Technical Symptoms of an overcharged battery?

i notice the starter replacement was the last item worked on prior to this. I would double check everything there- i find going back to the last item worked on if recent is the best place to start.
As stated check grounds, connections etc, often rebuilds have paint fiving poor connections, or
cables have damaged ends not easily seen to to being handled.

 

As mentioned several times, get the alternator tested at a good electrical shop. Yeah, guys are being rough on you, but accept the blame yourself. when presented with good advice, don't just ignore it. Either explain why you don't follow it or follow it. \

An over charge is either the internal regulator or if a 3 wire setup a bad connection at the alternator could do it. But, first you need to know for sure that the alternator is or is not OK.

 

Yeah, we are being tough. You asked for help and then ignore all of it, so it seems. Somewhere in what has been offered is THE problem. Just go through each on methodically.
You "young guys" do have something on some of us old guys. I have NO idea how to do what you just did with the demonstration of computer skills.

Ben

 

It does sound like alternator issues, if the internal regulator goes voltage can go anywhere, old 3 series BMW’s suffered this problem and regularly cooled batteries and sometime caught fire! Don’t think just because you have a new alternator it’s ok all the symptoms you say point at a duff alternator, get it checked out first than examine all wiring bad earths can cause all kinds of problems too, if 99% say it’s the alternator that’s done one, listen to the advice here it’s always worth taking it onboard


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Have you used a hydrometer to check that all the batteries cells are even?

 

Most newer style batteries are sealed...


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I agree with Jim, it's more than likely the alternator like I said before. I've had them go bad and overcharge, it will boil a battery dry in no time and smell like hot sulfur. Since you replaced the battery, unless you happened to get a bad one which is unlikely but possible, it points back to the alternator.

 

You said that your Power-gen alternator was about 1 1/2 years old.
I have known a number of people who have had there Power-gen alternator fail at about 1 1/2-2 years old.
I still believe the alternator is your main problem.
PM me I live in Dublin maybe I can help!
KK

 

I had a GM alternator that would spike the voltage to 16-17 V after I jump started it. I had accidentally got the cables crossed. Later, I found that it burned the regulator and the plastic insulator on the B+ post on the alternator and it shorted out against the Alternator case.

It was another one of those dumb things I tripped myself on, when I was in a hurry.

 

Take the battery down to your parts store they can probably check it. If the sides are swelled it's a good sign it's been overcharged.

 

Well, everybody else has hit on the obvious stuff, it's time to get down into the weeds...

Assuming that the battery and alternator is/was good, it's a connection. Things to check...

Battery terminals. Terminals and posts cleaned to shiny metal? Factory-assembled terminals, or owner-installed? I have little faith in any type of bolted-on cable terminal as they can look fine but have unseen issues. And owner-crimped terminals can be problematic too if not done hydraulically and then sealed. Not saying these types can't work, but they are prone to more issues.

Continuity/resistances. Even a very small resistance can have an outsize effect at high current. Paint/powdercoat/rust/corrosion at bolted joints can be an issue in the ground/return path and be critical for proper charging system operation. Just checking for continuity will likely tell you nothing as a 'extra' resistance smaller than your meter can resolve will be enough the generate a fairly large drop at high currents. As an example, a mere .1 ohm will generate a 3 volt drop at 30 amps. Higher amps will increase the drop. So how do you check this?

You check point-to-point with the system operating. To check your charging system ground path, turn your meter to the lowest volt scale (NOT millivolts, but full volts) and put the probes on the alternator housing and the negative battery terminal. This will direct-read any voltage drop in the current path. It should definitely be under 1 volt, preferably under .5 volt, the lower the better. Above that, or a fluctuating value? Poor connection somewhere, test by moving the alternator-end probe to the connecting parts headed towards the battery. If the drop shrinks when you move the test point between the alternator bracket and the cylinder head (as an example), there's your problem. Keep in mind you may not find it all in one place, so be prepared to repeat the test and check/clean more than one place.

Use the same procedure to check the output side, with a note to use the lug as the test point, not the wire terminal. This will test the actual connection. You can also check wire end-to-wire end. If you find your drop here, it's either a poor terminal connection or too-small wire.

You also don't say if you have a one-wire or three-wire alternator. If you have a three-wire, make sure to check the 'sense' wire. If you continue to get fluctuating readings, I'd suspect the voltage regulator.

 

My GM alternator was about 2 years rebuilt, I noticed at night my dash lights getting bright and my volt gauge going from 12 to 19 volts. Long story short, I took it back to the shop that built it and had them replace the regulator. Cost me $15 since it was out of warranty.

They did test it and it came up good, so a bad intermittent regulator may not show up on a bench tested alternator.

Be very careful with a battery that smells and or has a bulged case. When they do blow, it goes off like a pipe bomb.

 

This. Autozone offers free battery testing.

 

They would have to be able to find a dead cell, which is likely with an over-charged battery. If you bring them a dead battery, they would say it was dead. Do they offer to charge them and check them once they are charged?

 

A lot of places use handheld conductance type testers, a carbon pile load test has kind of gone the way of the Dodo.

 

We used hydrometers back in the day to isolate a bad cell or often 2 adjacent ones.