Greetings!
I'm a layman, so please accept my apologies for what could be considered an astounding degree of ignorance on these matters.
My setup:
My offroad vehicle alternator is rated from the manufacturer at 40 amps. I'm not sure how much voltage, other than that I know it charges a pair of 12v batteries, in parallel. I'm guessing it's probably charging at around 13 volts, minimum. A friend of mine says the alternator probably has a higher charging voltage applied to the battery when the battery is at a lower discharge state, which then automatically adjusts lower and lower as the battery approaches a full charge. He's says that's because most alternators these days are "smart", but I'm not sure if I should trust that is true. Not because I don't trust my friend, but because I can't be sure the vehicle wasn't just made with cheaper components. I'm assuming a "dumb" alternator would be cheaper than a "smart" alternator.
I recently installed a new lightbar on said vehicle. The lightbar mentions a certain minimum fusing requirement, I believe it's something like 20 or 30 amps. This isn't terribly important to me as the lightbar came with a 40 amp fuse. This worried me slightly though, as it suggests to me the lightbar could pull almost that much current under certain circumstances.
I have a multimeter. The vehicle has an on-board voltmeter as well.
My questions:
How do I go about verifying my alternator output?
How do I check to see if my alternator is "smart" or not?
Should I be concerned that running my vehicle with the light bar on constantly is going to prevent the battery from charging?
I'm a layman, so please accept my apologies for what could be considered an astounding degree of ignorance on these matters.
My setup:
My offroad vehicle alternator is rated from the manufacturer at 40 amps. I'm not sure how much voltage, other than that I know it charges a pair of 12v batteries, in parallel. I'm guessing it's probably charging at around 13 volts, minimum. A friend of mine says the alternator probably has a higher charging voltage applied to the battery when the battery is at a lower discharge state, which then automatically adjusts lower and lower as the battery approaches a full charge. He's says that's because most alternators these days are "smart", but I'm not sure if I should trust that is true. Not because I don't trust my friend, but because I can't be sure the vehicle wasn't just made with cheaper components. I'm assuming a "dumb" alternator would be cheaper than a "smart" alternator.
I recently installed a new lightbar on said vehicle. The lightbar mentions a certain minimum fusing requirement, I believe it's something like 20 or 30 amps. This isn't terribly important to me as the lightbar came with a 40 amp fuse. This worried me slightly though, as it suggests to me the lightbar could pull almost that much current under certain circumstances.
I have a multimeter. The vehicle has an on-board voltmeter as well.
My questions:
How do I go about verifying my alternator output?
How do I check to see if my alternator is "smart" or not?
Should I be concerned that running my vehicle with the light bar on constantly is going to prevent the battery from charging?