Quote:
Originally Posted by California98Civic
My Honda and most more recent cars, perhaps all, have a "smart" alternator, with an electric load detector that turns the alt on at different levels and shuts it off, essentially, sometimes. It optimizes charging and fuel economy. So, for me the benefit of the alt on/off switch has been smaller. But it is there.
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A 'smart' alternator, by my definition is one that ramps up during overrun, ramps up to max under braking and puts out no current at all under normal operation (unless of course a load is applied). My Fiat has such a beast and by charging the battery when parked, I essentially have an alternator kill switch that still does regen. Sadly, while it's a common feature nowadays, it's still not universal (my newer Renault doesn't have one).