13.8 Volts?

["Wm. Josiah Erikson" <josiah@gsinet.net>]

Damn... you're supposed to have 13.8 volts at the battery? I suppose that 12.4
is bad then, huh? Time for a new alternator, I suppose (I already redid all my
grounds)
    -Josiah

Crane, Damien wrote:

> Electrical problems really suck, no two ways about it.  But the first
> thing to do is to make sure that the gauge is accurate or rather that
> the voltage it is reading is representative of the system voltage.
> Corroded connections and bad grounds can cause voltage to drop in
> circuits beyond them.  I don't know where VW measures the voltage, but
> it may be a long way from the alternator and its 13.8.  Your problem may
> not be as big as you think.
>
> ...or maybe it is.
>
> Damien
>
> > ----------
> > From:         VWN8@aol.com[SMTP:VWN8@aol.com]
> > Sent:         Monday, August 17, 1998 10:37 PM
> > To:   scirocco-L@scirocco.org
> > Subject:      S2 (electrical problems) HELP!!!!
> >
> > I've been having some really strange electrical problems recently and
> > I need
> > some ideas on what could be going on. Here's the background on the
> > parts
> > involved: Battery is 3yrs old and run dead once, 90 amp alternator
> > bought used
> > a year ago.
> >
> > What happened was this: the car sat for a week in hot weather (I was
> > doing
> > body work). After a week it wouldn't start (volt guage reeds 11
> > volts). after
> > this the battery drops about 0.4volts every 12 hrs or so. I have'nt
> > messed
> > with any of my electrical components so I have no idea whet could be
> > draining
> > it. Now when I drive my volt guage drops significantly every time I
> > turn
> > something on (ie. reads 13.8 turn lights on and it shows 12.5 run
> > stereo and
> > 12.1 and so on) previously it would nerer dip below 13-13.5. I am
> > really
> > frustrated with this problem so if anyone can offer some ideas I would
> > be very
> > greatfull! BTW: I should mention that the battery does not drain when
> > it is
> > disconected from the leads that go to the interior but the only things
> > that
> > stay on are the volt guage and the clock.
> > TIA
> >
> > Nate
> > --
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