Weak alternator?...TURTCEL

[TURTCEL]

So, obviously when electrical accessories are turned on there will be a load put on the charging system and the engine in general. My concern is that I may have a weak alternator.

I have installed extra bright headlights, and an aftermarket stereo (nothing powerful). When the car is warmd up and idling it runs right around 800 RPM's. When I turn on either my rear defrost, headlights, stereo, or blower motor the RPM's will drop down around 650. I understand that it is normal to have a load affect the engine RPM's to a point, but is this too much? It makes starting out from a stop a little chuggy unless I rev the engine a little more during clutch release. The car idles a little rough with any accessories on.

I have hooked my multimeter up to the battery and it is at 13.00 volts and when I start the car and turn on any electrical accessories the volts go down to 12.4. When I raise raise the RPM's the volts will get up to about 14.2 volts. All looks good in that area but I have not checked the important amp rating. I have not had any dead battery issues or eletrical componets not working, it is just how the RPM's drop so low.

The charging system has 2 brand new cables, a brand new Optima Red Top, and it had the Alternator replaced 2 years ago. I had the charging system checked at a shop about 2 months ago and they said all was fine but I have my doubts.

If I raise my idle speed higher so when I turn on my accessories to keep it around 800 RPM's when in neutral my no load idle speed needs to be over 900 RPM's which is a little high. I just want to make it a smoother acceleration from a stop so I don't have to raise the RPM's before letting the clutch out so much.

Is this normal how the RPM's drop so much? I know it is colder outside right now so does that play a factor? What could I do to help this issue? Are the higher power headlights an issue? I didn't upgrade the small headlight wire plugs to larger guage wiring, causing a draw?


Peace

[Petros]

this is completely normal for this car, your system is working normally. The standard alternator will allow the car to draw from the battery when systems like head lights are on when at idle, and than make enough electrical power to charge when above idle. There is no harm in having it idle as 900 rpms if you do not want it drawing from the battery, I do not know why you think this is "too high". Your only alternative is to get a larger alternator for your car, this will draw more power from the engine of course.

[dlb]

agreed with petros. idling at 900 rpm shouldn't cause dieseling so i wouldn't sweat it. if you really don't want the idle that high when not using electrical accessories, find a middle ground that works better for both ends, like 850.

[TURTCEL]

Good to hear about the charging system. I didn't think it had a prob but the idle was just in question at load. I might turn the idle to 850 but prob not since warmer months are coming.

Peace