Car Battery Ripple Test shows 0.480 V (480mv)

[Athrunzala]

My Montero 2012 shows in my battery tester gadget the ripple test of 0.480 V. Is this normal or is it a bad sign?

Sometimes when I am in the NLEX with speed of around 90-100, there is a noise, looks like coming from the aircon belt, but when I turn-off the aircon, the noise disappears immediately. I don't know if this is related to the high ripple that I get from the car battery tester.

Any helpful comments is highly appreciated!

[gls2001]

This is a ripple check on the Mirage, got 150mV(0.15V). You might want to have the diodes checked on your alternator.




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[Athrunzala]

This is a ripple check on the Mirage, got 150mV(0.15V). You might want to have the diodes checked on your alternator.




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gls2001 , pareho pala tayo ng battery tester, hmm I checked today, and it is now back to (0.31V) .
Is 310mV already in the normal range or not? I think some of the belts could be loosening...

[Athrunzala]

Hmm, now I used a Digital Multimeter and placed it in the AC symbol and choose option 200 (not the option 700). The DMM is now showing 30mv which is normal.

I watched a video in Youtube, and the person said that some people say over 50mv is the limit for normal ripple while other people say that the limit is now 100mv on newer cars.

I don't know but it looks like if my DHC car battery tester gadget is showing 0.30V it means 30mv and not 300mv....... Mukhang mali ang decimal placing niya

[Athrunzala]

[yapoy86]

gls2001 , pareho pala tayo ng battery tester, hmm I checked today, and it is now back to (0.31V) .
Is 310mV already in the normal range or not? I think some of the belts could be loosening...

Naka overrunning pulley ba ang alternator ng monty?

[Athrunzala]

Naka overrunning pulley ba ang alternator ng monty?

sorry hindi kuna alam yan eh. Basta kung minsan kapag over 100 km/h na ako hindi naman siya nag-iingay

[yapoy86]

sorry hindi kuna alam yan eh. Basta kung minsan kapag over 100 km/h na ako hindi naman siya nag-iingay

Yung pulley mismo ng alternator... search mo overruning pulley.. minsan pag sira na yan maingay na

[kisshmet]

My Montero 2012 shows in my battery tester gadget the ripple test of 0.480 V. Is this normal or is it a bad sign?

Sometimes when I am in the NLEX with speed of around 90-100, there is a noise, looks like coming from the aircon belt, but when I turn-off the aircon, the noise disappears immediately. I don't know if this is related to the high ripple that I get from the car battery tester.

Any helpful comments is highly appreciated!

do you read your car alternators ripple while the car is stationary and while the aircon is on or off?

at stationary the rpm is just below 1000rpm which is way below the rpm at 90-100kph which is a tad below 2000rpm so that means your engine works harder during high speed so i believe that causes the noise you are complaining about

turning off the aircon at that speed disengage the compressor of the AC..so when you turn off the aircon then you lighten the load of the engine

0.48V is close to 1/2 a volt which is relatively small voltage over the total output voltage of 13.5V or higher from the alternator

the ripple voltage is typically small simply because its the average voltage measurement from the up (charging cycle of the capacitor) and down (discharging cycle of the capacitor) voltage cycle the cars electrical system generate converting AC to DC (rectifier circuit)

a halfwave rectifier normally has a higher ripple than a fullwave rectifier. its not just the diode you need to check when it comes to rectifier circuit, you also need to check the capacitor.

a poor capacitor or faulty one will normally display a high ripple voltage because its the job of the capacitor to refine the DC voltage that will charge the battery of your car

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[Athrunzala]

do you read your car alternators ripple while the car is stationary and while the aircon is on or off?

at stationary the rpm is just below 1000rpm which is way below the rpm at 90-100kph which is a tad below 2000rpm so that means your engine works harder during high speed so i believe that causes the noise you are complaining about

turning off the aircon at that speed disengage the compressor of the AC..so when you turn off the aircon then you lighten the load of the engine

0.48V is close to 1/2 a volt which is relatively small voltage over the total output voltage of 13.5V or higher from the alternator

the ripple voltage is typically small simply because its the average voltage measurement from the up (charging cycle of the capacitor) and down (discharging cycle of the capacitor) voltage cycle the cars electrical system generate converting AC to DC (rectifier circuit)

a halfwave rectifier normally has a higher ripple than a fullwave rectifier. its not just the diode you need to check when it comes to rectifier circuit, you also need to check the capacitor.

a poor capacitor or faulty one will normally display a high ripple voltage because its the job of the capacitor to refine the DC voltage that will charge the battery of your car

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Do you think a 0.48V reading is just normal level? When you say AC Compressor does the letter AC refer to (AC Volt) or (AC as in Aircon)?

[Athrunzala]

Which car technician should I approach first?

a.) The Car mechanic who can take a look at the pump belts, pulleys, tensioner, power steering pump, and spray some belt conditioner. He might find some slippage, worn/loose stretched belt kasi eh...

or b.) The Car electrician who takes a look at the alternator as the suspect for the noise.


57,000 miles pa lang ang total miles na tinakbo ng Montero namin.

[gls2001]

Which car technician should I approach first?

a.) The Car mechanic who can take a look at the pump belts, pulleys, tensioner, power steering pump, and spray some belt conditioner. He might find some slippage, worn/loose stretched belt kasi eh...

or b.) The Car electrician who takes a look at the alternator as the suspect for the noise.


57,000 miles pa lang ang total miles na tinakbo ng Montero namin.

Have the belts and pulleys checked first. Once these are fixed or found ok then have the alternator checked. It’s not alternator whine that you’re hearing isn’t it?

By the way, ripple voltage measurement will be different with idle(no load, lights off, A/C off) and with electrical load(lights on, A/C on). Ripple voltage will be higher with load compared to idle condition.

CRV Diesel at idle - 120mV on the DHC BT280


CRV Diesel with HL/FL on - 280mV on the DHC BT280



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[Athrunzala]

Have the belts and pulleys checked first. Once these are fixed or found ok then have the alternator checked. It’s not alternator whine that you’re hearing isn’t it?

By the way, ripple voltage measurement will be different with idle(no load, lights off, A/C off) and with electrical load(lights on, A/C on). Ripple voltage will be higher with load compared to idle condition.

CRV Diesel at idle - 120mV on the DHC BT280


CRV Diesel with HL/FL on - 280mV on the DHC BT280



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Since we are both using the DHC BT280 gadget, when did you put on the electric load to get the higher ripple voltage, during the Cranking Test (key blinking) where you start the car (then you switch on the aircon, and lights during this time?) ; or when the screen shows the ripple test?

[kisshmet]

Do you think a 0.48V reading is just normal level? When you say AC Compressor does the letter AC refer to (AC Volt) or (AC as in Aircon)?

AC (aircon)

AC to DC..alternating current to direct current

Im not sure about the 0.48V reading..for me its a relatively small value compared to the output of a typical running alternator

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