Alternator Question

[Eliminator]

Is it common for the alternator to only start charging after about one minute after start up. I have seen alternators that require a certain RPM before they start charging but this one is like it's on a timer.



Guess I never noticed before, just replaced the batteries, they only made it 4 1/2 years.



Truck has 66,000 miles on it.

 

[TCDiesel]

Make sure all your connection are good ,clean and tight,(This includes the driver side) if not you may over charge the rider side battery and it will explode. No it should charge immediately, the system is designed to keep the batteries charged, not charge them on a regular basis.

 

[JWadford]

its normal on a 3rd gen

 

[mberry]

Also don't forget that the grid heaters are working, and the voltage will not show positive until the grid heaters time out or the truck gets above 18mph. My truck does not have this delay unless the grid heaters are working. I am still on the original batteries.

 

[jelag]

Even on a warm day or hot restart my trucks all have a delay... I just assume that the ECM is waiting for the engine to settle down and warm up to a given temperature based on the software... . then the Alternator turns on...

Hope this helps...

 

[Eliminator]

Thanks, that is what I was looking for.



Just a short delay after the inital start up then the guage goes to 14. 0 Volts.



Appreciate the reply.

 

[Prairie Dog]

The alt is charging the batterys normally during the delay, it's just not letting the volt meter show it. I read that this was to reduce the number of calls to service depts by new owners who were wondering why there meters were swinging so wildly.