Subject: Re: The Penny Drops

[Joshua Van tol]

On Friday, September 13, 2002, at 09:58  PM, John Larson wrote:

> Trust me, 30 years in the business, the alternator is likely to self
> destruct in a matter of seconds.  Seen it many times!  John
>
But probably because of over voltage, not over current. Without the
battery to filter the alternator's output, there could be dangerously
large spikes in the output, and that could easily wipe out the diodes
or the regulator.

Also, the high instantaneous current draw of some items in the car
could be a problem, but that would probably just result in the car
dying.