Hello- I'm curious as to what voltages would be normal for 2 batteries w/ a surepower isolator. My main battery seems to have bitten the dust, I killed it leaving the "headlights" (the parking lights, etc which remain on after engine is turned off) on overnight. The battery would take no charge at all, I could start it from the aux battery, but it would take no charge at all, after an hour of engine running. So today I installed a new battery, and things seem ok, for the moment. My alternator puts out 13.8v. Each of the batteries, with engine on, read 12.8 - 12.98 As I understand it, the voltage should be OVER 13 while engine is running. Engine off, the batteries are at 12.6 or 12.7 So the isolator is giving them each a little extra voltage, but not as much as I would expect. I am fairly new to DC electricity in vehicle context, so if anyone can help me test to make sure my isolator is set up properly, and my alternator is working correctly, I would appreciate it. I'm reading "Managing 12 Volts", which is a great book, but its basically telling me I need to measure evertying at 80 degrees. I'm paranoid that I screwed up the isolator install somehow, and the batteries are just slowly draining (the install was a month ago, and things seemed ok). Thanks for any guidance- Rob Campbell 87 Westy, Seattle |
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