David,
That's a reasonable question, sounds like the electrical
sources are butting heads to charge the battery, doesn't it?
The alternator has several poles in the stator windings that produce
several cycles per revolution each slightly out-of-phase. This AC
voltage is flattened out to a DC voltage by the use of a full-wave
bridge rectifier then regulated to output a nominal 14.5 VDC.
The alternator is not a smart charger so it tries to maintain the
14.5 volts DC and will unless the engine speed is reduced.
Except for wire, the alternator post, positive battery terminal, and
charger output terminal are at the same electrical potential, 14.5
VDC. The smart charger senses this voltage at the door, and,
realizing a no work period, rolls over and goes back to sleep.
Now if the engine stops, the alternator is on break. Provided the
genset is running, it's time to go to work bringing the battery
voltage to pre-defined set-points.
A converter changes AC to DC, an inverter changes DC to AC. The
word converter and charger are synonymous so what you have is a
inverter/converter combination.
Hope this answered your question.
Bob Janes
77 FC 31
Greenville, SC
--- In
WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, David Brady
wrote:
>
> Folks,
>
> Maybe you can help me understand something. When the
> engine alternator is supplying electrical power and there's
> a source of 120V ac power (shore power or generator),
> and the house batteries require a charging current. Is the
> charge current coming from the inverters and the alternator
> or just from the alternator? If the charging current is coming
> from just one source, alternator or inverter, what makes that
> happen? For instance, if the charging current is from the
> alternator, is there an isolator somewhere that isolates the
> inverters, or do the inverters simply see a high voltage on
> the batteries and back off into a float charge state?
>
> Thanks, (Feel like a newbie all of a sudden)
> David Brady
> '02 LXi, Smokey
> Va
>