[T3] Voltage Regulator

Tue Nov 9 13:01:14 PST 2010

Why aren't you a posting/member if you're driving a VW?

On Tue, Nov 9, 2010 at 12:47 PM, Bryon Garvin <spinningrooves at gmail.com> wrote:
> Ah, I see the website now.  Thanks for the heads up on that Mike.
>
> - Bryon, '71 Fastback
> On Nov 9, 2010 12:42 PM, "Bryon Garvin" <spinningrooves at gmail.com> wrote:
>> Under new management ?
>> On Nov 9, 2010 12:19 PM, "Mike Fisher" <fisherfarms at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> Theddb.com in Portland, OR is back in business under new management
>>> selling a complete alternator conversion for Type 3's. The glowing
>>> battery light is common and usually can be Ignored. My JVC unit works
>>> fine in my 69 FI/AT with a generator.
>>>
>>> On Tue, Nov 9, 2010 at 12:07 PM, Tim Keohane <rheorojo at wildblue.net>
>> wrote:
>>>> Did some more fussing on this. I hope I didn't trash my battery. It's a
>> 500
>>>> CCA 625 Amp/hour battery. I have been charging my batteries when needed
>>>> thinking my charger "senses" the state of charge and reduces the input
> as
>>>> necessary. So I assumed @ 2 amps the battery never received more than 2
>>>> amps, and that was reduced as the battery neared capacity. I may have
>>>> screwed up more batteries than I helped.
>>>> I drove the car at night several times this past week. I've observed
> that
>>>> the idiot light is faintly glowing. I had to dim my dash lights to be
>>>> certain. It makes no discernible difference between high and low beams.
> (
>>>> 110 x 2 or 55 x 2 ). I do notice the lights brighten when rpm's are
>>>> increased. Again high/low seems the same. Electrically the V R
>> connections
>>>> shouldn't make any difference, but physically if the V R has an issue,
>>>> swapping the terminal connections at the V R ( fuse and battery circuits
>> )
>>>> would produce a noticeable change. I'll try that next. I'm also earth
>>>> strapping the components so I'm not chasing a bad/faulty ground.
>>>> I've seen some conversions to alternators. Are there any comments
>> regarding
>>>> this. It seems that if I had 50 amps charging capacity I could eliminate
>>>> this problem.
>>>> I'm researching lower wattage bulbs, and have yet to power up the
>> radio/cd
>>>> player. Standard alpine unit, but does need 12 volts.
>>>> Thanks Tim
>>>> On 1 Nov 2010 at 21:45, Tim Keohane wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> I charged the battery @ 10 amps for 24 hours, then 2 amps for 3 days.
>>>>> 4 hours after removing the charger these are the results:
>>>>> Battery charge 13.5 volts
>>>>
>>>> That was actually quite hard on the battery. You put more than 240
>>>> amp-hours into a 45 amp-hour battery. The result has to be lots of
>>>> hydrolyzed water and probably some battery plate damage. (Plate
>>>> damage occurs when hydrolization occurs inside the sintered plates,
>>>> causing them to flake off bits of plate material.)
>>>>
>>>>> @ 2500 RPM No Load
>>>>> Battery 14.5 volts
>>>>> Gen. 14.5 volts 10.5 Amps
>>>>> Battery circuit 1.6 Amps
>>>>> Fuse Panel circuit 8.5 Amps
>>>>
>>>> This seems pretty normal. I'm surprised that the V at the generator
>>>> isn't a bit higher than the V at the battery, but the low voltage
>>>> drop was probably due to the low current. Still, from the numbers
>>>> below, I would have expected ~0.4 V difference.
>>>>
>>>> Note that the current out of the generator = the sum of the currents
>>>> out of the VR. As it should be.
>>>>
>>>>> @ 2500 Low Beams ( 2x 55 watts)
>>>>> Battery 14.5 volts
>>>>> Gen. 15.2 volts 20.5-21.5 amps
>>>>> Battery circuit 1.5 - 2.5 amps
>>>>> Fuse panel circuit 19.3 amps
>>>>
>>>> Again, this is pretty normal. At the same voltage the battery is
>>>> taking about the same current, while the excess is going to the 2
>>>> headlights via the fuse panel, and the currents in and out of the VR
>>>> sum the same.
>>>>
>>>>> The generator light only comes on when I turn the key to start. Once
>>>>> started it goes out, and does not indicate when the generator is
>>>>> insufficient to maintain the battery @ 12.5 volts or higher. I can
>>>>> visualize the generator light remaining out if it V R is receiving
>>>>> ample current regardless of the circuit out except when the battery
>>>>> goes down during use. I would also think more amperage would flow to
>>>>> the battery to maintain it.
>>>>
>>>> I'm guessing that you're expecting more out of your idiot light than
>>>> it can actually deliver. It's exactly the same as any other
>>>> automotive charging system idiot light and they are not a perfect
>>>> system. They only tell you when there is a difference between the
>>>> generator output voltage and the battery voltage. When they both go
>>>> down together the light does not light.
>>>>
>>>>> My first impression is everything here seems within parameters, but
>>>>> the battery dies then the car without an indication. When a fresh
>>>>> battery is installed the car starts and runs without a hic-up. I have
>>>>> not checked the strength of the battery. I guess I'll have to replace
>>>>> the bulbs with something requiring a little less.
>>>>
>>>> I think you're on the right track. The electrical system on our cars
>>>> cannot support those lights for extended drives. If you drove with
>>>> those headlights for no more than a half hour at a time, followed by
>>>> several hours of no headlights, they would probably be fine. You just
>>>> need to give the charging system and battery a chance to recover.
>>>> Note that nothing much happens at idle; the generator needs decent
>>>> rpms to put out its rated current. 2500 rpm was a good choice for
>>>> your tests.
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> *******************************
>>>> Jim Adney, jadney at vwtype3.org
>>>> Madison, Wisconsin, USA
>>>> *******************************
>>>> Tim & Paula Keohane
>>>> Purveyors of:
>>>> Wild Alaska Salmon & Halibut
>>>> AKC/FDSB/CKC Irish Setters
>>>> rheorojo at wildblue.net
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
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>>>
>>>
>>>
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