> When the engine is first started, it shows a healthy charge (ammeter) that
> slowly diminishes, as any normal alt I presume should, voltage is at 14.5
> volts. After a few blocks the charge indicates almost 0 (still not
> unusual) but at idle if the lights are on then it shows a discharge of
> about 6- 8 amps (now remember the old Delco 10Si would show a charge of
> about 2-4 amps during the same conditions) the puzzling thing is that the
> lights do NOT dim, and the voltage is around 13.5 volts.
Barry, I'm not familiar with that alternator, but I can only think of two
explanations for this :
1) Your car/ammeter is not wired properly such that the ammeter can read
discharge when no current is coming from the battery.
2) The CS130 switches from 'charge' mode to 'float' mode, and what you are
seeing is the surface charge being bled off of the battery. This makes a
lot of sense, since holding a car battery at 14.5 volts will shorten it's
life.
> Any ideas cause I am running out of them
> and ready, reluctantly, to put the old 10Si back on?
If you can't get comfortable with the way the ammeter acts, why not switch
to a voltmeter ? I don't recall what vintage your Spit is, but you should
be able to find one that looks reasonably well at home in your dash and fits
the original ammeter hole. Plus, that removes the worries about running
100+ amps through wiring and an ammeter that was designed for 30 amps. You
can wire the alternator output directly to the battery if you want.
Randall
|