COMMISSIONING
18 June 2007 / Alpha alternator - Alpha Pro regulator / EN
Figure 15: Front view of the Alpha Pro regulator
5.2.1 Voltage Settings
The Alpha Pro regulator uses the [reg on] terminal
and the [gnd] terminal for measurement of the
battery voltage.
As the field current flows through the [gnd] terminal
as well, a voltage drop may occur on the black cable
which is connected to the [gnd] terminal. This will
affect the charge voltage. To minimize this voltage
drop, a 4mm² black cable is used. Under all
circumstances the voltage-drop may not exceed
0.01 Volts.
Absorption and float voltage adjustments are only
possible with a fully charged battery. If the batteries
are fully charged, the field current will be low and
this will minimize the voltage-drop over the GND
cable.
The temperature-sensor must be removed so that
there will not be a temperature correction.
Use a hand-held digital meter to measure the
voltage on the battery-terminals. To avoid wrong
measurements, do not measure on the alternator
output, neither on the terminals of the regulator
5.2.2 Absorption voltage adjustment
The factory-settings for the absorption voltage are
14.25V for 12V battery and 28.50V for 24V batteries
(@ 25°C / 77°F). When the green absorption LED is
on, increase the engine rpm slightly to verify that the
charge voltage does not increase. If it does either
wait for the battery to become fully charged or find a
high enough rpm where the voltage does not change
with increasing rpm. Rotate the [abs] potentiometer
slightly clockwise to increase or counter clockwise to
decrease the absorption voltage until the desired
value is set. With good wiring and good voltage
sensing the resolution will be within 0.03 Volts.
Do not adjust the charge voltage above the
recommended limits of the battery manufacturer.
Also note that too high voltages may damage
sensitive equipment that is connected to the
batteries.
5.2.3 Float voltage adjustment
The factory-settings for the float voltage are 13.25V
for 12V battery and 26.50V for 24V batteries
To change the float-voltage, you can minimize the
absorption time by turning the [time] potentiometer
fully counter clockwise so that the regulator switches
over to float mode in about 2 minutes. When the
float LED illuminates, you should wait for
approximately 10 minutes because it takes some
time before the battery voltage has dropped. Then
you can adjust the float voltage by rotating the [float]
potentiometer
If the float voltage is set near 13.0V you may have to
switch on some DC loads to get the alternator to turn
on because it takes some time for the voltage to
settle from the higher absorption voltage.
Be sure to return the [time] potentiometer to its initial
setting when finished.
floatbulk abs
float
time
reg on gnd +batfield
abs
Potentiometers
abs
float
time
LED’s
bulk float
absorption
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