Wot?!
You expect ME to READ something else? What the...!
Yes - DEFINITELY!
Especially if it's "finishing it up". If you've done some, do it all.
Besides, when is Tommy wrong!
The "Big 3" was something I never heard of until this site. But it's exactly what I figured out years ago, and tried to explain to others, albeit not so elegantly. The Big-3 sounds more important yet more concise than main "Power Distribution" etc.
It doesn't matter what you do, if the power route (Big 3 etc) is limited, the whole system is.
Sure, you can throw on a bigger battery and alternator, but that also means bigger losses.
So why not MINIMISE the losses first, THEN increase the size of the system.
You probably have to increase the distribution size anyhow AFTER you increase the power source(s), so why not do it first BEFORE you start a fire.
The BONUS is that you might find it solves your problems so you don't need a bigger alternator or battery!
(Is it akin to upgrading brakes BEFORE the more powerful engine? The bonus is - when racing - the later braking probably gains more than a better engine. It is certainly cheaper, and it may be enough to win.)
My previous reply's ramble merely paraphrased the Big 3.
I was trying to highlight the potential (pun intended) big simple gains - though that's like that battery reliability - you aren't so much increasing voltage, but rather halving voltage losses on certain sections.
Some time ago I was trying to get someone to measure voltage drops across each path segment in order to reduce his
large 2V drop. Alas he still thought a bigger battery or alternator was the solution. It wasn't you... Nah(?!!).
[ I don't remember the detail of your earlier thread, but I recall thinking your 13.8-ish volts was uncomfortably low; ok, but low. But it seemed stable, hence not "the" problem. And if it was a 2 or 3 wire alternator, it could be tricked into a higher output voltage. It was probably just a low-set regulator voltage. ]
FYI - I had a similar problem. My rear-tray mounted aux battery had a largish voltage drop from the front battery/alternator considering it would only have been charging (10-20A?) and used heavy telco DC cable - plus 2 circuit breakers, relay, Anderson Connectors etc.
I found a 1/2 Volt drop between the main battery +12V and the first 50A breaker - a distance of about 4 inches!
I replaced the intercon-cable with a new one. Much better!
I don't know what caused the 1/2V drop - maybe corrosion between the crimped eyelet ends & the copper - it wasn't obvious and I didn't care (for a once off) - I just eliminated a 0.5V drop between 2 batteries. (That leads to undercharging of the aux battery and hence premature failure.)
Yet again I have managed to expand a little on the reply of "YES".
But hopefully I have imparted some experience, confirmed the brilliance and wisdom of the others hereon, and maybe paraphrased again to clarify the fog.
Otherwise take it as a "bash the info in" exercise. If you don't do it, we'll bash you into submission. Maybe not physically, but we will keep bashing our keyboards. (Eh Tommy?)
Just pretend to "see the light" or cooperate - don't let your ego fight it. As a wise
one once said... "Resistance is Futile". (I prefer to paraphrase that - "Resistance is a Voltage Drop".)
For some things, accepting and doing not only keeps you out of hospital, but after observing the effects, the explanation falls into place.
Of course, maybe everyone else is wrong (that's what I find so different being here - major agreements; else education etc), but hence my techno-ramble to empower understanding else contra-discussions etc. (I like finding I'm wrong.)
And in your case, with the extra voltage and other things NOT dipping, the dipping headlights strongly suggests the Big 3, else some other "shared" power path.
It might be a slow-reacting alternator or low voltage/capacity highly sulphated battery (from previous "under" charging??), but let's eliminate the common & cheapest cause. The Big-3 is rarely wasted anyhow - it always brings some improvement....
BTW - I liked your asking me "
from the best of your knowledge". It worries me when I'm looked upon as some
experienced expert etc. Whilst maybe conceptual and capable, I lack the hands-on experience of the other contributor here. I demonstrated that this morning with my ignorant questioning of a 24V starter in a 12V motorcycle.
Sometimes I can be way off (whether the technology mentioned, or just way off this planet i general), but that's where others are good at correcting, else sometimes confirming (aka - phew!).)
And "
the best of my knowledge" reminds me of that legal out "
to the best of my ability". lol
Cheers,
P.
PS - YES!