]

What a way to start my morning. I go to start my car to go to work and I have no electrical power at all. WTF? I pop the hood and check the battery charge light (ACDelco) and it is black. Dead battery. No big deal because I have CAA. So I had to wait 40 mins for them to come and boost me or tow me depending on whether the boosting works. They boost me and my car is running again! Yeah! Not so fast. On the drive to my mechanics garage, my AMP light comes on the dash. I figure its because of the dead battery. I drop the car off and then head for work.

I come back later in the afternoon and the new battery is in. The car starts great, but, then I notice that the AMP light is still on. Hmmm. So I tell my mechanic about it and he checks the charging system. Low and behold I am getting 17.8 volts at the battery. Woah! Time for a new voltage regulator. So he orders one and then the fun starts. Apparently 1987 is a transition year for my car. The manual calls for the regulator to be on the passenger side inner fender. Its not there. Mine is located on the alternator. So I get the new regulator and take the old one off. My car uses a combination solid-state/mechanical regulator. Weird. I swap the solid-state part and noticed I need new brushes for the mechanical part. No one has them in stock, so I just button everything back up. Now the voltage reads 14.5 at the battery.

I am happy once again, but was late for looking at an apartment by appointment.

That was my adventure today.

 

[GalvanizedYankee]

14.5 volts would cook a battery in So Cal.

Is that a winter setting in the fridged north? It seems a little high.

 

[Tipe2]

Those brushes are not part of the regulator, those brushes supply the exciting voltage to the stator, your regulator is all solid state.

 

[CraigRT]

hah, sounds like fun man
since my car is still new, no adventures for me like that yet

 

[Iron Woode]

Originally posted by: galvanizedyankee
14.5 volts would cook a battery in So Cal.

Is that a winter setting in the fridged north? It seems a little high.

14.5 volts is normal running voltage at the battery in any car. Check it yourself.

Just because the car has a 12 VDC system doesn't mean the charging system doesn't go higher. Alternators make 3 phase AC that must be rectified to 12VDC more or less and 14.5 is normally what you get.

 

[midwestfisherman]

I hate car repairs...

 

[Quixfire]

Good Job Iron Woode, I glad you were able to fix your car without losing your head.

 

[GalvanizedYankee]

Iron Woode, I have been a mechanic for over 25years.

For temperate climates 13.9 is the low side, 14.1 is the high setting.
Short haul, lots of restarts, maybe 14.3 , winter batteries and charging settings
maybe different in Canada. The electrolyte in the battery will have a specific gravity
higher than 1.280 and require higher charging voltage but 14.5 seems a little high.
In peace

 

[Iron Woode]

Originally posted by: galvanizedyankee
Iron Woode, I have been a mechanic for over 25years.

For temperate climates 13.9 is the low side, 14.1 is the high setting.
Short haul, lots of restarts, maybe 14.3 , winter batteries and charging settings
maybe different in Canada. The electrolyte in the battery will have a specific gravity
higher than 1.280 and require higher charging voltage but 14.5 seems a little high.
In peace

Possibly.

Its hard to say. The lowest normall running voltage that I have seen here (summer or winter) was 13.8 vdc.

All of my cars run 14.3 - 14.8 vdc all year long. Hmmm.....

Maybe its because they are older vehicles. My Mopar is 1979 and my Buick was 1968. My Caprice was 1984 and my Volare wagon was 1977.

 

[Tipe2]

13.1 to 14.7, these are acceptable voltage readings when dealing with self exciting solid state voltage regualtors.
Once above 14.8, there is a problem.