Let's let Alex decide whether he wants to follow my suggestion or not. I find it hard to believe that mpi engines are 'special' in respect of using a charge voltage that would barely work at all.

Perhaps one or two other owners could measure theirs? Voltage regulators often state their nominal voltage on the outside, what does yours say on it Alex? Anything visible?

 

It worked very well all through the 70's, 80's and 90's after the dynamo became obsolete at the end of the 60's and is still the standard for charging 12V traction batteries so I'm unclear exactly what you mean.

What I mean is, why would an mpi-engined Fabia need/use a lower charge voltage than any other Fabia?

Because it's the only legacy Skoda engine from pre-VW ownership, Felicias are the same.

It worked very well all through the 70's, 80's and 90's after the dynamo became obsolete at the end of the 60's and is still the standard for charging 12V traction batteries so I'm unclear exactly what you mean.

That's really very interesting, because I was taught 14.4v by a master mechanic and a BSc Automotive Engineering, and have seen that with a range of +/-0.1v (idle revs, body systems off) on a range of vehicles. I'll take my education and experience against anything sort of a cited and linked VAG technical spec or bulletin.

Because it's the only legacy Skoda engine from pre-VW ownership, Felicias are the same.

I see no reason for the engine to define the vehicle electrics.

Check out table 2:

 

http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/charging_the_lead_acid_battery

 

This speaks for itself, since modern calcium batteries are generally sealed and are capable of sustaining higher charging voltages without gassing 2.4V has become the norm. Flooded traction batteries are still charged at 2.3V to reduce gassing and prolong service life, of course they're not sealed and can be watered as required.

 

Why do you always assume I'm making this stuff up?

Edited 27 December, 201510 yr by sepulchrave

I see no reason for the engine to define the vehicle electrics.

 

It doesn't, it's simply that it uses the old 12V standard of 2.3V per cell instead of 2.4V, either will work just fine with any 12V electrical system.

Because it's the only legacy Skoda engine from pre-VW ownership, Felicias are the same.

 

 

I see no reason for the engine to define the vehicle electrics.

Me neither, not least because the only link between "age of engine block design" and "generator output voltage" is the distance between the mounting lug castings, and I've seen generator mountings which included a spacer to take up a gap between the lug castings on the block and those on the generator itself.

Because it's the only legacy Skoda engine from pre-VW ownership, Felicias are the same.

But it will only have the old type 3 bolt adjustable 55A alt. if it's non ac. With ac they fitted the same 4 bolt unit as every other vw 70a min.

Doesn't sound like they tested it correctly anyway if they didn't pick the revs up from idle.

The multimeter shows constant 13.{6,8} from idle to 3000rpm with mainbeam, radio and fan blower on 1st position. It doesn't change if those are turned off though. With all consumers turned on / at max voltage doesn't drop under 13V, no matter if it's at idle or at 3000rpm. I will schedule a visit to a local garage to lift the car, take the engine shield down and do what Wino suggested.

I've got my battery tested today. It seems that's at 63% of lifetime, with a starting current of 337EN (listed - 480), at 12.8V, with 7.27mOhm int r . The fact is that I have a major consumer with the car locked, which is drawing ~1Ah, which is not so ok. I have the 12 to 5v adapter for the DVR which is drawing about 0.3Ah, which doesn't sound like a lot, so I will have to check which is the other one. My guess is that the HU is drawing the rest, even it's in standby mode..&/or the sub amp (which should be turned off by the HU when the ignition key is retracted ). I have nothing other than that. I feel like in Apollo 13 lol.

This is dead battery. If its dry cell, it will be shorted soon and U will have even more problems. U need to recharge it on AC power. Resistant is not good and it will be even higher over time. Test you have performed should say "carefull" for this battery. Correct?

I haven't checked yet, but if possible, should I check if the battery isn't sealed and if not, check and fill it with distilled water? Maybe check the density as well ? It would be cheaper than buying a new battery, that's for sure and if I can't do anything about my alternator, the new one will not be covered by warranty either. Pretty dead end for me, though. Until then, I have a charged battery in the boot and a set of clamps in case I will need it. Maybe I will take out the alternator and have it checked and refurbished before buying a new battery.