A few new cars (BMW, 'eco' versions of certain European cars) have something similar - the alterator is cut off when not needed. I had no idea this was in production cars
two decades ago.
There was a thread on automatically turning the alt on/off (can't find it right now), and there was a discussion on the conditions for turning the alt on. This should go there, maybe a crosslink?
EDIT: Found it! Preparing to crosslink...
Automatic alternator cut out/regen braking
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e·co·mod·ding: the art of turning vehicles into what they should be
What matters is
where you're going, not
how fast.
"... we humans tend to screw up everything that's good enough as it is...or everything that we're attracted to, we love to go and defile it." - Chris Cornell
[Old] Piwoslaw's Peugeot 307sw modding thread