Well, while getting the exhaust on my truck (it was up on the rack), I was looking at the puddle of water on the floor. It was coming from the water pump, so I tightend the bolts and she stopped leaking. I then noticed another puddle. I thought it was just water that had rust in it from the drive over (it had been raining) While I was looking up to find the source, a drop fell into my left eye. It was at this point that I realized that it was not rusty water, but battery acid. In my eye. I thought i was gonna die. 15 min later, I turned off the water hose and got to wondering what would cause the acid to exit the battery. I topped it off the other day, and it was about 1 and 1/2 cups low. Now it is about a half a cup low. What would cause this??

 

Sounds like it's overcharging. Probably need a new regulator, or an adjustment to it if adjustable. "65-67 only" . 68 and after non adjustable.
MK

 

I am quite sure I am getting 14.3 volts when it is running. I will check tomorrow, but I dont think that is the problem. But then again, there is not much else that it could be.

 

How high are you putting the water level? Too full and the battery will overflow. When you crank the engine, a chemical reaction causes the water to expand. I keep just enough water to cover the plates and that's about it.

Barry

 

If your battery has a shorted cell, the battery will overheat and boil over too. The battery will be very warm to the touch on teh sides.

You have to check the battery voltage during and after a load test. With the vehicle off, a quick test is to just turn your headlamps on for a minute, turn off, and then go test the battery. If it is near 9/10 volts you have a bad cell.

If a battery has run real low on fluid for a while, that means parts from the cell plates have flaked off, and have settled on the bottom of the battery where they can short out a cell. If you just added plain house water instead of distilled, that makes it worse.

 

And sometimes a battery that is about shot will use a lot of water.

 

A cracked battery case? Losing that much water in a couple of days indicates more than just overcharging. I'd get real serious about finding the problem before something bad happens.

 

You would only have maybe 14 volts at idle even if the reg was stuck. Rev it up once and see how many volts you have.

 

I think it is time for a new charging system all together. My dad gave me a known good battery, and since my alt light stays on for a few seconds when I crank the truck, and the radio almost cuts out when you are at idle and turn on the lights or blower motor. Is it worth the cost to get a new system from the parts store, or is it worth the gamble to get junkyard parts? I hear the scrapyard calling.....

 

For 13 bucks you can rebuild your alternator and it is easy to do.

 

its new diode time!!! But as far as the voltage regulator- What do those run?

 

Dunno, I wouldn't think you should have to change too much. The dead radio at idle sort of points to flaky battery connections to the accessories. You are showing the signs of an excessive voltage drop if the radio drops out when you add more load to the system. Normally, even if the alternator was out, but you had a strong battery, you should not see this. I'll have to think about this a while. But offhand, I bet overly resistive wiring connections somewhere. "corrosion, loose, hanging by a thread of wire, etc. I'd yank the alternator and regulator and take them to an auto parts to be checked to verify if good or bad, and then go from there. Free at most places. Make sure the battery ground to frame wire is good. Check all wires for anything unusual. Signs of overheating "IE" almost melted insulation" will indicate excessive resistance and overheating. If you had to get an alternator, or regulator, I would go new, unless you are tight for cash. Remove and clean or replace your battery clamps if they are nasty looking. If I think of something else, I'll pass it on...MK

 

its new diode time!!! But as far as the voltage regulator- What do those run?

Yep, if the alternator is shot, it's usually a diode or two. Regulators should be fairly cheap I would think. 10-15 bucks. MK

 

The radio is a cheap unit and only draws 60 watts, and is wired with a 14 guage wire directly to the battery. I will clean all of the connections tomorrow- on the alternator and the plugs on the voltage regulator. Batteryterminals are like new.

 

The radio is a cheap unit and only draws 60 watts, and is wired with a 14 guage wire directly to the battery.

What is the draw in amps? If it's a 60w output amp, the input could be more than double that being it's a class A amp. Lets say 150w as an example for the input. At 13.8 volts, you would draw appx 10.8 amps at full volume. Being it's wired straight to the battery, this is kind of weird. Shouldn't really do that. That would seem to indicate the battery voltage itself is dropping, unless a connection is bad, or the wires too thin. What you need to check is the voltage under load at both ends. Also the amp itself may be critical as to it's operating voltage. IE: will flake out if the voltage drops below a certain voltage. If the wire is too thin or long, even if you had proper voltage at the battery, you could still drop below the amps needed voltage. This is why I run thick wires to my ham radio. It's voltage is fairly critical to stabilty. The thicker the wire, the less voltage drop. Which means I can use the radio at a lower battery voltage than I could with a thinner wire. Handy when the engine is off. 14 gauge may be a tad thin if the current draw is 10 amps or more. Kinda borderline...But will depend how loud you run it, and how long the wire is. Shouldn't be very long though, I would think...MK