Bad Alternator Or Regulator?

[The Bogan]

My boat was having starting problems, put in a new 10mm earth from the gearbox to the chassis and now its all good.

[t_revz]

What's your source for the voltage spec? Mine is the 32 GTR service manual. Is it different for other models?

Manuals from when I studied to be an auto sparky,

a little either way depends on personal preference but 14.9 is quite high. I would be concerned if mine was that high. It would be causing the battery to breathe more and dry up quicker and prob reduce battery life.

I've seen 24v systems overcharging at 29-30 and the batteries were so hot they can't be touched and gas pouring out of them and outer casings warped out of shape

[AngryRB]

what would cause the voltage to be high, my battery lights on all the time and the voltage is floats between 14.7 and 15.4..

[t_revz]

If the voltage at alt and battery is high then almost definitely the alternator.

If the alt and battery arent joined well and there is volt drop then alternator voltage will increase and battery will decrease. By disconnecting battery of a running car generally sends them to max output. 20+ volts if speed is fast enough

[AngryRB]

the voltage im seeing is on the power fc, so it must be the alternator then? i remember when i was doing the poncams, i damaged the outside of the alternator trying to leverage it so maybe thats done something to it, i thought there would be a regulator that would control the voltage so it wouldnt go higher than the correct voltage..

Edited September 19, 2012 by SliverS2

[t_revz]

The regulator is in the back of the alternator. But it needs good battery supply to work correctly and stabilise