Good morning, Dawn; 

     It was time for a new thread. 

     Yes, that 14.8 V DC for your voltage regulator in the motor home is a little high.  Normally I would say that it probably should be OK, but with your sample of the BlueTooth to FM radio converter, it seems to be more sensitive to the voltage level for some reason.  Without being able to put the BlueTooth converter on a variable voltage power supply and playing with it to see what it is doing and how much power it is drawing at various voltage levels, I am not sure what to say about the BlueTooth device. 

     However, again, yes, I do agree that the voltage level of 14.8 V DC on your motor home vehicle chassis electrical system is a bit high if that is the normal voltage level that it has all of the time.  It is possible to see a fairly high voltage level like that for a little while just after you start your engine, and the engine starting battery voltage is depressed and the voltage regulator is trying to get the battery back up to a more normal voltage level at which point it should drop back down to that more normal 13.6 to 14.0 V DC or so range for a truly "normal" battery charging voltage range with a fully charged battery in the vehicle with the value of 13.8 V DC being seen most of the time.  There will also be some variation with many voltage regulators as a function of the temperature; a lower temperature will require a higher voltage to bring the battery back up to the normal charged level.  

     Before declaring the voltage regulator to be condemned and must be replaced, take the motor home out and drive it around for 1/2 hour to a full hour and see if the voltage does not drop back down to the normal specification of about 13.8 V DC as the alternator brings the battery back up to a fully charged state.  Yes, it may take that long with a really tired battery.

     You might remember that on a cold winter day, sometimes the drive belt for the alternator may squeal for a while for the first few minutes after the engine starts, but as the battery begins to feel better, the alternator and the regulator will begin to drop back the electrical power that the alternator is making and the alternator drive belt will stop squealing as the battery begins to feel better and the load on the alternator is lessened.  This is the start of the time period when you should see the battery voltage begin to drop, and you can monitor it for a few minutes more to see if it is going down toward the 13.8 V DC level we all expect to see for a normal vehicle electrical system voltage. 

     However, that alternator squealing when the engine is first started is also an indication that the belt is somewhat loose and should be tightened to the normal used drive belt tension to see if the belt squealing can be stopped.  If the sides of the drive belt have been glazed from the accumulated past time when it has been slipping in the sides of the V-groove of the pulley, it may be time to consider getting a new alternator drive V-belt.  Or, for the later vehicles, it might be one of the new wider serpentine belts.  In the case of a very long time period when the belt has been squealing, it might be necessary to examine the pulley also to see if the wear pattern on the sides of the V groove in the pulley have widened to the point where the belt is making contact with the bottom of the pulley V groove and it no longer can really work properly with the worn pulley.  In that case, you may need to replace the alternator drive pulley also.  Replacement pulleys may be more difficult to locate, but it can be done.  At least try a new alternator drive V-belt to see if the new slightly wider width of the not-yet-worn belt will get you back into proper operation in comparison with a V-belt that has been squealing, and it will take a while to get a new alternator drive pulley.  But, at that point, you probably will also need to get that new alternator drive pulley in the near future. 

     OK.  That is my response to that part of your last message about propane fuel line accessories. 

     Ah.  I see that John has joined in while I was writing, and he has provided a very similar but more concise suggestion than mine just above.  Well, yes, either one, or combine both of them to do what you feel is needed. 

          Enjoy; 

          Ralph 

          Latté Land, Washington 

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Ralph, its NOT like me to be concise, but it was late and I was plum tired out lol Looks like we were thinkin along the same lines

John T 

Just saw this - thanks Ralph!  

Yeah, the electric problem is still on the table.  The mechanic futzed with it but I believe nothing was solved. He went on vacation and I had to get her back.  I'm going to call him Monday and follow up on that conversation.

Tomorrow will get an opportunity to drive long enough to do as you suggest and see if it drops.

Did I also pick up some sort of information that sometimes an alternator has an adjustment?  Or did I dream that? 

Currently no squealing belts - we lost all the belts twice on the way over from Denver (first mechanic replaced belts but not the loose pulley - 45 minutes down the road they were off again).  My mechanic double-checked them all and I have spares now for the future.  Took them 4 hours both time to run them down.   Shouldn't have, but was in the middle of Tennessee - not near any towns of consequence, so maybe that was the issue.

I'll report back here what I discover...

Good morning, Dawn; 

     No, you were not dreaming.  There have been some adjustable voltage regulators, but you almost had to know where to go to find them.  Normally they are designed and intended for use with the standard battery voltage of 13.8 V DC, but for some applications where the "standard" conditions may not apply, and for use by people who had some idea of what they were doing when changing from the "standard" settings. 

          Enjoy;   Ralph, Latté Land, Washington 

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