Is my alternator charging too much?

[WagenKult]

While driving home from a VW meet yesterday I noticed my volt gauge was up to almost 16 volts. It has never done that before. Usually stays at around 14 volts. It's a 75 amp alternator and I was on the freeway cruising at 65-70 mph. On surface streets it dropped to just above 14 volts. Anybody with thoughts on this?
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[the.fordhams]

Alternators should regulate themselves to an output in the region of 14 to 14.4V - hot or cold. At idle they may just charge, anything above idle they hit 14V or so and then go on reulating to this voltage with higher rpm. Spinning faster should not change the output and will merely make the alternator's regulator run hotter.

Alternators fail in a number of ways but the more common I think is for one or more of the diodes in the regulator to fail - this leads to a higher (read ugly) voltage output spikes. Basically any more than 14v or so is not good for the battery. Most service shops have a battery tester that also does start / charge type tests. They'll probably do a test for free.

Is the battery hot after a long run? Do the lights vary / pulse / flicker at night above about 1500 rpms? Have you got blown bulbs? Is the battery able to crank well enough? All potential signs of a bad alternator.

Good luck,

Al
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[WagenKult]

[L572]

It is also not unheard of to have a dash gauge that doesn't read quite right... You might want to check the voltage off the alternator with a handheld VOM meter. You could also apply a known voltage to the gauge to see what it reads.

Good luck.

L572