Battery voltage seems OK.
Engine off in spec
Engine on in spec

Current
Engine off, 120ma (which is alot but I didn't disconnect the stereo and I know it's a hog)

AC leakage. I don't trust this meter.
Engine off, 27.4
Engine on, 30.7

Questions, comments, concerns or any feedback?

(I'm playing hookie, AWOL from work, for this..)
Edit: root issue of concern is the dash going ape˟˟˟˟ when any load is applied to the electrical, blower fan, lights of any sort and operating windows.

 

Google isn't helping much today, it mostly turns up me talking about this issue..

The RTE forum is down, and I know it's going to say for the most part it's a power/ground issue.

Guess I can go clean some grounds in the mean time. I haven't looked into the relay box in the passenger area yet still because it's blocked off and not a fun thing to get to.

 

Yeah that will do it.. That second wire off the side is my body ground.

 

Ah!

A case of the crusties!

 

+1 For zero dollar fixes!

 

Not sure if off topic, but I always wonder if inserting a big old capacitor behind the alternator would smooth the dc out "completely".

Good idea or worthless?

 

Filter caps are typically placed as close as possible to the drain. They are also sized to filter specific frequency's, 100-10-1uf caps for example in digital circuits are used alot. You'll find this sort of layout inside the ECU for example, the filter on the ignitor is another capacitor. The only place that doesn't have a good filter is the stereo because you just can't fit one big enough inside it which is why you'll see the huge external capacitor used in hi-fi high power systems..

Better diodes would help with the ripple, there is a clamping spec usually in the single digit us range iirc, but most of the ripple is from the commutator or something like that.

To handle the 60 amp draw of the whole system you would need a large bank of super capacitor something like six to twelve of them.

 

I wouldn't worry about filtering. Everything in your truck/car is DESIGNED to handle the ripple on the power supply. For instance, our gauges are hot-wire ammeters, which are intrinsically damped. Newer cars use steppers behind ADCs; the current draw on the sensors is so small that tiny capacitors in the ECU are plenty. Your radio ("entertainment system") cares about ripple, but all radios are designed to reject power line noise.

If your ground connection is regularly dropping out due to a bad connection at the battery, well, no capacitor is going to help that.

 

Also the filter design needed changes based on the load type, resistive or inductive, so just having the capacitor isn't a cure all.