Electric Voltage When Car Is Idle

Terabite · February 17, 2007

hi guys,

i drive a Honda EG8 V-tec , just curios to know the voltage the generated during & Idle & on REv, my voltage meter shows 12-13V on Idle & 14 on Rev??

is this normal?

neXGen · February 17, 2007

From what i knw.. yup! what made me come to this conclusion is that i ve noticed in plenty of cable jumpstart situations, them owners revving up the car which has started to provide more power and in return start the other car...

there is a scientific reason which i just cant remember right lol.. something about a metal piece revolving quicker surrounding a coil which would create more electricity.. well.. something like that.. would appreciate if some of the experts could poke their thinkin caps into this..

Zz

miniace · February 17, 2007

Terabite said:

hi guys,

i drive a Honda EG8 V-tec , just curios to know the voltage the generated during & Idle & on REv, my voltage meter shows 12-13V on Idle & 14 on Rev??

is this normal?

"The electrical system in an automobile is said to be a 12 volt system, but this is slightly misleading. The charging system in most cars will generally produce a voltage between 13.5 and 14.4 volts while the engine is running. It has to generate more voltage than the battery's rated voltage to overcome the internal resistance of the battery. This may seem strange, but the current needed to recharge the battery would not flow at all if the charging system's output voltage was the same as the battery voltage. A greater difference of potential (voltage) between the battery's voltage and the alternator's output voltage will provide a faster charging rate.

As long as the engine is running, all of the power for the accessories is delivered by the alternator. The battery is actually a load on the charging system. The only time that the battery would supply power with the engine running is when the current capacity of the alternator is exceeded or when engine is at a very low idle."

MINIACE

ruwds · February 17, 2007

neXGen said:

From what i knw.. yup! what made me come to this conclusion is that i ve noticed in plenty of cable jumpstart situations, them owners revving up the car which has started to provide more power and in return start the other car...

there is a scientific reason which i just cant remember right lol.. something about a metal piece revolving quicker surrounding a coil which would create more electricity.. well.. something like that.. would appreciate if some of the experts could poke their thinkin caps into this..

Zz

in jumpstart...when u rev up the car used to jumpstart the other...the revving wud make chargin increase n then put less strain on that car's battery...

n yah bout the voltage being higher when engine is running more than idle...is ok cos as that description by Miniace says...u need a high voltage to charge the battery as voltage flows from higher level to a lowe level...

TurboSeavy · March 22, 2007

ruwds said:

in jumpstart...when u rev up the car used to jumpstart the other...the revving wud make chargin increase n then put less strain on that car's battery...

n yah bout the voltage being higher when engine is running more than idle...is ok cos as that description by Miniace says...u need a high voltage to charge the battery as voltage flows from higher level to a lowe level...

Quite correct, experienced this phenomena last week, when a colleague of mine had to jumpstart his car.

Edited March 22, 2007 by TurboSeavy

Hola · March 22, 2007

Terabite said:

hi guys,

i drive a Honda EG8 V-tec , just curios to know the voltage the generated during & Idle & on REv, my voltage meter shows 12-13V on Idle & 14 on Rev??

is this normal?

Speaking of this, have you guys seen voltage indicators which some guys fit, its a gauge like a vacum meter we talked on another thread. Here is a pic of a Vios which had fixed these. Is this usefull?

Pericles · March 22, 2007

Hola said:

Speaking of this, have you guys seen voltage indicators which some guys fit, its a gauge like a vacum meter we talked on another thread. Here is a pic of a Vios which had fixed these. Is this usefull?

Yes.

Hola · March 22, 2007

Pericles said:

Yes.

ive seen his vios's voltage guage increase when he revs up the engine. But anyway this will never say the battery's power when the engine is switched off nor if battery status is good

Pericles · March 22, 2007

Hola said:

ive seen his vios's voltage guage increase when he revs up the engine. But anyway this will never say the battery's power when the engine is switched off nor if battery status is good

Mine does. At least when the key is inserted and in the "on" position.

Hola · March 22, 2007

Pericles said:

Mine does. At least when the key is inserted and in the "on" position.

do you have an external one like the vios i posted or something in the dash indicator?

Pericles · March 22, 2007

Hola said:

do you have an external one like the vios i posted or something in the dash indicator?

I have a gauge pod on my a-pillar. Aftermarket, if thats what ur asking.

Hola · March 22, 2007

Pericles said:

I have a gauge pod on my a-pillar. Aftermarket, if thats what ur asking.

would you mind showing a pic of it please? and the out comes? cost?

neXGen · March 22, 2007

Hola as far as i know.. there is mainly two important gauges for those who are NA oriented... one is the voltage (for heavy poundin of some cool tunes) and the vacuum which as devz pointed out.. assists in finding out certain probs with the engine....

Zz