I have a UDP and Passport 8500 which also serves as my voltmeter. I watch my voltage regularly just to see how things are. I'm curious to see what readings people see with an 8500 and a stock crank pulley.

I realize this is affected by many things including the state of the alternator. My readings are almost always 13.9 around startup and vary around 13.6 +/- .2 volts. I have seen voltage as low as 13.2 though. I was thinking that maybe after driving a while the voltage drops slightly because the battery has a full charge
-hype

 

I would be more then happy to if you tell me how to make my 8500 meter the voltage of the car.. I didnt know it was capable of doing that, just let me know and i will get you a reading!

 

Press and hold the two top buttons to enter the program mode. The first menu should be the setting you need to change (Pilot Light). Cycle through the settings until you get to Pilot V.

The detector will still show you what mode you're in (C/H), and will also show you your voltage. From the manual (p. 14): "If the voltage drops below 10.5 volts, a low voltage warning is displayed, followed by an audible alert. A high voltage warning is also given if the voltage goes above 16.5 volts. The high voltage warning is also followed by an audible alert."

I never used the voltage feature at first, but I really love it. I had a weak battery and I was able to see (when I turned off the car) that the battery wasn't charging as much as when I first bought it. Thus I got my Die Hard Gold replaced under warranty after only a year since I was aware it wasn't performing up to par. It had built up a significant internal resistance.
-hype

 

Sounds good to me bro.. I will get that up tonight and let you know what type of reading I get.. Thanks again.. Sounds interesting.. BTW if it does detect radar in the area will it pause the reading and display a warning? I would think so but just want to be sure..

 

I see similar readings with my 8500 and the stock pulley. My voltages drop too after driving. Doesn't sound to me like your voltage is effected much at all by the pulley.

 

Yes it will display like normal. I have mine set for expert mode so I can see 2 signals per band, but it will display whatever you usually see when it detects radar.

Cool thanks for the report. I know the UDP doesn't underdrive much, but I figured I'd see some difference I never thought to ask before, but at least the Passport is a pretty accurate voltmeter.
-hype

 

I tried it out for you, and I have decided that I am the wrong person to ask.. With nothing on except for the car itself I range from 13.2 to 13.5, but with the stereo on I have seen it drop as low as 11.2.. Guess it is time to get a cap or red top for the system.. But anyways thanks for informing me that it could do that, it is kind of cool to watch the change in voltage..

 

Mine starts at 14.0 then drops to about 13.8 with my system about 75% up, when I go to 100% up, lights on, it drops to about 13.0-12.8 for really deep bass notes. Is that too low???