Did a quick test. Had 12.43 volt (engine been off for 20hours)
Started it up, measured volt go to 14.2 then slowly up to 14.36 after a few seconds idling.
Had lights on, radio on.
doesnt that seem fine?
 
synchro said:
Did a quick test. Had 12.43 volt (engine been off for 20hours)
Started it up, measured volt go to 14.2 then slowly up to 14.36 after a few seconds idling.
Had lights on, radio on.
doesnt that seem fine?
Click to expand...
12.43 volts is very low IMO, mine stick at 12.6 volts after dropping from 12.8 a couple of hours after shutting the engine off.
14.36 volts is on the low side but not impossibly so, however it does look like your battery is not being fully charged.
Without lights etc on, I see 14.8 volts on mine immediately after starting and that is with a solar charger keeping the battery topped up when the car is not in use. In the current cold weather, it stays at 14.8 volts on both legs our 30Km trip to the supermarket.
 
So should i buy the voltage regulator, and swap it out. Will that say i have a 14.3-4 volt regulator on my car? Or is it just a old 14.7 slowly screaming its last time?

Why would my battery not fully re-charge when it's rechargin 14.3-3.6 ish volts from alternator? Is this perhaps due to my aftermounted radio drawing current? and car itself drawing current...

In theory a new voltage regulator with higher volt would charge my battery i assume?

I didn't get the gearbox fault warning now as i tested it and took ignition on and off... Weird... Got a tailgate bulb failure tho, might be due i slammed the back abit bcus my electric meter was back there....

*edit* bougth it. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/274297714642?hash=item3fdd6af7d2:g:MykAAOSw9CRbWwv2
 
Last edited:
synchro said:
So should i buy the voltage regulator, and swap it out. Will that say i have a 14.3-4 volt regulator on my car? Or is it just a old 14.7 slowly screaming its last time?

Why would my battery not fully re-charge when it's rechargin 14.3-3.6 ish volts from alternator? Is this perhaps due to my aftermounted radio drawing current? and car itself drawing current...

In theory a new voltage regulator with higher volt would charge my battery i assume?

I didn't get the gearbox fault warning now as i tested it and took ignition on and off... Weird... Got a tailgate bulb failure tho, might be due i slammed the back abit bcus my electric meter was back there....
Click to expand...
The lead calcium battery fitted to your car needs a higher voltage to fully charge than older types of battery. At 14.3 volts it will take many hours to fully charge. Batteries not kept in a good state of charge die fairly quickly. Lead Calcium are not designed to withstand becoming discharged, their function is to provide the short duration high current needed to start the car, once running the battery's only function is to smooth the alternator output and absorb demand spikes.
 
But, i dont have a lead calcium battery. I have a lead acid? @Datatek
i had a lead calcium before, but that battery was bad.. i discharged it several times troubleshoting etc

Im very confused. This is the battery i have https://provolt.no/product/skanbatt-startbatteri-12v-110ah-1000cca-330x171x217-242mm-midtstilt/

I really dont know what that is :D It's atleast under the category of Lead acid batteries.

Is AGM the calciums? Or does that page not sell calcium batteries... or are they in the same category as acid batteries?
 
The 'calcium' battery is still a lead acid battery, the lead has a small amount of calcium mixed in with it during production which means it gases less but needs a higher voltage to charge it (14.7) this is how batteries can be sealed and don't need topping up.
The link doesn't say it's a calcium battery, but the fact is sealed suggests it might be
14.4v was also a fairly common charge point for a while and you can still get regulators set to this voltage, so your regulator is probably working as intended
 
synchro said:
But, i dont have a lead calcium battery. I have a lead acid? @Datatek
i had a lead calcium before, but that battery was bad.. i discharged it several times troubleshoting etc

Im very confused. This is the battery i have https://provolt.no/product/skanbatt-startbatteri-12v-110ah-1000cca-330x171x217-242mm-midtstilt/

I really dont know what that is :D It's atleast under the category of Lead acid batteries.

Is AGM the calciums? Or does that page not sell calcium batteries... or are they in the same category as acid batteries?
Click to expand...
If the battery is sealed with no topping up, it's a lead calcium battery. It's almost impossible to buy a car battery that is not lead calcium.
Just checked your link, looks like a lead calcium battery to me.
AGM batteries are not suitable for the P38 IMO.
 
