Force alternator to ALWAYS charge?
 

Hiya y'all!

I EOC (engine off coast) SO much it's hard to keep my battery fully charged.

Is there a way to manually override the voltage regulator to force the alternator to ALwAYS charge the battery. For long freeway passages, I'd like to be able to throw a switch to put the alternator into it's normal charging state.

Thanks,
Doug :)

What about plugging a battery charging pack on overnight, however many times a week or month this is required?

Get yourself a Solar panel Doug, I have one on the Honda, connects directly to the battery terminals and keeps the battery topped up, the panel is small and just sits on the dash. Worth a shot?

The problem is, if your battery is even the slightest bit low, it will charge automatically when you restart the engine. You probably either need a larger battery and possibly a higher rated alternator.

I'll second those replies.
If the battery is low, the system should be charging it automatically.

I try to top off my battery once in awhile with a charger. I like the idea of the solar battery tender, but I make regular use of windshield shades in the warmer months, and you have take airbag placement into account when placing it.

Before upgrading the battery and/or alternator. I'd get the current battery checked. EOCing will age it quicker, and it just might be dying.

How old is the battery? Lots of EOC will drain the battery. Best solution is a new-bigger battery, combined with charging it overnight, if practical.

I'd be with Paul on the solar panel option, depending on where you are, there should be 8-10 hours of daylight to trickle some extra power into the battery.

Oliver.

Gee. I didn't know that EOC was known to be hard on car batteries. Thanks for that factoid. R.I.D.E! Hmmm. Never used that word before. What's the difference between a "fact" and a "factoid"?.

Because the battery was only charging up to 12.4 volts, I thought it was a battery problem. This September the battery will be 2 years old.

So, I removed the battery and, over a week, I put a battery disulfator on it while intermittently charging it. Got it to reliably hold 12.6 volts after a resting state of many hours.

After driving around with the fully charged battery it's down to 12.4 volts, AGAIN!

I confirmed excellent continuity between the alternator ground, block, and chassis.

That led me to suspect the alternator or it's internal voltage regulator. But the alternator does put out 14.1 charging volts.

Now, knowing EOC is hard on batteries, I suppose OliverGT's suggestion of installing a solar charger is the best solution. Does anyone have an alternative idea?

This concern will eventually go away when I trade this 27y/o Civic for a USED Tesla 3. ;)

Ok. Here's what I've engineered. Instead of mounting an unsightly solar panel on my car's roof, I will have a pole dancer.

If my calculations are correct, which I can't be too sure, because my hand was trembling with excitement as I was doing the arithmetic, a decent pole dancer should be able to put out more than enough energy. I figure the energy output can be regulated by the choice of music.

We'd all like to see this Doug, please post appropriate pics and vids to help us appreciate your idea.