Voltage readings

[Andy]

-2 amps with master on, +10 at startup then dropped down to +3 continuous flight. Stays consistent in flight not fluctuation

Based on that I'd say your alternator is charging the battery just fine and your should find something else to worry about.

[Cubflyer814]

Based on that I'd say your alternator is charging the battery just fine and your should find something else to worry about.

Appreciate all the insight, however when you say find something else to worry about do you mean within the electrical system or that everything seems okay with it?

[Andy]

Appreciate all the insight, however when you say find something else to worry about do you mean within the electrical system or that everything seems okay with it?

Your current (Amps) readings indicate that the battery is being charged with normal current during cruise flight. Since this is the case I would not be concerned about the indicated voltage being 13.1 in flight. Both of these values are in the green range on your D180 display.

If the voltage drops to 12.6 in cruise flight, as I think you indicated earlier, I would want to find out why because that does not seem normal.

If the cruise voltage varies between 12.6 and 13.1 but the battery current (Amps) does not change then I would suspect a problem with the voltage indicating system.

[Daveembry]

Hi,

in simple “layman’s terms” (the only thing I understand) ……

You have an alternator that can put out electricity and a battery that stores it. The ammeter showing “amps” in your panel measures the “direction” of the current flowing through your system. Negative means current is flowing from your battery to the system and + amps shows current is flowing from the alternator to the battery. If the voltage of the output of the alternator is above the voltage level of your battery, it sends current (positive +) to the battery to charge. If the battery voltage equals the alternator output capacity, it stops (ammeter would show 0.).

So if you turn on your master and it powers up your electronics without starting the engine, the ammeter will show a - number because the current is going out of the battery. If you switch in your avionics or lights, etc. you will notice even higher negative amps.

Start your engine and the alternator will sense the lower battery voltage and it will send a charge to it and a + amps amount. Since you used the battery to start the engine, the initial amps should be higher and as your battery level comes up, the positive amps should go down. It will indicate positive levels normally while flying. If you see a negative while flying, then the alternator isn’t working properly or a wiring problem, etc.

Hope that helps explains it. I hate electricity! 😎

Appreciate all the insight, however when you say find something else to worry about do you mean within the electrical system or that everything seems okay with it?

[Cubflyer814]

Hi,

in simple “layman’s terms” (the only thing I understand) ……

You have an alternator that can put out electricity and a battery that stores it. The ammeter showing “amps” in your panel measures the “direction” of the current flowing through your system. Negative means current is flowing from your battery to the system and + amps shows current is flowing from the alternator to the battery. If the voltage of the output of the alternator is above the voltage level of your battery, it sends current (positive +) to the battery to charge. If the battery voltage equals the alternator output capacity, it stops (ammeter would show 0.).

So if you turn on your master and it powers up your electronics without starting the engine, the ammeter will show a - number because the current is going out of the battery. If you switch in your avionics or lights, etc. you will notice even higher negative amps.

Start your engine and the alternator will sense the lower battery voltage and it will send a charge to it and a + amps amount. Since you used the battery to start the engine, the initial amps should be higher and as your battery level comes up, the positive amps should go down. It will indicate positive levels normally while flying. If you see a negative while flying, then the alternator isn’t working properly or a wiring problem, etc.

Hope that helps explains it. I hate electricity! 😎

electric is my mechanical weakness, thanks for the input!

[Cubflyer814]

Your current (Amps) readings indicate that the battery is being charged with normal current during cruise flight. Since this is the case I would not be concerned about the indicated voltage being 13.1 in flight. Both of these values are in the green range on your D180 display.

If the voltage drops to 12.6 in cruise flight, as I think you indicated earlier, I would want to find out why because that does not seem normal.

If the cruise voltage varies between 12.6 and 13.1 but the battery current (Amps) does not change then I would suspect a problem with the voltage indicating system.

Okay, thanks for the help!