1985-1998 [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
13.2V sounds perfectly normal and wouldn't cause me any concern (though typically, you'll see much higher readings in colder weater, as much as 14.3V in winter on my car). However, your idle reading is quite low. Worst case scenerio is in the heat of summer, the hotter the worse, with headlights on and ACC blower motor on full, as well as A/C on full, and sitting at a stoplight with the stereo cranked. In this situation, 12V would be expected. However, on any normal day, with blower motor on anything but high, stereo at normal volume (ok so this is assuming you have a 460w stereo like me, probably not!), you should still get at least 12.8V even with the headlights on, more if they are off.
Keep in mind though, that if the battery is truly low, ie maybe you just gave it enough charge to start, there will be yet further drain on your alternator until the battery charges up fully.
As to the external regulator, if it improves the performance of the alternator/regulator in hot weather, that would indeed be helpful, however, depending on your climate and use of A/C, it may not be needed. Here in Seattle, I can get by without it, especially since I rarely have my blower motor on, and no longer drive with headlight on at all times.
I replaced just the regulator/brushes on my alternator, from the top of the car no less, after I lost all charging. This completely fixed my charging problems. However, it should also be noted that I replaced both ground cables to the battery with all new cable and much heavier duty terminals - the ends were corroded and not making good contact. This alone gave me about 0.3V more...
Hope this helps! I'd definitely try replacing just the brushes/regulator first and see if that fixes it, and check the cables..
Aaron Gilbert
1987 9000T 245k miles
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