Discuss Can an alternator be tested for output off a car? in the Auto Electrician Forum area at ElectriciansForums.net
A crude one will just burn out the windings - no different to an alternator in a generator. When it hits the limits of it's inductance it just gets hot and melts! The voltage will always drop as current increases in the normal way but unlike a generator that has an AVR to keep the rotor voltage even, a mechanically driven alternator has no means to do that as it can only turn at the fixed speed of whatever drive/belt etc is making it move. So eventually all that heat gets the better of it.Test rig to see if it works is easy enough, but would this normally check its rating?
It occurs to me that I don't actually know what happens to an alternator at its maximum rated output. Does its output voltage start to drop off, limiting the current, or, do its output keep increasing until it self destructs?
Reply to Can an alternator be tested for output off a car? in the Auto Electrician Forum area at ElectriciansForums.net
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