RE: 14.4 volts on the headlamps

[DeWitt Harrison <de@aztek-eng.com>]

On Thu, 17 Dec 1998 16:55:41 -0600, Alan Cordeiro wrote:

>Yeah I know, one of my main beefs with older BOSCH alternators 
>used in Audis...... they seen fat dumb and happy at 13.7 or so....
>
>Now go figger out why BOSCH alternators used in Chrysler
>vehicles regularly give 14.2 or 14.3 volts.........

My theory: Supplying 13.x volts instead of 14.x volts represents
a significant power savings and permitts the use of a relatively
small (cheap?) alternator for a given complement of electrical
equipment. On a turbo Audi, that complement is large given the
megawatts needed for the bloody cooling fan.

One beneficial aspect of a smaller alternator is reduced engine losses
compared to power lost spinning a larger unit. I noticed the additional
load on the idle circuit when I switched from a 90A unit to 115A.

DeWitt Harrison
Boulder, CO
88 5kcstq