<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;
charset=windows-1252">
</head>
<body>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 8/5/21 10:33, john niolon wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite"
cite="mid:1UZ4YZ76KH.7AHYM3yYtnG@johns-desktop"><span
style="FONT-SIZE: 13px; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana, geneva, lucida,
"lucida grande", arial, helvetica, sans-serif;
WHITE-SPACE: normal; WORD-SPACING: 0px; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none;
FLOAT: none; FONT-WEIGHT: 400; COLOR: rgb(34,34,34); FONT-STYLE:
normal; ORPHANS: 2; WIDOWS: 2; DISPLAY: inline !important;
LETTER-SPACING: normal; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(255,255,255);
TEXT-INDENT: 0px; font-variant-ligatures: normal;
font-variant-caps: normal; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;
text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style:
initial; text-decoration-color: initial">with the a/c on,
headlights on and elec radiator fan running (as much load as I
can put on it)... the alternator o/p at 14.5 volts, the voltage
at the terminal on rail reads 11.5 volts. The terminal is 4'
from battery and fed with #4 stranded wire.</span></blockquote>
<p>I think this might be the smoking gun. The voltage you're seeing
at that terminal with the engine 'on' is roughly what I would
expect to see if you were powering things only
with your battery. But let's check some things before I jump to
conclusions...</p>
<p>1. Double-check the electrical path between this terminal and the
battery/alternator to make sure there's no corrosion that might
increase resistance.</p>
<p>2. What's the voltage at the terminal with those accessories 'on'
but the engine 'off' ?</p>
<p>3. How big is the alternator? Do you know offhand what its rated
output is at various engine RPMs (some aftermarket manufacturers
provide this info). Sometimes folks with big audio systems will
run into dead-battery problems after installing a high-output
alternator because the new alternator's 'preferred' RPMs don't
match up with the owner's typical driving style.<br>
</p>
<p>-- J</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<p><br>
</p>
</body>
</html>