Connecting with RVC By Dan Poremba For those of you who haven’t yet heard the term “RVC” (remote voltage control) in connection with charging systems (pun intended) let’s go through it. General Motors is already selling vehicles with RVC on its Escalades, Avalanches, Tahoes, Yukons, and many pickups. RVC is a means of increasing gas mileage by reducing voltage output when demand is low, thereby decreasing load of the alternator on the engine. RVC is supposed to drop the output from 14.4 volts to around 12.5 volts when the batteries are 80 percent charged and full voltage isn’t required. This load reduction in itself might not seem like much but when coupled with other efficiencies used by GM and considering the cost of driving an SUV, it has meaning. Patented by General Motors, RVC is touted by them to extend battery life, giving the alternator, as claimed by the OE manufacturer, a life expectancy of 150,000 miles. Where and how can we find these RVC alternators? The regulator itself is in a unit looking much like an AD244, except this regulator has only two pins. The RVC regulator can be found in OE 10392759, 15263858, 15263859, 15857608, 15857609, 15905872, 15200268, and 15905871 (Lester 8301 and 8302) as 10517755. Delco Remy is including training of RVC in its technical training classes. Are there more versions on the way? I don’t know, they haven’t said yet, but I imagine yes. We know that these vehi- cles are also being assembled in Mexico. These use Bosch alternators also having RVC and distinguished by a two pin reg- ulator, it’s just too early to know if the Bosch and AD244 are interchangeable. I’d suspect more information would be coming down the pike as soon as rebuilders, along with Joe Davis and other suppliers, gain more knowledge on RVC. Dan Poremba is product specialist, REGITAR-USA, Montgomery, Ala. RVC 10517755