SPL KID Posted September 3, 2012 Report Share Posted September 3, 2012 your DMM is right you may have a 14 volt battery in that car. and your charging at 15.3 is also correct. If your having problems keeping your amps out of protect you need amps capable of running 16-18 volts. Some Amps you can't run past 15.1 volts or they protect. So your good be happy. NSPL 2001 Trunk 251-500 world champion. 2009 2nd place 0-1800 147.9 under 1800 watts. 2011 0-3601 Trunk Champion. No Typo Current 0-3600 Trunk WR Holder! 149.9 (0-1800) /147.5 (1801-3600) /???.? (3601-up) need new front window first! Learn to be quiet about what your workin on.. L O S E = (L)etting (O)thers (S)ee (E)verything Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockFord_Expedition Posted September 3, 2012 Report Share Posted September 3, 2012 your DMM is right you may have a 14 volt battery in that car. and your charging at 15.3 is also correct. If your having problems keeping your amps out of protect you need amps capable of running 16-18 volts. Some Amps you can't run past 15.1 volts or they protect. So your good be happy. I brought up 14v possibility but the op says he is pretty sure it's not. Old School/New School RF Build March 2015 SOTM Winner How to crimp large wire Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qcbangin Posted September 3, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 3, 2012 If the dmm is good, maybe a bad voltage regulator? how do I check the regulator? Do I have to take it somewhere or can I do it myself? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qcbangin Posted September 3, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 3, 2012 your DMM is right you may have a 14 volt battery in that car. and your charging at 15.3 is also correct. If your having problems keeping your amps out of protect you need amps capable of running 16-18 volts. Some Amps you can't run past 15.1 volts or they protect. So your good be happy. ya I'm pretty sure its not a 14 volt batt. I can check that tomorrow to find out for sure. I also inherited every service record for that car since it was new. Might take awhile to get through them all.Also, I haven't had any problems with my amp protecting. I've beat on it hard, too. Amp gets warm, and sub barely gets warm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockFord_Expedition Posted September 3, 2012 Report Share Posted September 3, 2012 You just need a working dmm. Slowly increase engine rpm and monitor voltage, does it get higher and higher? I mean like beyond what you are already getting. I can only think of three possibilities here, and you have (almost) ruled out two of them 1) 14v battery 2) bad dmm 3) bad voltage regulator I am leaning towards #3. Some vehicles have a voltage regulator that is built in to the alternator and some are separate. Yours may be separate and it probably runs $50-$60 bucks. Whatever it is, get it fixed quickly, you could damage some stuff in your vehicle pretty badly. Only thing that keeps me from wanting to say 100% that it is your voltage regulator is your unusually high voltage without the engine running. But that could be just because it is being over charged due to the bad regulator. How long had the engine been off before you took that reading without the engine running? Old School/New School RF Build March 2015 SOTM Winner How to crimp large wire Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockFord_Expedition Posted September 3, 2012 Report Share Posted September 3, 2012 Another idea... Take your car to the nearest nationwide chain auto parts store, like an auto zone if you have them there and they will check your electrical system for you. Also, call your nearest ford/Lincoln dealer to see what you should be seeing voltage wise. Old School/New School RF Build March 2015 SOTM Winner How to crimp large wire Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qcbangin Posted September 3, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 3, 2012 Ok. I'm gonna get all that done as soon as possible. That's the whole reason I posted. I don't want to damage anything, especially the electrical system. I'm gonna get a different dmm in the morning, unhook everything and check just the battery voltage. I doubt it has a 14 volt batt, but if it does, should I get a different batt or will I be ok with it? Like I said in an earlier post, the car has only been worked on at the dealership, so they would have been the ones to put it in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Socky Posted September 3, 2012 Report Share Posted September 3, 2012 I would suggest on running a bigger alt, or a good size battery, my jeep has a 90 amp alt, and a otipma redtop, and hc800 it drops to 12.6 while driving running a crunch 1100.2 on doors, and apsm 1500. While idle it drops lower, Thats at 1 ohm, which when its cold it charges at 14.6, hot 13.8, no big 3 yet. edit- when you go to run 2000rms Jeep Cherokee 4dr -4.75 in front, new rusty's 4.5 in rear leafs -micky thompson 35x14.50x15 -locker rear -Rusty's offroad Engine/transmission/transfer case/crossmember/gas tank skid plates -Warn front bumper with 8000lb winch -Custom rear bumper -Warrior product tube doors (summertime) -Optima redtop (starter) -26XK miles and still runs like a bat out of hell Kenwood H/U 1/0 wire, 136 amp alt 200 ah batteries 12.7 daily 2 Apsm 1500 @ 2 ohm strapped on zv3 d1 with ns softparts Mb quart 125.4 wired to 4 aura 6's 3.6 cube box tuned to 36 plays down to 23hz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockFord_Expedition Posted September 3, 2012 Report Share Posted September 3, 2012 I would suggest on running a bigger alt, or a good size battery, my jeep has a 90 amp alt, and a otipma redtop, and hc800 it drops to 12.6 while driving running a crunch 1100.2 on doors, and apsm 1500. While idle it drops lower, Thats at 1 ohm, which when its cold it charges at 14.6, hot 13.8, no big 3 yet. edit- when you go to run 2000rms Drinking and posting = bad idea lol. Did you even read the original post? Socky, sounds like you are having electrical problems of your own, >12.7 at idle not good at all. Old School/New School RF Build March 2015 SOTM Winner How to crimp large wire Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigwyatt Posted September 3, 2012 Report Share Posted September 3, 2012 I've seen cases where an alternator or the voltage regulator starts to go out and puts out an extremely high voltage, there is a voltage regulator mounted either in the alternator itself or on the firewall that determines how much the charging system needs to produce to keep up with electrical needs. If it's an externally mounted regulator it is a hell of a lot cheaper to replace than a bad alternator. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.