• HakFoo
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    4
    ·
    10 hours ago

    Why do American car dashboards so often have a voltage gauge?

    I can’t recall ever seeing one on the Japanese or Korean cars I’ve used.

    Are the electrics uniquely needing of monitoring on American cars?

    • lemming741@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      3
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      9 hours ago

      They’re worthless anyway. 70 degree sweep from 18 to 8 volts tells you nothing. Though they probably get too many service calls if the range was a more usable 11 to 15.

      Same reason ford ditched the oil pressure gauge.

      • Jay@lemmy.ca
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        3
        ·
        edit-2
        6 hours ago

        They have told me many times when my alternate stopped charging, especially on cars with mechanic voltage regulators. Anything under 12 volts, your car won’t start. If your alternator is charging properly, you should be around 12, and around 13-14 volts when the engine is running. Higher than 15 you’re overcharging and need to fix something.