View Single Post
Old Dec 15, 2009 | 08:29 PM
  #4  
Fabrik8's Avatar
Fabrik8
Racetracks
 
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 15,668
Likes: 0
From: How long is a piece of string?
Fabrik8 Fabrik8 Fabrik8 Fabrik8 Fabrik8 Fabrik8 Fabrik8 Fabrik8 Fabrik8 Fabrik8 Fabrik8
Default Re: Voltage regulator

So what were you having a problem with, the voltage regulator or the ABS system? If you're having voltage regulator problems, you can swamp tons of different things with noise. That includes sensors, communication, all kinds of stuff.

CAN communication isn't going to be disrupted by 11V in the slightest. Most automotive electronics are rated for operation down to 8 or 9VDC, CAN communication included. Nasty amounts of EMF from a bad voltage regulator is a different story though, because even small amounts of bad data from signal disruption can cause faults with safety critical systems.

So I don't think that the low voltage is the problem, but the byproduct of what is making the voltage low is probably what's killing you.

Most of the low voltage computer disruption problems aren't caused by the voltage but the cause of the low voltage. If you have a weak battery for example, and you try to crank the engine, the current draw can be more than enough to almost instantaneously drop the system voltage way out of the range of what the electronics can handle, and it only takes a very fast transient to reset the ECU, etc. Same with problems like bad grounds, anytime you have a problem delivering enough current for everything than you can have problems like that. If you're sitting at 10V, and you turn the fuel pump or fan or something on, and it briefly draws 3 to 5 times the normal operating current during turn-on, you only need to drop the voltage about 2 more volts for just an instant to get out of the rated range of just about all automotive electronics and cause a reset. That's easy if you have a weak battery, bad ground, etc that can't easily supply the necessary current.

Last edited by Fabrik8; Dec 15, 2009 at 08:39 PM.