Well i have purchased the regulator. I suppose this should fully charge my battery. I read that 12.4volt is considerer charged, but 12.6 should be full full.

It was just 3 screws on the back of the alternator rigth? Anything to take care off? No need for taking other parts off? :)
 
synchro said:
Well i have purchased the regulator. I suppose this should fully charge my battery. I read that 12.4volt is considerer charged, but 12.6 should be full full.

It was just 3 screws on the back of the alternator rigth? Anything to take care off? No need for taking other parts off? :)
Click to expand...
Different battery chemistry's have small variations in voltage so between 12.6 and 12.8 is full charged after the battery has lost the surface charge. 12.4 is half charged if you are a glass half full person or half flat if you are a glass half empty person.
Once you get the back cover off, you will see what you need to undo. Don't forget to slide the brush retainer off after fitting the regulator.
 
synchro said:
Well i have purchased the regulator. I suppose this should fully charge my battery. I read that 12.4volt is considerer charged, but 12.6 should be full full.

It was just 3 screws on the back of the alternator rigth? Anything to take care off? No need for taking other parts off? :)
Click to expand...

Take your battery off and charge it properly 12.4 is not good, and do the regulator swap with battery disconnected you dont want to blow the engine ecu ask me how i know:rolleyes:
you can do it with out taking alt off its just a fiddle.
 
Datatek said:
Different battery chemistry's have small variations in voltage so between 12.6 and 12.8 is full charged after the battery has lost the surface charge. 12.4 is half charged if you are a glass half full person or half flat if you are a glass half empty person.
Click to expand...

Absolutly half full :D

I like to have things, as they should be. So my battery volt must be fixed. I ain't paying 300quid for a new same battery next year :D
 
synchro said:
Absolutly half full :D

I like to have things, as they should be. So my battery volt must be fixed. I ain't paying 300quid for a new same battery next year :D
Click to expand...
£300 for a battery:eek: The Hankook MF31-1000 is less than £100 delivered and is the best battery that I have come across by far, I have 6 of them:D As Brian said you need to charge the battery, it will take the alternator a very long time to fully charge the battery even with the correct regulator.
Much easier to remove the alternator IMO.
 
12.4 is generally considered to be the voltage at which sulphation can occur. That's build up on the plates which prevents chemical reactions from taking place
 
Datatek said:
£300 for a battery:eek: The Hankook MF31-1000 is less than £100 delivered and is the best battery that I have come across by far, I have 6 of them:D As Brian said you need to charge the battery, it will take the alternator a very long time to fully charge the battery even with the correct regulator.
Much easier to remove the alternator IMO.
Click to expand...
6 !!!
No wonder they were out of stock when I wanted one:D.
It's ok to do Insitu. I found a mirror useful to locate the small bolts.
Don't chuck the plastic brush retainer away after you've removed it, stick it on your old removed brush pack and you'll have an emergency spare.
 
I'll drive without the radio til the new regulator come :D It can't make it any worse.

Would it maybe be worth to up the amps in the alternator?

Maybe my small 10 minute lunch break trips to the shop is killing my battery, (back and fourth 5min x2) with my radio blasting... 2x 12inch subs aint that easy i suppose. I don't know how long the alternator needs to work to charge up the battery from mainly just starting the car. (it starts quite quickly btw after i changed to this good battery)
Someone once told me it usually takes around 5-10 min before the car charges up from the starting..

Im not an electrician i just connect and disconnect cables :D

AMPs is the amount of power, and volt is the speed aint that somehow relateable? Maybe not :rolleyes::eek: However, if i have a slow charging alternator with mediocre capacity and a huge bass i suppose thats whats killing it. (and my small trips)

I do not have a RF reciever in the car, so my car is not draining battery from WiFi signals and that sh*t :D (i dont mind unlocking via key)

Im just abit scared that my oil pressure light took some time to extinguish also (type, fresh oil change, filter empty) , when the gearbox fault message also came...
I've got enough oil atleast, checked that. It's not even cold anymore. It's like 5-8 degrees now after 2 weeks of sub zero temp

No odd sounds btw, so guess its just the electrical doing a spooky spook:oops:
 
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