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Originally Posted by mikefocke
an alternator not produce its top "juice" till 2-3k RPM? I recall the testing is not done at idle. And I recall jump starting others cars, the best results were after reving the donor car's alternator to 3k for a bit.
Is the Subi's voltage regulator part of the alternator or separate?
Connections clean and secure?
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Thanks for your interest Mike.
Well, I am thinking my alternator is bad because,
1. There is this burning smell when I open the hood.
2. According to my gadget, the alternator is producing a little bit more than 12v at idle. And the gadget says this is not good. (My 3 others cars pass the gadget test at idle.)
3. The car runs fine when I am driving at 2-3k RPM, but starts to idle rough and dies when parked in the driveway. (This after the Subi was jumped using a portable jumper and driven for about 15 mins. with high RPM.)
It is entirely possible that Subi needs more love, I mean driving time.
The combination of short distance local driving, less than 8 miles each way, and infrequent use, once a week, is not charging the battery enough.
I have fully charged the battery using a trickle charger, however, the burnt smell near the alternator leads me to believe the alternator is cooked.
As for the location of the voltage regulator, I need to research.
The battery is new. Got it from Costco back in Feb.
It is the burnt smell that bothers me the most.
What do you guys think?