Voltage Regulator?
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Senior User
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 140
Likes: 1
From: St. Petersburg, Florida
Voltage Regulator?
Hi All......
My ride is a '89 Ford E150 Club Wagon, 5.0 EFI, AutoTrans. 61k miles. I have a larger Alternator because the Van was originally a Handicap Vehicle and had a second battery. My trouble is with the charging system. With RPM's up, the Ammeter shows a good charge but at idle with the front A/C on, it is barely above the Zero line and if I also turn on the rear A/C it drops below the line until I race the RPM's up.....then it will charge. Is this a sign of a bad Voltage Regulator..........should it not charge all the time, no matter the load? Is there an easy test I could perform?
Is there any kind of adjustment that can be made for this?
tks
Vaya con Dios,
Chuck, CABGx3
My ride is a '89 Ford E150 Club Wagon, 5.0 EFI, AutoTrans. 61k miles. I have a larger Alternator because the Van was originally a Handicap Vehicle and had a second battery. My trouble is with the charging system. With RPM's up, the Ammeter shows a good charge but at idle with the front A/C on, it is barely above the Zero line and if I also turn on the rear A/C it drops below the line until I race the RPM's up.....then it will charge. Is this a sign of a bad Voltage Regulator..........should it not charge all the time, no matter the load? Is there an easy test I could perform?
Is there any kind of adjustment that can be made for this?
tks
Vaya con Dios,
Chuck, CABGx3
Lead Driver
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 5,033
Likes: 137
From: Maryville
May have an isolator under the hood, they are designed to separate the battery's but charge them both by alternating the amps between the two, it may be bad, or removal of the equipment was done improperly.
Lead Driver
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 5,033
Likes: 137
From: Maryville
Welcome, mine has a relay, it just adds another battery to the factory one, disconnecting it when the key is off, the better way to do it in my opinion, doesn't require cutting into the factory charging circuit.
Post Fiend
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 13,873
Likes: 3
From: Atlanta GA
No, this is a normal sign of a high amp alternator. At low RPMs many put out less amps then a normal sized alternator. To prevent dips you usually have two batteries. You either have to change the pulley or up the idle slightly if it is a problem. The idle is suppose to automatically kick up at idle, but, it may not be kicking up enough RPMs for the larger alternator.
