dig280z Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 Ok,so today i turn on my car and when i put it in revers a red light on my volt gauge turn on. it has chg next to it what dose that stand for/means? I dont know any thing about this light and why did it just started to do this ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Six_Shooter Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 On most cars that means that your alternator is not charging. What voltage does your voltmeter show? Lower than normal? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dig280z Posted January 28, 2008 Author Share Posted January 28, 2008 the volts stay the same which is 16 volts i have a two month old voltage regulator that i got from auto zone . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dig280z Posted January 30, 2008 Author Share Posted January 30, 2008 Hhas any boby had this problem before ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big-phil Posted February 17, 2008 Share Posted February 17, 2008 my volts almost always say 16. That seems high. I put in another alternator and it still reads 16. With lights, heater, windshield wipers on it does drop down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktm Posted February 17, 2008 Share Posted February 17, 2008 Do not trust the voltage gauge in the car. I use mine for reference only. Mine also says around 16 volts when on the highway, but I know that I am only putting out 14.4 volts as measured by a DMM. I simply use the gauge to help me determine if something is wrong (pegged needled, gauge showing less than 16 at highway, etc.). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gollum Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 I was kinda wondering about that too. My guage is showing 16, which at a glance looks pegged, but probably isnt. It actually shows around 13 when I first start the engine, then once I rev the engine past 3k the alternator kicks in at it reads up near 16V. I'm assuming this is because I have a 4 wire alt that can turn on/off. I'll check mine with a multimeter once I have it handy. Don't want to fry anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Austin240Z Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 16 volts is not good for your battery... anything above 15.4(cant rember if it is .2 or .4) will damage your battery. That is why all cars have a voltage regulator. A charge or battery light will come on when your battery will come on when there is a drop in AMPs being put out by the alternator. A volt meter wont really give you a whole lot of direct information. Take your car to a local parts store, Advance Autoparts can test your alternator while it's still on your car for free. I'm not sure about O'Reilys, and Zone, but they should be able to as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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