How does an AC alternator work?
The alternator works by turning mechanical energy into electrical energy. When your engine is on, it powers a drive belt that rests on a pulley attached to the alternator. The pulley turns the alternator’s rotor shaft, which spins a set of magnets around a coil.
What is the voltage of an alternator rated at?
The last number is 13.5V, which is “VT” or the voltage that the alternator was held at during the test. Since an alternator’s output can vary both up and down from 13.5V in real-world situations, it’s actual output limits will vary from the idle and rated numbers.
How does a voltage control device work on an alternator?
An automatic voltage control device controls the field current to keep output voltage constant. If the output voltage from the stationary armature coils drops due to an increase in demand, more current is fed into the rotating field coils through the voltage regulator(VR).
How is the output of an alternator dependent?
In essence, while maximum alternator output is dependent on the rotational speed of the input shaft, the actual output is load-dependent. That basically means that an alternator will never generate more current than is called for by the momentary demands of the electrical system.
What are the different parts of an alternator?
Before going further on what different types of alternator are and how they work, let’s look at the next section on the alternator parts and functions Regardless of the types of alternator, it generally has three parts: the stator, the rotor, and the diode, plus a voltage regulator.
What causes high voltage in alternator?
You should get 0.5 to 2 volts higher than base voltage. If you are getting more than 2 volts above base voltage, most likely your alternator is over-charging the battery or the battery is faulty. Other potential problems are a faulty voltage regulator or a problem in the charging system wiring.
How much voltage does an alternator put out?
This means that while the voltage of most car batteries is 12 volts, an alternator will typically output anywhere between 13 and a half and 15 volts of electricity.
How much voltage to “excite” an alternator?
The maximum output from your alternator should be regulated to between 14.1 and 14.4 volts DC. The voltage regulator’s job is to supply voltage to the battery when it’s not at the nominal level.
What is the regulated voltage from an alternator?
Normal readings should be around 14 volts for a so-called 12-volt system. This is because the voltage output of the alternator must greater than the battery voltage or current will not flow into the battery, which on its own should produce about 12.8 volts when fully charged.