I have a digital voltmeter gauge in my 86 Regal. I was wondering what the voltage drop should be with all the accessories going(full load), in gear, foot on the brake. What should a healthy alternator maintain? Sometimes it drops as low as 13.2 volts. I'm wondering if the original alternator is getting tired.
Gerry, That would be at idle. Sometimes it will drop below 13.0, depending on how many things i have on (w/wipers, blower full blast, ect.) I was just curious what was normal??
Thanks Bob, I was just kind of curious. I had a 2 year old Die Hard Gold drop dead on me about 2 months ago. Sears offers free replacement within 3 years on the Gold, so it didn't cost me anything except time. The new battery is fine. I just wanted to make sure the charging system was up to it's task. Without a load it reads from 14.1-14.4 volts.
Larry, it shoulds like it is working fine. If you want to double check it you can stop by the shop one day and we can throw it on the vats machine.
