Hello, 2005 LR3 4.4 V8 with around 140,000 K. My alternator generally runs around 13.5-14 ish but sometimes...mostly on start up on random mornings it can run as low as 12.5. An LR3 friend had told me sometimes they dip down on cold mornings because your running your heater, the compressor is going and everything is warming up. Is this remotely true?
I'm chasing some gremlins giving me occasional suspension faults and I'm wondering if the alternator could be it. FYI, battery is new. Thanks for any help.
FYI, I've never seen the low voltage when driving only at idle in the morning.

 

Not true. The alternator is PCM controlled using PWM, its take A LOT of pull to get its voltage to drop if its working properly. I have tried this on several LR3 in the past and on cold starts, cold morning they will put out above 14v consistently. Once idled for a short while, 13.8 minimum but typically right about 14v. On a warm engine warmer day, my start ups are usually 13.2-ish.

Here is a weird idea, start it and DONT run all that and see what the voltage is. The colder the engine, outside temperature the higher the voltage with a peak of 14.5. Def not exceed 15v though.

 

Thanks for the reply. This is great new sort of, I will replace the alternator this weekend along with all the other work I'm doing. Looking forward to seeing if this helps with my random suspension fault and transmission fault warnings.