Best Way To Disconnect An Amp Meter?

No great insight here, but it seems unrealistic to expect the alternator to act as a battery charger from fully flat. A typical car battery is about 70 amp-hours capacity, so it would take more than a full hour of charging at full output of 60 amps (typical alternator rating) from completely drained.

Maybe OEM alternators could withstand that, but I expect there would be a lot of secondary heat generated (in addition to heat in the battery), and the engine would have to run fast enough to reach the maximum rating of the alternator. Dunno, this does not seem like a sensible approach. I suspect cooling is the main barrier. Popular high-output alternators are meant to offset heavy loads while the vehicle operates, not charge batteries from completely flat. In normal service, the generator or alternator operates at moderate load for a few miles to replenish the battery from starting, and then the battery mostly plays a passive role, balancing the load with the alternator output according to the monitored battery voltage.

 

If you say so.

Me, I think it is unrealistic in real life to expect I will never have a flat battery, without a charger nearby.

 

Coulda just left the headlights on, and need to get home.. It happens.