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My alternator regulator no longer goes through the bulk charge cycle and goes right to the absorption setpoint. Does it need to be serviced?

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My alternator regulator no longer goes through the bulk charge cycle and goes right to the absorption setpoint. Does it need to be serviced?

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Bill, all Ample Power Regulators are run with microcomputers. If the microcomputer is operating at all, it will almost certainly be going through all of the charge cycles. A memory failure that would skip one of the cycles and still allow the microcomputer to operate is a very unlikely, if not impossible circumstance. You probably don’t see the bulk charge indicator because the battery voltage is rising very quickly to the absorption voltage. This will happen if the batteries are already full, or don’t accept a charge because of sulfation or other failure. The bulk charge cycle is that period of time between the onset of charge and reaching the absorption voltage. How long that takes depends on the size of the alternator, and the acceptance rate of the batteries. Other than full-fielding the regulator during the bulk time period, the regulator has nothing else to do but sit and watch for battery voltage to reach the absorption setpoint. At that time, current will start to decline throu

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