I looked down at the gauges and the voltmeter was buried on full charge. I pulled over to check things out and when I opened the hood, I immediately smelled the battery and saw fluid cooking out of the top caps.
Being the rocket scientist that I am, I dug out a 1/2" wrench and disconnected the positive terminal at the battery. Dang, I could've welded 3/8" plate with the arc I got when I pulled the terminal away from the post!
I rushed around to kill the engine and that's when I saw smoke pouring out of the dash board.
Luckily, I had a fully charged deep cycle battery in my tool box and needing to get home, I cut the alternator belt and put the new battery in.
El Wedo started right up and took me home, but now I'm wondering what to do next.
It would seem to me that a voltage regulator failed, but is it internal to the alternator? Would simply installing a new one solve the welding issues?

El Wedo is a 1985 F350, 460 V8, 4 speed, regular cab manly man type truck.

Thanks for any help.

 

I think you must have an external regulator, as a internally regulated (2G) alternator has a fusible link in the charge cable.
Are you speaking of the ammeter reading full to the right?
Voltmeters were not available until the bricknose trucks in 1987.

 

what you described sounds like a regulator but if it was a regulator stuck making it put full output it would result in your battery going dead over night. That's what the 1G in my '78 Mercury did when the regulator went out, it went full field and put nearly 40 amps out at idle and stepping on the gas it would swing to 70 amps. Thing is though sitting over night the battery was dead as the regulator was stuck completing the circuit resulting in a dead battery over night.

If yours is not going dead over night its doubtful its a regulator that stuck full field unless what happened to mine is a fluke.

 

Yessir, ammeter is the correct term. The battery does go dead overnight as well, so it must be the regulator.
Thanks guys, a big help here.

 

sounds like the regulator then. Hopefully you have a 1G alternator with the external regulator on the fender.